ESPN Insider: Scott Satterfield expected to be the next head coach at Cincinnati

The coaching carousel has already flown around this offseason with several high-profile names landing in new spots. Now, it appears Cincinnati has found their man next to help replace Luke Fickell after six seasons with the Bearcats.

Per Pete Thamel as ESPN, sources say Louisville’s Scott Satterfield is expected to become Cincinnati’s next head football coach. After four years at Louisville, it seems Satterfield is on the move to what will soon be one of the Big 12’s newest programs.

Thamel is reporting that Satterfield agreed to a six-year deal to take over with the Bearcats sometime last night. The school will announce the hiring at some point later today.

Satterfield just wrapped up his ninth year as a head football coach. He spent his first five with Appalachian State where he led the Mountaineers to a 47-16 record. That led him to earn the Louisville job in 2019 to replace Bobby Petrino.

However, things haven’t gone perfectly during his time with the Cardinals. On one hand, he had found success on the recruiting trail as he’d earned enough commitments in 2023 and 2024 to earn Top-20 class ranks for both per On3’s Consensus Team Rankings. Still, the product on the field was inconsistent with a 25-24 overall record. That stretch of time saw high rankings and bowl games but also reached five or more losses every season with Satterfield at the helm.

Cincinnati has high expectations after the goals Fickell hit during his time in the program. That already leaves a very high bar for Satterfield to immediately try and meet. From there, the Bearcats are just months away from joining what will now be a very deep Big 12. Satterfield is more than capable, but he’ll have to hit the ground running in order to meet expectations at his new home and, soon, new conference.