https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2020/12/05/scott-satterfield-south-carolina-louisville-football-coach-staying/3839446001/
Head football coach Scott Satterfield confirmed he is staying at Louisville in an exclusive interview with The Courier Journal.
Hours after his name resurfaced in regards to the South Carolina head coaching job due to a Friday afternoon interview, Satterfield said he isn't leaving Louisville. He added that he had no intention of leaving the university nearing the end of his second season.
Satterfield confirmed that he spoke to South Carolina on Friday, but he described it as a "conversation," not an interview. Being from North Carolina, with his parents just two hours away from the University of South Carolina's campus, Satterfield said he felt an obligation to at least listen to what they had to say.
"I think, again, my intentions were never to leave or go anywhere else, but I thought I owed an obligation just to listen because of where it’s at. That’s it," Satterfield said. "Nothing else to read into that. I had no intention of entertaining it, I just wanted to listen to see what they had to say. That’s the bottom line. I don’t want it to offend anyone. We are committed to this program."
Earlier:Report: Scott Satterfield held in-person interview with South Carolina AD on Friday
The latest interview news, which was reported by the local Columbia 247Sports website, came just weeks after The Athletic reported Satterfield was interviewing for the job.
In both instances, Satterfield said that South Carolina reached out to him and he kept Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra in the loop.
"I’ve kept Vince abreast to everything," Satterfield said. "When they reached out, I told Vince they reached out, and I told him I wasn’t interested in talking to those guys. Well, they circled back in a week and so I said I would listen to what they had to say, and the reason being is that it’s a few hours away from my parents who are both getting older and I’ve seen them one time this whole year, although it’s a different type of year with COVID. I saw them one time this year — there’s a place close to home, my other son is not far away as well. I went to listen to a conversation and that’s what it is. I kept Vince abreast with that, too. I’m not trying to hide anything from anybody. I’m not that person."
This morning in a text to Courier Journal reporter Tim Sullivan, Tyra said, "Nothing new on my end."
That comes weeks after Satterfield released a statement, the first time reports about his connection to South Carolina surfaced, saying he was not looking for jobs.
"While I'm flattered my name was associated with another job, I have not pursued or sought out any offers," Satterfield said on Nov. 24. "I am the head coach at the University of Louisville. We are building a strong foundation and culture. I love our players and the dedication they have shown to me and my staff. It's important that we continue the development of this program. We have an outstanding recruiting class coming in December and I'm excited for the future of our football team. L's Up!!!"
Asked why he decided to listen to South Carolina when they circled back, weeks after issuing that statement, Satterfield said nothing has changed.
"I’m not searching any jobs. I’m not looking to go anywhere else. I'm committed to this program," Satterfield said. "Nothing has changed about that. Whenever somebody has a conversation with somebody else that doesn’t mean you are leaving or you don’t like where you are at. We love it here, we love this program, our fans and our school."
Louisville is currently 3-7 with its last game against Wake Forest coming on Dec. 12. The season has been a regression from the Cardinals' 8-5 campaign a year ago that ended with Satterfield winning ACC Coach of the Year and a Music City Bowl victory. Satterfield said that he believes Louisville has everything it needs to build the program into a consistent ACC contender. He added that his decision to stay at Louisville had nothing to do with anything South Carolina discussed.
"We believe in this university and have from Day 1 because of the leadership. (Louisville President) Neeli (Bendapudi) is awesome, she does a wonderful job and I love serving with her and trying to help this university," Satterfield said. "I believe in Vince and his mission to this program, (deputy athletic director) Josh Heird, everybody in our administration I believe in. They are committed to giving us the tools to have a great program."
As for the fan base, there was backlash Saturday morning when new rumors began to pick up. Satterfield, who had been on recruiting calls much of the morning, didn't address them but said he didn't mean to offend anyone. He understands why fans would be upset.
Louisville football has a history of revolving doors at the head coach position. Howard Schnellenberger is the only coach to stay at Louisville for more than five years since Frank Camp left in 1968.
"Because of what happened here in the past, people get irritated or sensitive about a coach being approached by somebody else but I’ll tell you this: If you are doing a good job, people are going to come approach you. It’s going to happen," Satterfield said. "I’ve been approached by many schools in the last two years. People don’t know about it or hear about it, but it's going to happen more if you do the things you are supposed to do. That’s the business we are in. Three ways coaches leave programs: No. 1, they retire there and that very rarely happens. Two, they leave for another job or three, they get fired. That’s the harsh reality of coaching. But we love it here, we love what we are doing and have a great program."
Satterfield signed a six-year contract worth $3.25 million a year in 2018. According to his contract, Satterfield has a $5 million buyout through Dec. 31, 2020. If he does not leave, like he said, the buyout drops to $3.5 million if he terminates his contract after Dec. 31, 2020, but before Dec. 31, 2022. After Dec. 31, 2022, his buyout drops to $2 million.
This story will be updated.
Cameron Teague Robinson CTeagueRob@gannett.com; Twitter: @cj_teague;
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Head football coach Scott Satterfield confirmed he is staying at Louisville in an exclusive interview with The Courier Journal.
Hours after his name resurfaced in regards to the South Carolina head coaching job due to a Friday afternoon interview, Satterfield said he isn't leaving Louisville. He added that he had no intention of leaving the university nearing the end of his second season.
Satterfield confirmed that he spoke to South Carolina on Friday, but he described it as a "conversation," not an interview. Being from North Carolina, with his parents just two hours away from the University of South Carolina's campus, Satterfield said he felt an obligation to at least listen to what they had to say.
"I think, again, my intentions were never to leave or go anywhere else, but I thought I owed an obligation just to listen because of where it’s at. That’s it," Satterfield said. "Nothing else to read into that. I had no intention of entertaining it, I just wanted to listen to see what they had to say. That’s the bottom line. I don’t want it to offend anyone. We are committed to this program."
Earlier:Report: Scott Satterfield held in-person interview with South Carolina AD on Friday
The latest interview news, which was reported by the local Columbia 247Sports website, came just weeks after The Athletic reported Satterfield was interviewing for the job.
In both instances, Satterfield said that South Carolina reached out to him and he kept Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra in the loop.
"I’ve kept Vince abreast to everything," Satterfield said. "When they reached out, I told Vince they reached out, and I told him I wasn’t interested in talking to those guys. Well, they circled back in a week and so I said I would listen to what they had to say, and the reason being is that it’s a few hours away from my parents who are both getting older and I’ve seen them one time this whole year, although it’s a different type of year with COVID. I saw them one time this year — there’s a place close to home, my other son is not far away as well. I went to listen to a conversation and that’s what it is. I kept Vince abreast with that, too. I’m not trying to hide anything from anybody. I’m not that person."
This morning in a text to Courier Journal reporter Tim Sullivan, Tyra said, "Nothing new on my end."
That comes weeks after Satterfield released a statement, the first time reports about his connection to South Carolina surfaced, saying he was not looking for jobs.
"While I'm flattered my name was associated with another job, I have not pursued or sought out any offers," Satterfield said on Nov. 24. "I am the head coach at the University of Louisville. We are building a strong foundation and culture. I love our players and the dedication they have shown to me and my staff. It's important that we continue the development of this program. We have an outstanding recruiting class coming in December and I'm excited for the future of our football team. L's Up!!!"
Asked why he decided to listen to South Carolina when they circled back, weeks after issuing that statement, Satterfield said nothing has changed.
"I’m not searching any jobs. I’m not looking to go anywhere else. I'm committed to this program," Satterfield said. "Nothing has changed about that. Whenever somebody has a conversation with somebody else that doesn’t mean you are leaving or you don’t like where you are at. We love it here, we love this program, our fans and our school."
Louisville is currently 3-7 with its last game against Wake Forest coming on Dec. 12. The season has been a regression from the Cardinals' 8-5 campaign a year ago that ended with Satterfield winning ACC Coach of the Year and a Music City Bowl victory. Satterfield said that he believes Louisville has everything it needs to build the program into a consistent ACC contender. He added that his decision to stay at Louisville had nothing to do with anything South Carolina discussed.
"We believe in this university and have from Day 1 because of the leadership. (Louisville President) Neeli (Bendapudi) is awesome, she does a wonderful job and I love serving with her and trying to help this university," Satterfield said. "I believe in Vince and his mission to this program, (deputy athletic director) Josh Heird, everybody in our administration I believe in. They are committed to giving us the tools to have a great program."
As for the fan base, there was backlash Saturday morning when new rumors began to pick up. Satterfield, who had been on recruiting calls much of the morning, didn't address them but said he didn't mean to offend anyone. He understands why fans would be upset.
Louisville football has a history of revolving doors at the head coach position. Howard Schnellenberger is the only coach to stay at Louisville for more than five years since Frank Camp left in 1968.
"Because of what happened here in the past, people get irritated or sensitive about a coach being approached by somebody else but I’ll tell you this: If you are doing a good job, people are going to come approach you. It’s going to happen," Satterfield said. "I’ve been approached by many schools in the last two years. People don’t know about it or hear about it, but it's going to happen more if you do the things you are supposed to do. That’s the business we are in. Three ways coaches leave programs: No. 1, they retire there and that very rarely happens. Two, they leave for another job or three, they get fired. That’s the harsh reality of coaching. But we love it here, we love what we are doing and have a great program."
Satterfield signed a six-year contract worth $3.25 million a year in 2018. According to his contract, Satterfield has a $5 million buyout through Dec. 31, 2020. If he does not leave, like he said, the buyout drops to $3.5 million if he terminates his contract after Dec. 31, 2020, but before Dec. 31, 2022. After Dec. 31, 2022, his buyout drops to $2 million.
This story will be updated.
Cameron Teague Robinson CTeagueRob@gannett.com; Twitter: @cj_teague;
View Comments
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