By Whitney Spencer
Following a successful 12-1 season, head coach Bobby Petrino stepped down to enter the ranks of the National Football League, leaving the University of Louisville in search of a new head coach, after the 2006-2007 season. Only 48 hours later, relief was on the way, in the form of Steve Kragthorpe. Kragthorpe was credited with changing the culture at the University of Tulsa. When he took over the program, they had lost 21 of 22 games. He led the Golden Hurricanes to a 29-22 record, and three bowl appearances.
THE BEGINNING
Kragthorpe’s excitement for his new position at Louisville was evident. With so much success already experienced within the program, and with the return of 18 starters from the Orange Bowl team, he felt he was the right man for the job.
“This truly is a destination for us,” said Kragthorpe, when he was announced as Louisville’s head coach. “There’s no question that we feel like this is a place that we’ve come to stay.”
With fans’ expectations high and his talk of taking the Cardinal football program to even greater heights, the tenure of Coach Kragthorpe began with the 2007-2008 season. In the four years under Petrino, the Cards had no trouble beating in-state rival University of Kentucky in the annual Battle of the Bluegrass. In one of Kragthorpe’s first games as head coach at U of L, the Wildcats stunned the ninth-ranked Cardinals, at Commonwealth Stadium, with a 40-34 loss for the Cards.
The early woes continued, as the Cards lost several key games and fell out of the national rankings. They lost to Syracuse University, giving the Orange their only conference win of the season. Syracuse went on to finish at the bottom of the Big East. The Cards managed a 28-24 win over the 15th-ranked University of Cincinnati Bearcats, but then suffered their worst loss since joining the Big East, with a 55-17 thwarting at the hands of the Bulls of the University of South Florida. U of L ultimately finished the season with a 6-6 record and a losing conference record.
After finishing a disappointing first season, Kragthorpe exuded the confidence that became his trademark at Louisville.
“We hope to play one more game, but this is a great springboard into the offseason,” said Kragthorpe, following the season finale against Rutgers in 2007. “Whether you win your bowl game or win your final regular season game, it helps you go into the offseason with some momentum.”
In that offseason, Kragthorpe lost redshirt junior receiver Mario Urrutia, who declared for the NFL draft early. Urrutia was set to be a key player for the Cards during the next season. Kragthorpe added eight junior college transfers to the roster, including wide receiver Maurice Clark, linebacker Chris Campa and defensive lineman Tyler Jessen. Quarterback Justin Burke also transferred to U of L from North Carolina State prior to the 2008 season.
A REBUILDING YEAR
Kragthorpe entered his second season as head coach at U of L, against UK, at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. The Cards were looking to avenge the loss from last season, and to begin the 2008-2009 season with a win. A safety in the end zone provided the only points the Cards put on the board, as they were defeated 27-2. Following the second consecutive loss to UK, fans begin to hear some of the same excuses that would become commonplace in the next few years.
“We didn’t get anything going on offense today,” said Kragthorpe, following the loss. “Turnovers—you can’t turn the ball over. We turned the ball over twice and we gave up points…To me, a safety is a turnover. That’s what got us back in the game and turned the momentum. And we just didn’t do a good enough job on offense. And that’s the bottom line.”
The Cardinals went on to win five of their next six games, with a record of 5-2 heading into a game against Syracuse. Once again they lost to the Orange; and once again they were the only win for the Orange in the Big East conference. U of L went on to finish the season with five straight losses, including a blowout loss to Rutgers University. The Cards tied Syracuse for last place in the Big East, and finished with a 5-7 record.
In the offseason, Kragthorpe again brought in junior college transfers, including quarterback Adam Froman. But he caused much controversy as he shook up the coaching staff. After announcing the new additions for the 2009 season, the name that was noticeably missing was that of offensive coordinator and longtime assistant coach Jeff Brohm.
Brohm left Louisville after Kragthorpe demoted him and decided to take over as offensive coordinator himself. Brohm had led the Cards to the third best offense in the Big East. As Brohm was a longtime fixture at U of L, fans immediately began calling for Kragthorpe to lose his job. In addition, they were not happy with the overall records for the past two seasons.
LAST CHANCE
Coming into this season, fans were on edge, but Kragthorpe and athletic director Tom Jurich were sure this season would be different. The Cards opened this season with a 30-10 win over Indiana State University, but showed lack of execution on both sides of the ball. Costly mistakes, which became frequent during Kragthorpe’s tenure, ended up being the Cards’ biggest downfall. The next three games were disasters for U of L. In each of the three games, the Cardinals had several missed opportunities that would have led to more points and, in some cases, wins.
“[The losses are] all frustrating,” said Kragthorpe, after a 35-10 loss to Pittsburgh. “We were in the game for two and half quarters. At halftime we had the lead and had command of the game at that point in time. Then we gave up the deep shots, and that took the wind out of our sails. We had the turnover, and all of a sudden, we go from being in a position where we’re up 10-7 to being down by 11. That was a little disheartening, no doubt.”
A slim win against the University of Southern Mississippi proved nothing, as the Cards went on to lose two consecutive games. With five games left, Kragthorpe was confident that his team would win out and become bowl-eligible for the first time since he became head coach. However, that did not happen. The Cards finished the season with only two wins in their final seven games.
Questions surfaced all season about the status of Kragthorpe’s job. Some fans worried that all the off-the-field distractions played a part in Louisville’s poor play, especially on offense. Finishing the season with a record of 4-8, most fans were confident that Kragthorpe’s tenure at U of L was over.
THE FINAL DAYS
But Kragthorpe evidently did not feel the same. Following the Cardinals’ final game, against Rutgers, in which they were defeated 34-14, he was looking forward to next season.
“We got plane tickets booked, flights set up, rental cars, and places to go and players to see,” said Kragthorpe. “The players that we are recruiting see what’s going on and want to be a part of this program.”
Less than 24 hours after Kragthorpe spoke on his future plans for the U of L football program, Jurich released a statement and called a press conference to announce the termination of Steve Kragthorpe as head coach.
“I thought we could get through the year and build some momentum,” said Jurich.
In three seasons at the University of Louisville, Kragthorpe finished with an overall record of 15-21, and 5-16 in the Big East. Though he led the Cardinals to some big wins in his time, he also led them to even greater losses, including consecutive losses to UK and Syracuse.
Jurich stated that a national search for the Cardinals’ next head coach would begin immediately, without interfering in the completion of any other schools’ seasons.
“I want the football program to go in the right direction,” said Jurich. “I want to get a great coach in here, a great leader of men—someone who can take us to the heights we want to be at, back to the top of the Big East.”
