Scott Satterfield bringing Louisville running backs coach De'Rail Sims with him to Cincinnati

As Scott Satterfield gets his staff together at Cincinnati, he’s bringing some pieces with him from Louisville. That includes the Cardinals’ running backs coach.

De’Rail Sims, who’s been with Louisville since January 2021, is joining Satterfield in Cincinnati, sources told On3’s Matt Zenitz. Sims previously coached at East Carolina and James Madison before arriving in Louisville.

Under Sims’ watch, the Cardinals led the ACC in rushing offense in 2021 and ranked third in the league in total rushing yards this season. This year, they were led by running back Jawhar Jordan, who rushed for 700 yards during the regular season.

The news of Sims’ departure comes shortly after Louisville lost one of its highest-ranked recruits. Running back Rueben Owens de-committed from the Cardinals on Wednesday. He’s a five-star prospect and the No. 3-ranked running back recruit in the nation from the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Scott Satterfield takes over as 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 its man next to replace Luke Fickell after six seasons with the Bearcats.

Per Pete Thamel of ESPN, 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. On3’s Matt Zenitz also reported Satterfield met with Louisville’s staff to tell them about his decision.

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.