Louisville coach Scott Satterfield again said he is staying at the school after South Carolina reached out about its coaching vacancy.
Satterfield told The (Louisville) Courier-Journal that he had no intention of leaving, but he “owed an obligation just to listen [to South Carolina] because of where it’s at.”
He characterized the contact with South Carolina as a conversation and not a formal job interview, which several other sources confirmed to ESPN. Satterfield on Friday attended his son’s high school game in the Kentucky state playoffs.
Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra on Saturday said in a statement that he was “disappointed” that Satterfield talked with South Carolina officials.
“Scott and I spoke earlier [Saturday] and he assured me that he is moving forward as our head football coach,” Tyra said. “I feel as good about Scott’s abilities today as the day we hired him.
“… As a long time fan and the current AD at Louisville, I understand the history behind our fans’ trust issue with football coaches. Rightly so. I am disappointed that Scott had a conversation with another program, but I’m comfortable that we have an agreeable path forward.”
The second-year Louisville coach told the Courier-Journal that he kept Tyra and others informed of the contact.
“When [South Carolina] reached out, I told Vince they reached out, and I told him I wasn’t interested in talking to those guys,” Satterfield told the newspaper. “Well, they circled back in a week, and so I said I would listen to what they had to say — and the reason being is that it’s a few hours away from my parents, who are both getting older and I’ve seen them one time this whole year [due to COVID-19].
“… I went to listen to a conversation and that’s what it is. I kept Vince abreast with that, too. I’m not trying to hide anything from anybody. I’m not that person.”
Satterfield won ACC Coach of the Year honors in 2019, his first year at Louisville, as the team went 8-5 and won the Music City Bowl. Louisville is just 3-7 this season and next plays Dec. 12 against Wake Forest. Satterfield, 47, in 2018 signed a six-year contract that pays him $3.25 million annually and includes a $5 million buyout if he had left for another job before Dec. 31.
Satterfield on Nov. 24 released a statement that he had not pursued or sought any offers from other programs. The statement came in response to a report from The Athletic that South Carolina intended to interview him and others for its coaching vacancy.
South Carolina fired coach Will Muschamp on Nov. 14. The school is nearing a hire, sources said, and candidates include Oklahoma assistant head coach Shane Beamer, Louisiana coach Billy Napier, Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell and Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson.
Beamer, the son of Hall of Fame coach Frank Beamer, served as a defensive assistant and recruiting coordinator at South Carolina between 2007 and 2010. He has received strong support from former Gamecocks players, donors and others around the program.
ESPN’s Andrea Adelson contributed to this report.
