Louisville wants Kragthorpe to replace Petrino

Killswitch · 01-08-2007, 03:21 PM

Louisville wants Kragthorpe to replace Petrino

As expected, Louisville's search to replace Bobby Petrino appears destined to be short and narrowly focused.

Tulsa's Steve Kragthorpe is the choice, according to a source close to the negotiations. Pending a formal agreement and finalized details, he will be named this week.

Officials at both schools declined comment, but Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich is expected to fly to Tulsa Tuesday to meet with Kragthorpe. Jurich spent part of Monday afternoon meeting with the Louisville team and told the players they should expect to have a new coach quickly.

That will be important in Louisville's efforts to keep two star juniors, quarterback Brian Brohm and running back Michael Bush, for one more year. Both are weighing decisions on whether to enter the NFL draft and could make announcements this week.

Another factor in the timing is recruiting. The Cardinals are expecting to have a large number of recruits on campus this weekend to attend the Louisville-Providence basketball game on Saturday, and they'd obviously like to have Kragthorpe signed, sealed and delivered in time to meet the recruits.

Jurich also met Monday morning with Bobby Petrino's brother, Paul, the Cardinals' offensive coordinator. Paul Petrino is not believed to be a candidate for the job, if only because of his family ties to the guy who just walked out with nine years left on a contract he signed in August.

It's believed Louisville also had some initial interest in UCLA's Karl Dorrell, but Kragthorpe is clearly the candidate of choice.

Jurich and Kragthorpe have roots at Northern Arizona together. Jurich was the athletic director there in the late 1980s and early '90s, and Kragthorpe was NAU's quarterbacks coach from 1990-94.

Like Petrino, Kragthorpe has a track record as a strong quarterbacks coach and offensive tactician. He came to Tulsa after two years as the quarterbacks coach of the Buffalo Bills, and his Golden Hurricane teams have been prolific offensively.

Tulsa had lost 21 of its last 22 games when Kragthorpe took over in 2003 and has gone 29-22 since.

Source: ESPN.com

StylesÃ‚â„¢ · 01-08-2007, 04:01 PM

Not a bad choice IMO, not a Petrino, but not a bad fill in, hopefully he can do well in Louisville and continue their sucess...

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Louisville wants Kragthorpe to replace Petrino

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