With today’s news about Steve Kragthorpe being fired as Louisville football coach, our attention now shifts to who will be manning the sidelines for Louisville next season. Here are the realistic candidates to become the next head coach of the Louisville football Cardinals. This list is not ordered in any specific way.

Charlie Strong

It seems like Charlie Strong is rumored to get a head coaching job each season, however that has yet to happen. Strong has been a heralded defensive coordinator at the University of Florida since 2003, but more than that, he’s regarded as one of the top recruiters in the country. Strong, 49 years old, is definitely familiar with the southeast, particularly the state of Florida, in which Louisville has established recruiting ties.

The upside to Strong is obviously his recruiting. Anyone who has watched Florida over the past several years knows they have some absolute athletic freaks on defense, and on offense for that matter. If Strong is hired, there is the assumption he would be able to attract some of those players to Louisville.

The downside to Charlie Strong is no head coaching experience and despite all his accolades, he still cannot get a head coaching gig. There has to be a reason as to why Strong, as good of a defensive coordinator and recruiter as he is, has been unsuccessful in landing a head coaching job. Maybe Louisville is his chance.

Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong

Chris Petersen

The head man at Boise State is a name always mentioned when a BCS level job opens. He wins more games with less talent than anyone in college football. Petersen is an offensive whiz, a well known attribute Louisville AD Tom Jurich loves, and has Boise State in the BCS discussion every year.

Petersen is from California and has coached all his career out west. Although Tom Jurich is not opposed to bringing in a western guy, see John L. Smith, it is unclear whether or not Jurich will do so again. It also remains to be seen whether or not Petersen is even interested in leaving Boise State, where he is capable of reaching a BCS game year in and year out. The previous occasions in which a BCS level job has opened, there has not appeared to be any interest from Petersen. 

Boise State's Chris Petersen

Phillip Fulmer 

We here at the Pinkie have known for quite some time Fulmer is highly interested in the Louisville job. Fulmer is the former coach at Tennessee during their huge run starting in 1992 and ending in 2007. During his time off, Fulmer has said publicly he has regained his fire to coach and wants to win big again, which means a BCS level job.

Fulmer is 59 years old and compiled a 152-52 record as head coach. He won 6 SEC East titles, 2 SEC titles, and a national title in 1998. His recruiting strongholds were the southeast and has not been out of the game long enough to lose any of his name recognition. Fulmer is an offensive coach as he played offensive guard at Tennessee, coached offensive line, and was offensive coordinator at Tennessee prior to taking over as head coach in 1992.  

It is unclear whether or not Louisville has interest in Fulmer, but at the Pinkie, we know Fulmer is interested in the job. Right now, it sounds more like Fulmer is calling Louisville as opposed to the other way around.

Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer

Tommy Tuberville

Tuberville was forced out, excuse me, resigned from Auburn in 2008 after compiling a 110-60 during his coaching career, which included a stop at Ole Miss before Auburn. He won 5 SEC West titles during his tenure and one SEC title in 2004. Tuberville is definitely interested in coaching again and particularly, a BCS job.

Tuberville is a defensive minded coach who has produced some of the best defenses in college football during his coaching career. He recruited largely in the south and it is assumed he would resume targeting the areas in which Louisville football has a strong reputation. Outside of Bobby Petrino, Tuberville has never really had a stellar offense and went through many offensive coordinators during his time at Auburn.

Tommy Tuberville was the hot name once the speculation began Steve Kragthorpe may be let go. The potential issue with Tuberville is he is 55 years old and does not fit the model of head coach Tom Jurich typically likes, which is the young, determined, and offensive minded. However, perhaps Jurich decides Louisville needs a stabilizing force and an established head coach. In that case, Tuberville is a strong candidate.

Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville

Butch Jones

Butch Jones is a name that has jumped on the radar recently. He took over the head coaching job at Central Michigan in 2007. Jones has previously coached the wide receivers at West Virginia under Rich Rodriguez and runs a similar offense to Rodriguez’s. He won 8 games in his first two seasons at Central Michigan and currently is 9-2 this year for the Chippewas.

Jones has largely recruited the mid-west while at Central Michigan, particularly Ohio and grabbed former Louisville Trinity running back Tim Phillips last year, so he is not unfamiliar with the city of Louisville. His offenses are prolific and his defense is ranked in the top 20 nationally this year. He has also shown an ability to win without top level recruits.

However, Butch Jones does not have solid recruiting ties to the southeast and it is unknown whether or not he could attract the type of recruits necessary to win in the Big East.

Central Michigan coach Butch Jones

Kevin Sumlin

Sumlin is the current head coach at the University of Houston and has a 17-7 record in his 1+ year there. Sumlin came to Houston from Oklahoma where he served as tight ends and special teams coach in 2003-2005. He also served as wide receivers and offensive coordinator in 2006-2007 before going to Houston.

Sumlin’s Cougars are 9-2 this year after going 8-5 in his first year, capped off with a Armed Forces Bowl win. Even though Sumlin is noted for his prolific offenses, he played on the defensive side as he was a linebacker at Purdue. Sumlin is also regarded as a great recruiter and has shown the ability to get highly ranked players to the University of Houston, not necessarily a tradition rich program.

However, his recruiting ties are strongly rooted in Oklahoma and Texas. I cannot say with any certainty southeast recruiting will be a requirement for the next head coach, but I do feel comfortable in saying it will be brought up. Kevin Sumlin makes $700,000 at Houston and we know Louisville will provide a pay raise. Perhaps the lure of a pay raise and a BCS conference job with top notch facilities will be enough to get Sumlin to coach the Cardinals.

Houston coach Kevin Sumlin

Others to consider – Gary Patterson (TCU), Kyle Whittingham (Utah), Bronco Mendenhall (BYU), and Jim McElwain (offensive coordinator at Alabama, former wide receivers coach at Louisville under John L. Smith)

8:00 update – According to a tweet from ESPN college football writer Joe Schad, Louisville “would love to speak with TCU coach Gary Patterson and Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, I’ve heard.”

My Take

Out of all the potential candidates talked about and the ones I mentioned above, I think Charlie Strong and Kevin Sumlin are the best candidates. I like Strong because of his recruiting and the fact I believe he will be fired up after finally getting his long awaited head coaching job. Strong also knows what it’s like to be a part of a big time program and would bring many of those integral facets to Louisville.

After looking at his resume, Kevin Sumlin would be a great hire in my opinion. Fellow Louisville contributor, and hardcore Louisville fan, Neil R. mentioned earlier today in his Kragthorpe article, he did not want Sumlin because he is a Conference USA coach like Kragthorpe was prior to being hired at Louisville, therefore Jurich needs to stay away. I vehemently disagree. Sumlin has proved to be a solid head coach and recruiter. He is also young, energetic, and as far as I can find, a great representative for his university.