Louisville's new offensive coordinator wants a 'nasty' O-line

Jeff Brohm is a former quarterback who played in a lot of pass-happy systems.

But one thing he stressed yesterday while being officially introduced as the University of Louisville's offensive coordinator is the need for toughness.

"First off, we need to get the mentality around here to be basically a tough, physical team that's nasty up front and willing to run the football," said Brohm, who was promoted from quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator on Dec. 2. "And as soon as the defense starts to put extra people in the box, we need to have the weapons to throw the ball."

Brohm has been handed the keys to an offense that finished eighth in the Football Bowl Subdivision at 488 total yards per game this past season while averaging 35.3 points. But the Cardinals struggled to run the ball for large stretches of the year, which hampered their passing game as well. Plus, they lose key players such as senior quarterback Brian Brohm and receiver Harry Douglas, sophomore running back Anthony Allen (transfer) and wideout Mario Urrutia (NFL draft).

"We didn't play up to par this year," Jeff Brohm said. "We have to find ways to rally the troops."

Brohm, who played at U of L and has spent the past four years as an assistant with the program, didn't offer a lot of specifics about his new playbook yesterday. He said he will add some wrinkles, that he favors both one- and two-back sets and that he would tailor plays to the strengths of new quarterback Hunter Cantwell, who excels at deep throws.

After focusing on recruiting until February, Brohm will meet with head coach Steve Kragthorpe and review this season's plays. They will study film from other college and NFL teams to see what they can borrow.

Brohm has played or coached for several highly respected offensive-minded coaches, including Howard Schnellenberger, Norv Turner, George Seifert, Steve Mariucci, Mike Shanahan and Bobby Petrino. Maybe "played" is too strong a verb for some of those men since Brohm was mostly a clipboard carrier in the NFL.

"When you're pretty much a perennial backup, you try to find ways to get an extra edge, whether it's learning the offense better or knowing exactly what works from a coaching standpoint," he said.

"In the NFL, I was around a lot of great offenses, a lot of great and passing attacks. So hopefully we'll be able to continue to improve upon that. But at the same time, we've got to be able to physically dominate people up front."

Brohm, who's part of the first family of U of L football, got the job he always wanted in his hometown. He knows now the scrutiny will increase as well.

"When you win, things are going to be great," he said. "When you're not winning, you'll take a lot of heat. Being a former quarterback, I'm used to that and have no problem with it. If we aren't winning, then people should say a few things. And if we are, then a few pats on the back aren't bad every now and then."