What was day one like driving to this office?
It was exciting and.
You know, it's something that you know,
I didn't know with whatever
happened and all of a sudden now
I'm leaving someplace I I loved and
grew to love and loved the people,
but going back home to.
Something that you know I really love
and to just be able to bring my family
back and and and be a part of that
and see a lot of familiar faces was.
You know, exciting.
I was nervous,
but it was it was great to see him
and I'm gonna see many more and.
You know, it's just a great place to live,
a great community,
and I want to do my part to
help us win football games.
Are you surprised by the reaction of just
everybody about you coming back here?
Well. You know, we have a lot of
relationships through this community.
I think people who know us
know what we're all about.
By no means are we perfect,
but we try to do things the right way.
You know, we believe in
taking pride in where we live.
We believe in trying to make people happy.
We understand and in our opinion
that this is the fans team.
It's not just little football,
this is the Louisville football fans
community team and they all want to say
and they all want to see them do well.
And as a leader and coach,
we got to try to put the best
product on the field to make them
happy because then everybody feels a
genuine part of it and they feel like.
You know,
they've done their part by supporting
and being there for the team.
So you know,
there's just a lot of work that's
going to have to go into it.
And I don't know where the roster
and all that is now,
but I've got to digest into it and
get this thing going as fast as I can.
You know, I was going to ask you about that.
You know, you know how to run a program,
but taking over another program in this
day and age with NIL transfer Portal,
getting to know your own kids,
recruiting, how much of it just,
has this been a whirlwind?
Well, you know, every time
I've transitioned to to
cause because I feel like you could
maybe want to get into a fetal
position. It seems like a lot.
Yeah, I don't know if I've taken
a shower in a couple of days.
So if I look bad, you know,
don't worry about that. But.
Every time you take over a program,
the first part is a lot of work,
and there's a lot of things to do.
Now with early signing day
with the portal within IL,
yes, there's even more things
to do with the current roster.
So yeah, you just got to, you know,
put your feet in the ground.
Get these things out, you know,
out of the way or you you communicate and
and and and talk about your vision and
what you believe in and then get to work.
And there's just a lot of
things that need to be done.
And really it's just about to build
building relationships with recruits,
with families, with our,
with our players,
getting to know them and then trying
to piece this thing together.
But I think if we we do it the right way,
if we don't try to deceive or trick
anybody just to keep something intact.
But no, let's be honest and upfront
and there's some defections.
Happen or things want to go
a different direction.
You have to live with it because in the
end you want people to be successful
and you don't want to sell them
something that's not going to happen.
So we're going to be honest,
we're going to be transparent.
I think in the end that's what matters
and that's what people want to see.
And I think if we build it
the right way by doing that,
that hopefully good things happen
and you can't predict, you know,
what recruits come, what recruits don't,
what players say, what don't.
Players don't stay.
You just got to make sure you're
honest and you piece this thing
together and you do it the right way.
You have a love and a passion for this place,
but the last time you were a coach here,
it didn't end the way that you wanted.
Did you ever have animosity about this place?
Well, like anything,
you're always disappointed when
things don't go the way you want.
And you know, that's part of it.
It's a learning process. Of course.
Everybody makes mistakes.
I have. I do feel like.
You know when they're when you're the head
coach and you have final say on everything,
everything's on your shoulders,
well then now let's let's
judge how things go.
So that's what I've kind of taken pride in,
is once I became a head coach.
You know, support to have your
fingerprint on everything.
And that's the type of coach I am and
I've tried a couple of times to kind
of maybe not do that as much and I
I didn't like the the end results.
So I've learned along the way
that in the end this,
this team has to represent
me and what I'm about.
You know,
feel my personality and and my
demeanor and my intensity to want to
win and and then play with their own.
But it all needs to gel together
and understand that we have
to put in the work to win.
And I feel like, you know,
I said head coach,
it's all my shoulders to get that done.
And I know I have to be able to
look in the mirror every Saturday
morning before a game and I've
done everything I could to
put us in the best position.
You talked yesterday about
your football mentors,
Dennis Lampley at Trinity,
Howard Schnellenberger.
Here, what did you learn from them?
What did you take for them?
To be the head coach that you are now,
well, everybody learns a lot
along the way of their journey.
And if you don't,
if you're not willing to learn and be
grateful that people you're around,
you're not going to get better.
So Dennis Lampley,
you know his best qualities.
He loved his players,
his players knew he loved him and
he cared and he expressed that.
And because of that,
his guys played hard for him.
And without question,
that's something I always take
from him with Coach number.
I think the number one quality
hat he had is he was able to
get his players to believe.
How good they really could be and
he was not scared to tell the whole
world what was about ready to happen,
saying the collision course
with national championship.
So for whatever reason when
our team took the field.
We believe we could beat anybody.
And if you don't have that belief,
it's not gonna happen.
And that doesn't mean you're not gonna
lose some of those games you are.
But you have to have that belief.
So he was the best at working his
players hard, but by game day,
our players knew.
Then we stepped on the field.
We had a chance to win this
football game and we expected to.
And that's what you have to
try to get your team to do.
You got to work them hard.
You got to be able to go
through some hard times.
But come game day each and every week,
you have to take the field knowing
that you're going to win the
football game and do everything
in your power to get that done.
Knowing you, I imagine you're really going
to embrace the rivalry with Kentucky.
Well, robbery games are great.
You know, at Purdue we had
the opportunity to play.
Indiana was our main rival.
We had Illinois as well, which we we,
we always enjoyed those games.
And when it's the last game of the year,
there's always a lot riding
on that football game.
And hopefully you'll find a way to play your
best when you play in that football game.
But you know, I respect our opponents.
We were respected school up, up,
up, up the street, Kentucky.
They do a great job.
They've had a lot of success.
But we've got to find a way to win
a football game and it's going to
start on our home field this next
year and we better be able to,
you know,
piece some things together this
season goes on so that by the last
football game we're playing our
best and we find a way to win,
to make these fans happy.
Staff, I know you've got a few guys
coming with you and then you and
Brian's going to come after the
bowl. Yeah. So right now, you know,
we've got three guys joining us.
That'll be here today.
And and Ron, you know and Chris
Barclay and Garrick McGee,
all of them have a history here.
Know this program, know this community
have done a great job for me.
I'm going to leave some other guys
back to finish the bowl game and
and let the Purdue team have a
chance to go win the football game.
I think it's the right thing to do,
including Brian.
He'll be the interim head coach.
But you know.
Some or many or most or whatever.
What will join us when that parts
over and we'll piece that together.
But I think it's important that
you know they finish things off.
We continue to build things here,
recruit, figure out the roster,
get things in order.
You know,
get to know the coaches here,
coaches throughout the country
and the NFL in college and pieced
together the best staff we
possibly can come after the New
Year's Bowl game. You you
planned on going up to Boston.
I've been asked that question.
I really don't know the answer.
I know we have a lot of
work to do recruiting wise.
I actually want to let our players
and our coaches here finish
the season off the right way.
They don't need me, you know,
looking over the shoulder while may
go watch practice and I may get to
know these guys while they're here.
I want them to finish what they've
started and to finish it with a win.
And I think that it's important
that they're able to do that in
the same manner that they've
gone about this season.
And then we'll get to our
approach when that's over.
Thank you.