Why Scott Satterfield for Cincinnati football?

Cincinnati football name Scott Satterfield as its new head coach, replacing Luke Fickell. The question is, “Why Satterfield?”

This past Monday, Cincinnati Athletic Director John Cunningham presented Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield as the Bearcats’ head coach, replacing Luke Fickell, who left and took the same job at Wisconsin on November 27th. The hire is curious, but that is because Cunningham is notoriously tight-lipped regarding matters like coaching hires.

Satterfield signed a deal for six years at 3.4 million dollars per year. The assistant coach salary pool, which is as essential to Satterfield as his own salary, is 7.25 million dollars, up from the 5.2 million dollars that Fickell had.

When Fickell shocked the college football world and took the Wisconsin job, Cincinnati had no shortage of possible suitors. However, the first question on the minds of many was, “How good is the Cincinnati job?”

So, how good is the Cincinnati job?

For several reasons, the Cincinnati move to the Big 12 adds significant shine to the job. First, the Bearcats’ television payout increases almost five-fold. Their AAC payout is about $6.94 million. The payout increases to around $31.2 million when they go to the Big 12. Moving to the Big 12 also means more accessible access to the College Football Playoff.

Although the AAC conference champion is likely to be in the top 12 annually, the Big 12 champion or an at-large team is more likely to be seeded higher than an AAC champion in the expanded playoff format in 2024.

The Bearcats are in a fertile recruiting ground in the state of Ohio. They also have access to recruits in western Pennsylvania. Joining the Big 12 now gives Cincinnati more access to recruiting in Texas and Florida (UCF is headed to the Big 12 as well). The Bearcats go to the Big 12 in 2023 and should be in the top tier among arrival.

So, why Satterfield? 

When the Cincinnati job came open, there was no shortage of names floated for the job. Current interim Kerry Coombs, offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli, and defensive coordinator Mike Tressel were some of the internal names floated. Alex Goulash, Deion Sanders, and Jesse Minter were among the external names floated.

The Athletic reported that Buffalo head coach Mo Linguist and Kent State head coach Sean Lewis were finalists for the job. Satterfield was a midnight-hour candidate. That said, Satterfield did not have a great season, finishing 7-5 but had a top-20 class coming in this fall.

Some in the Louisville football program (coaches and parents) felt as if Satterfield was coaching with the next job in mind. Yassir Abdullah’s father tweeted this:

Cunningham called Satterfield a proven winner and lauded his competitiveness and culture-building. “He’s an innovative offensive mind and a leader who develops men on and off the field,” Cunningham said in a statement. “He’s the perfect fit to grow this program and lead us into the Big 12 next season and beyond.”

It could be as simple as Cunningham had an opportunity to pluck a sitting Power Five head coach, and he found one that wanted greener pastures.