Brohm’s Approach Very Different than Swinney’s

CHARLOTTE — Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm’s goal is the same as every coach everywhere.

He wants to win now.

However, Brohm has a different way of doing it, or at least a different philosophy.

“We want to win this year,” Brohm said from the podium at ACC Football Kickoff on Wednesday. “Yes, you can build for the future and get your young players ready to play, which is great. But you want to win now.”

In order to win now, Brohm and the Cardinals go to the transfer portal where they have brought in transfers like quarterback Tyler Shough from Texas Tech and wide receiver Caullin Lacy. It’s a different approach from Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, who still believes in building his program through high school recruiting.

Clemson is the only Power 4 school to not bring in a transfer portal player, and the only FBS squad not named Army and Navy to use the transfer portal in 2024.

Brohm’s philosophy is different than Swinney’s because he says he knows the players he already has trust that he will bring in the best players he can to help them win right now.

“Not only do our fans want that, but your own team wants that,” he said. “Whether it comes to building a roster, we have some really good guys coming back that have done a great job for us.

“You know what? I think they want to win. It’s up to us as coaches to build the best team and surround them with the best teammates. Football is a team sport, it takes 11 guys and special teams to get it done. It doesn’t matter strictly how good you are, but you have to have good guys around you. We’re not scared to change the roster, improve our football team, whether they’re starters or they provide great competition, they play a role.”

Brohm’s approach worked well last year. His Cardinals shocked everyone when they finished the regular season 10-2 and advanced to the ACC Championship Game.

“Everybody we brought in has been with a purpose, quite a bit,” he said. “Sometimes they’re older, veteran guys that have played at any level of football but have definitely stepped on the field and shown on video what they can do.

“To this point, we’ve liked what we’ve seen. All spring and all summer… I think all of our veterans on our team have liked what they’ve seen as well. They know if we continue to improve and work really hard and do the small things right, we’re going to have a chance to win. That’s what we believe in. Sure, we’re always going to take high school prospects and continue to do that. With this transfer portal, having two different portals, people can leave and go when they want. There’s nothing wrong with that. Some guys leave to get more playing time, other guys leave for other reasons. You have to be able to adapt and adjust. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that.”