Scott Satterfield firing ”expected” if Louisville falls at Virginia

Scott Satterfield’s time as the head football coach at Louisville could be over as early as Saturday.

If the Cardinals fall at Virginia, the expectation is that Satterfield will be out and the search for a new head coach will begin, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reports. Win or lose, it’s unlikely the 49-year-old coach will be back at Louisville in 2023.

“He didn’t enter the season with the same inevitability about his job status as other coaches, but it’s becoming harder to see a path where Satterfield returns in 2023,” Rittenberg said. “Last week’s 34-33 loss to Boston College, where Louisville blew four leads, has put Satterfield on extremely shaky ground. If Louisville falls to lowly Virginia on Saturday before an open week, a change is expected.

“Even if the Cardinals bounce back, their second-half schedule includes four AP top-15 opponents, surging James Madison and defending ACC champion Pitt. Bowl eligibility seems extremely unlikely.”

Louisville is 20-22 overall and 12-17 in the ACC in four years under Satterfield. The program went to two bowls in his first three years, winning the Music City Bowl in 2019 before losing in the First Responder Bowl in 2021.

Earlier this week, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd listed Satterfield near the top of his 2022 Hot Seat Rankings — one of five coaches with a ”Start improving now” designation. It’s a four on the hot seat meter out of five, five being “Win or be fired.”

With a difficult schedule to close out the year, answers will be found one way or another.

“You don’t even have to watch Malik Cunningham close to realize he has a lot of Lamar Jackson in him. Given that, shouldn’t Louisville be better?” Dodd wrote. “The pressure was ratcheted up after a loss to Boston College. Cunningham’s injury status is unknown, but the Cardinal still gave up 449 yards to the ACC’s worst offense. After an 8-5 start, he’s 14-20 over his last two-plus seasons with four ranked teams (Wake Forest, Clemson, NC State, Kentucky) ahead. That should provide some clarity.“

Either way, Satterfield is fighting for his job — and he may be losing that fight sooner rather than later.