Jeff Brohm

In February 1989, Brohm committed to play football for Howard Schnellenberger's Louisville Cardinals football team. Brohm played in every game, but was relegated to backing up Browning Nagle. The 1990 Cardinals ended the season 10–1–1 in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl.[8] Brohm played for two series during the Fiesta Bowl, but on his first series he was intercepted. He was intercepted again on his second series by Charles Garner who returned it 49-yards for a touchdown.[9][10]

After Nagle graduated, Brohm became the starting quarterback for the 1991 team. Just two games into the season, Brohm and the Cardinals were facing the Tennessee Volunteers, when Brohm suffered a fracture in his right ankle, placing him in a cast for six weeks.[11]

Brohm returned from his ankle injury to regain his starting quarterback role. In his first game back, Brohm was a two-point conversion away from knocking off #17 Ohio State as Brohm's pressured pass floated just past the arms of Ralph Dawkins.[12] Brohm played well against #6 Florida, completing 66.6% of his passes and frustrating the Gators defense with his ability to scramble. The Cardinals ended up losing 31–17.[13]

Brohm returned for his senior season. After taking every snap as a junior, Brohm proved he was fully recovered from his ankle injury.[14] After defeating San Jose State to begin the season, Brohm had a dominant performance against Memphis State, throwing for four touchdowns and 219 yards—175 yards and three touchdowns of which went to Aaron Bailey.[15] The following week, Brohm threw for a career-high 331 yards defeating the #23 Arizona State 35–17.[16] Brohm led the Cardinals to the #17 ranking. During the game against #24 West Virginia, Brohm threw for 270 yards. However, he had two very critical turnovers, including an interception with 3:02 to play. The Cardinals were upset by the Mountaineers 36–34.[17] After a 7–1 start, the Cardinals accepted a bid to be the home team in the 1993 Liberty Bowl[18] Brohm broke the index finger of his passing hand in Louisville's final regular season game.[19] His finger was repaired with a steel plate and pins, and he wasn't allowed to throw until the week before the bowl game.[19] Trailing 7–3 going into the 4th quarter against the Michigan State in the Liberty Bowl, Brohm threw for two touchdowns in the final minute leading the Cardinals to an 18–7 victory.[19][20]

After Trinity High School, Brohm was drafted in the seventh round of the 1989 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos.[22] He turned down the Expos offer, choosing instead to accept a scholarship to play football for the University of Louisville. However, after one year of college football, he had a change of heart and decided to pursue both sports, playing minor league baseball during his college summers.[23]

He held a workout for all MLB teams prior to the 1990 MLB draft and was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 4th round, and chose to play baseball and football. He played for two summers in the minor leagues before quitting to focus on football. The Indians also pushed him to drop football entirely.[24][1]

[25]

After going undrafted in the 1994 NFL Draft, Brohm signed with the San Diego Chargers in 1994 as an undrafted free agent.[1] Brohm beat out Trent Green to become the team's third-string quarterback.[26] Brohm spent the season as the third-string quarterback never appearing in a game as the Chargers lost Super Bowl XXIX.[1]

Brohm signed with the Washington Redskins for the 1995 season.

Brohm signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 1996. Brohm got to play in the season opener for the 49ers in 1997 after Steve Young was sacked seven times and left the game with a concussion. Brohm was in line to start Week 2 for the 49ers, but he cracked a bone near the base of his middle finger on his passing hand.[27] Brohm didn't make a start, instead Jim Druckenmiller made the start for the 49ers.[28]

Brohm signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1998, competing with Steve Walsh and Scott Milanovich for the backup quarterback position behind Trent Dilfer.[29] After just three plays in the Buccaneers first preseason game, Brohm scrambled and slid to avoid being hit, but on the slide Brohm tore a ligament in his right thumb.[30] Brohm had to decide between wearing a cast for 4 weeks hoping his thumb would heal, or have surgery and heal the thumb properly, but ending his season.[30] Brohm elected to have surgery on his thumb, where a pin was placed in his thumb during his August 10 surgery.[31] Two weeks later, Brohm was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.[32] After the season, Brohm requested he be waived by the Buccaneers, and the team granted him his wish on April 25, 1999.[33]

Brohm signed with the Denver Broncos in 1999. On August 16, 2000, Brohm was waived by the Broncos.[34]

On December 13, 2000, Brohm was signed by the Cleveland Browns to be the emergency third-string quarterback with one week remaining in the season.[35]

On October 28, 2000, Brohm was drafted with the fourth overall pick in the XFL Draft by the Orlando Rage of the XFL.[36] Brohm briefly left the Rage when he signed with the Browns.[35] Brohm battled with Brian Kuklick for the starting quarterback position with the Rage.[37] Brohm won the starting job, and led the Rage to a season opening win 33–29 over the Chicago Enforcers.[38] During the 2001 XFL season, he owned the league's highest QB rating at 99.9 and was named first-team All-XFL.[39] He was at the receiving end of a particularly brutal attempted sack by Shante Carver in the Week 5 contest against the Memphis Maniax; although it knocked Brohm out of the game and led to a hospital visit, the actual play resulted in a touchdown pass, and Brohm was back on the sidelines in a neck brace later in the game.[40] When Brohm returned to play the next week, he gave a memorable speech when asked why he returned to play so soon:

Let me answer that question by asking you two questions – One, is this or is this not the XFL? Yes, it is. Two, do I or do I not currently have a pulse? Yes, I do. Let's play football.[40]

Brohm later admitted fearing that the statement would make him an even greater target for the Rage's opponents.[40] A shoulder injury in the Week 7 contest against the Los Angeles Xtreme ended Brohm's playing career.[41][42]

Brohm was, along with Las Vegas Outlaws running back Rod Smart, one of the few players to openly embrace the XFL's approach to football, fully immersing himself in the kayfabe and sports entertainment. Brohm had hoped to put the nickname "J Bro" on the back of his jersey, but his fellow players voted not to use jersey nicknames.[40]

NFL

XFL

On December 19, 2001, Brohm was named the head coach of the Louisville Fire arena football team.[43] The Fire started the 0–7 before they defeated the Carolina Rhinos 31–28 to improve to 1–7. The Fire would finish the season 2–14.[44]

On December 24, 2002, Bobby Petrino hired Brohm to return to his alma mater as quarterbacks coach.[45] Brohm worked with first-year starting quarterback Stefan LeFors,[46] helping him to a 3,145-yard passing season, the third-best in school history. LeFors finished first in the nation in passing efficiency and completion percentage and was named First-team All-Conference USA.[47] During Brohm's second season, he helped recruit his brother Brian Brohm, who was one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation.[48] LeFors and Brian split time at quarterback, similar to how Jeff split time as a freshman with Nagle. LeFors and Brohm led the Cardinals to the 2004 Liberty Bowl and a No. 6 ranking to end the season.[49] Brian finished the season as the Conference USA Freshman of the Year, and LeFors was named First-team All-Conference USA[50] and the Conference USA Co-Offensive Player of the Year.[51] In 2005, Brian took over the starting role permanently, leading the Cardinals to an 8–2 regular season and a berth in the 2006 Gator Bowl. Brian tore his ACL, forcing the Cardinals to start walk-on Hunter Cantwell. Cantwell completed 15 of his 37 passes for 216 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions.[52]

In 2006, Brian Brohm led the Cardinals to a victory over No. 15 Miami (FL), but he injured his thumb in the process, forcing Cantwell into action.[53] Cantwell led the team to victories over Kansas State[54] and Middle Tennessee,[55] with Cantwell throwing for a career-high 340 yards against Middle Tennessee, before Brian's return.[56] The Cardinals finished the 2006 season, 12–1, establishing a record high victories for the school in a single season and winning the 2007 Orange Bowl.

After Petrino left Louisville to take the Atlanta Falcons head coaching job, new Cardinals head coach Steve Kragthorpe kept Brohm on his staff as an assistant head coach and passing game coordinator.[57] Brohm declined an offer to join Nick Saban's staff at Alabama in 2007 to stay with Louisville.[58] The Cardinals offense went in a different direction under the coaching change. Brian threw 473 times, which was second in school history for a single season, but he broke the then record for passing touchdowns in a single season with 30.[59]

He was promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2008 season.[60] Cantwell in his first season as the starting quarterback threw 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions and averaged 207.8 passing yards a game. The Cardinals went 5–7 without bowl play for two consecutive years. The Cardinals offense averaged 377 yards a game, ranking 45th overall.[61]

Brohm joined his former college head coach Howard Schnellenberger at Florida Atlantic for the 2009 season as the quarterback coach.[62] Brohm later revealed that he had been in contact with Schnellenberger for a month prior to the hiring.[63] Brohm inherited Rusty Smith, who had won the 2007 Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year, to coach.[64][65] After just 7 games, Smith had 1,915 yards passing to go along with 14 passing touchdowns and just 5 interceptions, but he sprained his non-throwing shoulder in the 7th game against Middle Tennessee, ending his career.[66] With the injury, Brohm worked with Jeff Van Camp to replace Smith.[67] Van Camp finished the year 1,372 yards passing and 12 touchdowns with just two interceptions and a win in the Shula Bowl.[68]

He then took a position coaching quarterbacks on Ron Zook's staff at Illinois.[69] The move to Illinois reunited Brohm with Paul Petrino, whom Brohm worked with at Louisville. Brohm and Petrino were tasked with replacing Juice Williams, and in spring camp Nathan Scheelhaase emerged as the leading candidate.[70] The Illini named Scheelhaase the starting quarterback as a redshirt freshman, and he made strong progress throughout his first two starts. With Scheelhaase's running ability, Brohm made sure that he taught him to keep running throughout his reads before deciding to run.[71] Scheelhaase really began to start hitting his stride during a 44–10 defeat of Purdue, throwing for four touchdowns.[72] The Illini finished the regular season 6–6, earning a berth in the 2010 Texas Bowl.[73]

In year two, Brohm worked to improve Scheelhaase's passing in accuracy, decisiveness and drop backs.[74] Scheelhaase got the Illini off to a hot start going 6–0, even defeating #22 Arizona State and Brohm had acknowledged his development as a passer.[75] The Illini would finish the regular season 0–6, costing Zook his job. Brohm was promoted to interim offensive coordinator during the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.[76]

In 2012, new head coach Garrick McGee hired Brohm to serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UAB.[77] In an interview prior to the 2012 season, Brohm said he regretted not accepting the position of offensive coordinator with Alabama.[78] The offseason began with redshirt freshman quarterback Austin Brown pushing Jonathan Perry for the starting role.[79] After an 0–3 start, Brohm named Brown the new starting quarterback. In four of his first five starts, Brown threw for 300 yards.[80] The Blazers finished the season 3–9, with the offense finishing 53rd in the country with 417 yards per game.[81]

After a single season at UAB, Brohm decided to take a pay cut and take the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator position at Western Kentucky University, where he was again coaching under Bobby Petrino.[82][83] Brohm had to replace Kawaun Jakes, who was the career leader in passing touchdowns and third in passing yards for the Hilltoppers. They selected Brandon Doughty to be the starter during the 2013 season,[84] and was aided by the return of the NCAA single season all-purpose yards record holder, Antonio Andrews.[85] The Hilltoppers began the season with an upset of SEC foe Kentucky.[86] Brohm's lone season as offensive coordinator did not disappoint, as the Hilltoppers averaged 459 yards per game,[87] and both Doughty and Andrews set the single season record for yards in a season in passing and rushing respectively.[88]

On January 8, 2014, Petrino was hired to his former position of head coach at Louisville in place of Charlie Strong, who moved to replace Mack Brown at Texas.[89] Brohm was named as a candidate to become head coach later that same day.[90] On January 10, 2014, Brohm was officially named the head coach of the Hilltoppers.[91] On August 29, 2014, his Hilltoppers opened the season with a 59–31 win over the Bowling Green Falcons, scoring more points than during any game in the 2013 season. The team broke school records for total yards in a game (702) and most points scored since moving to the FBS level. Doughty also set three individual records.[92] The following week Brohm suffered his first defeat as a head coach, losing 42–34 to Illinois.[93] After losing 5 out of his first 8 games as a head coach (four of which were by a single possession), the Hilltoppers rallied to win their last four regular season games. This included a win over undefeated #19 Marshall 67–66 in overtime, again breaking the school record for points in an FBS game for the third time of the season.[94] The Hilltoppers 7–5 regular season earned them a berth in the 2014 Bahamas Bowl where they played Central Michigan Chippewas.[95] Leading 49–14 heading into the fourth quarter, the Chippewas rallied to be down 1-point, but their failed two-point conversion with no time left led to a Hilltoppers victory.[96]

Brohm made it clear that he wanted to build the Hilltoppers program by recruiting players from Kentucky.[97] Brohm brought in thirteen players from the state of Kentucky in first full recruiting class.[98] On September 3, 2015, Brohm won his first game as head coach against an SEC opponent, a 14–12 road win against Vanderbilt.[99] On September 12, Western Kentucky won, 41–38, against Louisiana Tech, giving Brohm his tenth win as Western Kentucky's head coach.[100] On September 19, Brohm and the Hilltoppers lost their first game of the season, 35–38, against Indiana.[101] The Hilltoppers then won four straight games before traveling to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to face #5 LSU, where they were defeated 48–20.[102] The Hilltoppers would win four straight again to finish the regular season 10–2 (8–0), winning the East Division of Conference USA.[103] On December 5, Brohm led Western Kentucky to a 45–25 victory over Southern Miss in the 2015 Conference USA Football Championship Game, giving Western Kentucky their first ever Conference USA championship in school history.[104] The win moved Western Kentucky into #25 in the A.P. Top 25. This was Western Kentucky's first appearance in the AP Top 25 since moving up to FBS.[105] He finished his second season as the Hilltoppers' head coach with a 12–2 record, with losses against Indiana and LSU, and a victory in the 2015 Miami Beach Bowl over South Florida, 45–35. After trailing, 0–14, in the second quarter, Western Kentucky scored 24 unanswered points as they beat South Florida 24–14.[106]

On February 3, 2016, Brohm agreed to a contract extension with Western Kentucky. The deal would keep him under contract through the 2019 season.[107]

After defeating Rice in the opening game of the 2016 season, Western Kentucky traveled to #1 Alabama. It was the first time Western Kentucky had played a #1 ranked team since the 2012 season.[108] Western Kentucky would then cruise through its non-conference game against Miami (OH) before being defeated by Vanderbilt on the final play of the game.[109] After a blowout victory over FCS Houston Baptist, Western Kentucky was defeated by Louisiana Tech. This was Western Kentucky's first conference lost since 2014, which also came at the hands of Louisiana Tech.[110] In week seven, the Hilltoppers narrowly defeated Middle Tennessee 44–43 in double overtime, and the first winning streak over Middle Tennessee since 1980.[111] The Hilltoppers then won their next five games by a minimum of 28 points, once again winning the East Division advancing to the 2016 Conference USA Football Championship Game.[112] The Conference USA Championship Game was a highly anticipated re-match against Louisiana Tech. In a game that went on to be the highest scoring FBS conference championship game to date, Western Kentucky finally defeated Skip Holtz's Bulldogs 58–44.[113] On December 4, 2016, Western Kentucky accepted a bid to the 2016 Boca Raton Bowl. They defeated Memphis 51–31.[114]

On December 5, 2016, Brohm was hired by Purdue University to be the head coach of the football team.[115][116][117] Brohm went to work right away on recruiting primarily the offensive and defensive lines as well as wide receiver[118] bringing in five graduate transfers to help get instant depth,[119] including two offensive linemen and a wide receiver. In his first ever game as head coach, Purdue was defeated by #16 Louisville 35–28 in a close game played at Lucas Oil Stadium.[120] The next week Brohm achieved his first win at Purdue with a 44–21 victory over Ohio[121] and followed that with a blowout win (35–3) at Missouri.[122] Purdue hosted #8 Michigan the next week in a game that many Purdue fans saw as the turnaround they had been waiting for since Tiller, despite losing 28–10. The game saw a sold out Ross Ade Stadium, its first sell out since 2008 in Joe Tiller's final game as the Purdue head coach.[123] Heading into week 8, Jeff Brohm and his team went into High Point Solutions Stadium[124] to face Rutgers as they looked to improve 4–3 on the season, but would fall short on a two-point conversion, losing the game 12–14. However, Purdue would win the 4th game of the season against Lovie Smith's Illinois team.[125] This would be the first time Purdue had won 4 games in one season since Danny Hope's final season at Purdue. In week 13, Purdue went into Iowa and won their biggest game of the season with a 24–15 win over the Hawkeyes, and Purdue would follow it up with the high point of the season taking the Old Oaken Bucket in a win against Indiana 31–24. Not only was it a rivalry game, but both teams were 5–6, meaning the winner would become bowl eligible. Purdue's win was the first for the program against their hated rivals since 2012. The six wins was enough to get Purdue into the 2017 Foster Farms Bowl, where they would face Arizona. The bowl game made Brohm only the second head coach in Purdue history, along with Joe Tiller, to take Purdue to a bowl game in their first season as head coach.

Before the bowl game, there was much speculation surrounding Jeff Brohm around the head coaching vacancy at Tennessee, some sources even saying that he had accepted the job. However, the two sides never met, killing the speculations after a few hours.

Purdue would head into the Foster Farms Bowl game as slight underdogs, but would go on to beating the Arizona Wildcats 38–35, thanks in help to an Elijah Sindelar touchdown pass in the closing minutes of the game.

On April 26, 2018, Brohm agreed to a contract extension with Purdue. The deal runs through the 2024 season.[126]

In the opening game of the season, which was also the home and conference opener, the Boilermakers were defeated by Northwestern 27–31.[127] In their name game, the Boilermakers were defeated on a last second field goal by Eastern Michigan 19–20.[128] In their next game Missouri, the Boilermakers fell 37–40, with David Blough setting a program record with 572 yards passing.[129] On homecoming, the Boilermakers then defeated #23 Boston College 30–13. The following week, Purdue beat Nebraska 42–28. After the bye week, Purdue then went to Champaign and defeated Illinois 46–7 for its 3rd consecutive victory over the Fighting Illini. The following week, the Boilermakers defeated #2 Ohio State 49–20. In their 5th conference game, Purdue was defeated by Michigan State 13–23. The following week, Purdue returned home to take on #19 Iowa. The Boilermakers beat the Hawkeyes 38–36. The Boilermakers then got beat by Minnesota 10–41. The Boilermakers then were defeated by Wisconsin 44–47 in three overtimes. In the Old Oaken Bucket, Purdue on consecutive games against Indiana for the first time since 2012, defeating the Hoosiers 28–21. The win secured Purdue's 2nd consecutive bowl game since the 2012 season. Following the season, Purdue was selected for the Music City Bowl. In the bowl game against Auburn, Brohm suffered his worst loss at Purdue, losing 14–63. Brohm fell to 1–1 in Bowl Games at Purdue. The Boilermakers finished the season 6–7.

In their opening game, Purdue was defeated by Nevada 31–34. In the home opener, the Purdue rolled Vanderbilt 42–24. In their final non-conference game, Purdue hosted TCU 13–34. Following the bye week, Purdue was then defeated by Minnesota 31–38. Purdue then traveled to University Park, where they were defeated by #12 Penn State 7–35. Purdue then returned home for homecoming and defeated Maryland 40–14. In the next game, the Boilermakers had a loss to #23 Iowa 20–26. In the battle for the Purdue Cannon, Purdue got its 1st loss to Illinois in 4 years, 6–24, securing Brohm's first season without a bowl game. In its second consecutive home game, Purdue took on Nebraska. Purdue handed Nebraska another loss, 31–27. The next week, Purdue defeated Northwestern 24–22. After a second bye week, the Boilermakers were dominated bye #12 Wisconsin 24–42. In the Old Oaken Bucket, Brohm suffered his first loss to rival Indiana 41–44. The Boilermakers finished the season 4–8.

In his 4th season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Purdue's season was cut to an all conference, eight-game season beginning on October 24. On October 19, 2020, Brohm tested positive for COVID-19.[130] In the season opener, Purdue opened at home and defeated Iowa 24–20, with offensive coordinator and younger brother Brian Brohm leading the team as acting head coach. On October 26, Brohm returned a positive COVID-19 test. In the first road game, Brohm was back on the sideline, Purdue defeated Illinois 31–24. The following week Brohm was scheduled to take on Wisconsin, but the game was canceled due to a high number of Badger players testing positive for the COVID-19 virus. The next week, the Boilermakers were beaten by #23 Northwestern 20–27. The Boilermakers then travelled to Minneapolis where they were defeated by Minnesota.[131] The next week, Purdue was beaten by Rutgers 30–37. Purdue finished the regular season after being defeated by Nebraska 27–37. The following week, Purdue was scheduled to play Indiana, but Purdue and Indiana announced a mutual one-time cancellation of the Old Oaken Bucket game scheduled for December 12 after team-related activities were paused because of an elevated number of coronavirus cases within both the Boilermakers' and Hoosiers' programs.[132] On December 13, Purdue and Indiana came to a mutual agreement to reschedule the Old Oaken Bucket game for one week later, on December 18;[133] however, on December 15, both teams again mutually agreed to cancel the Friday contest, due to issues remaining on both teams with COVID complications.[134]

In the home opener, Purdue defeated Oregon State 30–21 in their first meeting since the 1967 season. In the first road game, the Boilermakers shutout UConn 49–0. The following week, Purdue traveled to Notre Dame to take on #12 Notre Dame. The Boilermakers were defeated 13–27. In the conference opener, The Boilermakers won a close game 13–9 over Illinois. The next week at homecoming, Purdue was defeated by Minnesota 13–20. Following the bye week, Purdue then took on #2 Iowa winning 24–7. Following the defeat of #2 Iowa, Purdue was ranked #25 in the AP Poll. It was the first time Purdue had been ranked in the AP Poll since 2007.[135] Purdue then returned home to play Wisconsin. The Boilermakers fell 13–30. The next week, Purdue bounced back defeating Nebraska 28–23. Purdue then returned home, defeating #3 Michigan State 40–29. Purdue then traveled to Columbus, where they were blown out by #4 Ohio State 31–59. Purdue wrapped up its road games against Northwestern winning 32–14, in a game played at Wrigley Field. On Senior day, Purdue won in a blowout, 44–7 over Indiana in the Old Oaken Bucket game. The win secured Brohm his 1st winning regular season at Purdue. The win also gave him his 2nd season over .500 at Purdue. The Boilermakers finished the regular season 8–4. Purdue received a bid to play against Tennessee in the Music City Bowl. The Boilermakers won a 48–45 overtime thriller to capture Purdue's first 9-win season since 2003.

In the home opener, Purdue was defeated by Penn State, 31–35. The following week, Purdue shutout Indiana State 56–0. Following the shutout win, Purdue traveled to Syracuse to take on the Syracuse Orange, where they lost 29–32. The next week was homecoming week, where Purdue delivered a 28–26 win over Florida Atlantic. The next week, Purdue took on #21 Minnesota, where they won 20–10. The Boilermakers then traveled to Maryland, where they pulled out a 31–29 win. Purdue returned home the next week to face Nebraska, where they won 43–37 in a high-scoring shootout. Purdue then traveled to Wisconsin, where they lost 24–35. Following the loss to the Badgers, Purdue returned home to play Iowa, and lost 3–24. Purdue bounced back the next week at #21 Illinois, defeating the Illini 31–24. Purdue returned home to West Lafayette the next weekend, where they beat Northwestern 17–9. Following Iowa's loss to Nebraska on November 25, Purdue had an opportunity to clinch the Big Ten West by beating Indiana. The Boilermakers were up to the task, routing the Hoosiers 30–16 in front of a sellout crowd. Following the victory, Purdue was Big Ten West Champions for the first time in school history and earned the right to face undefeated #2 Michigan at the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis. Purdue then went on to play LSU in a bowl game where they would ultimately lose. Purdue finished the regular season 8–4, with 2021–2022 as the first back-to-back 8–4 seasons or better since 1997–1998.

On December 7, 2022, Brohm resigned from Purdue and was hired to be the head football coach at Louisville.