Jeff Brohm addresses how he earned ‘quarterback whisperer’ label

Over the years, Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm has developed different labels as a football coach. Among those are labels for his offensive prowess and above all the label of being a quarterback whisperer.

Now, Brohm has shared some thoughts on that quarterback whisperer label that he’s earned over the years, in no small part because of his background as a player before becoming a head coach.

“I think I’ve really just been fortunate enough to have a lot of experience at that position as a player and a coach,” Jeff Brohm said. “Anytime you play the position, it’s just a little different than what’s on the chalkboard or what you see on TV and all the things that go into it. You’ve got to really understand what it really takes to get to the top and some of those things work for me, some of those things didn’t work.”

One key for Jeff Brohm as a head coach has been how he leans on his playing days. He played quarterback himself, starting at Louisville and making stops in the NFL with six different franchises before spending a season in the XFL.

“So, you learn a lot along the way. I think while you had a lot of success when you get to the highest level, I didn’t play as much as I wanted. So, you have some failures. You’re let go from some teams. You’re trying to make other teams. So, you’re kind of learning along the way how to deal with that adversity, which is part of playing quarterback. With that, I played for a lot of great coaches at every level. So, you take a lot from them what you learned as a player, as a sponge, trying to make the team, gain a roster spot, get on the field. So, I just think I’ve been fortunate enough to go through that whole process,” Brohm said. “And keep most of it in my memory bank as much as I can.”

In 2002, Jeff Brohm began his journey as a coach with the Louisville Fire, an Arena Football League team. After that, he made his way to college, making stops as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at several schools before his first head coaching job at Western Kentucky in 2014. He’d move up to Purdue and eventually returned to his alma mater Louisville in 2023.

“Then, once you become a coach, you kind of put that together. As an assistant, you take on what the head coach wants to emphasize and teach. Sometimes you agree with it. Sometimes you don’t,” Brohm said. “But you go make it work. Of course, you become a head coach, you can become more of exactly what you want to do. So, that’s what I’ve tried to do. Take all those experiences. Learn from it. Put it together. Quarterback position is vital. With me and my brother Brian who’s played the position, you try to understand the guys you have at that position and help them have success.”

In the 2024 season, Jeff Brohm led Louisville to a 9-4 record, and he’s 19-8 overall in two seasons. Last year, the passing offense ranked 26th in the country, averaging 264.1 yards per game. That was with Tyler Shough at quarterback. Along the way, he’s also coached players like Jack Plummer and Aidan O’Connell.

“I think we do enough on offense, we can adjust things, we can tweak things, we can change things to kind of do what they do best, instead of just saying, ‘This is our offense. You’ve got to be able to run it.’ I think all those things go into it. You try to put the best talent around them. You’ve got to call the best plays. You’ve got to do the best drills in the offseason, study film with them. You’ve got to get on the same page with them in meetings so they understand what you’re seeing and what you’re thinking. It just takes time,” Brohm said.

“But luckily, we’ve done it so much it’s become second nature. We have a plan for it. You do it year-round now, it’s just kind of part of the process. If you enjoy what you’re doing, it becomes easier. So, I just think we through experiences and through relationships we have a decent plan to have that position have success.”

In 2025, Jeff Brohm brought former USC Trojans starting quarterback Miller Moss to Louisville. He is presumably going to compete for the starting job. Along with him, the Cardinals have Brady Allen, Deuce Adams, Sam Vaulton, Travis Egan, Ryan Zimmerman, and Mason Mims listed on their roster.