Coach Scott Satterfield

The head coach of the Louisville Cardinals and Appalachian State legend Scott Satterfield.

Kind enough to be back on with us. We used to catch up every other week or so being the radio home of the Mountaineers and the Triad a few years ago. A lot of big wins and you had a number of big wins as well at Louisville in year one. Getting set for year two which obviously is going to be a different year than any college football season in our lifetimes but before we get to that coach, and the time is appreciated, how happy are you for your former teammate, your former assistant coach at App State Sean Clark getting his shot to run the program now?

Yeah, oh yeah, extremely excited for Sean. He's worked extremely hard in his career, he's a great person and a great coach and you know he deserves this opportunity and an opportunity to lead you know a great program and a great school so extremely happy for him and his family and I wish him nothing but the best. When did you know he was head coaching material? Was it back when you guys were playing or when you brought him back on to help you call the plays? Well I think you know probably when he came back I mean as you're playing you know all you're trying to do is in our case was get a first down on offense back when we were playing so you know bringing him back on and being around him seeing how he handled people you know how he interacted with the players, recruits, families, alumni, he's just a people person as well and that's what this business is you know how can you communicate and how do you handle people and he does a great job with that. He's also very level-headed, doesn't get too high too low so I mean he's just got a good demeanor to be a head coach and I think he'll do a great job.

He's on Twitter at Coach Sapp U of L the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals Scott Satterfield with us here. Paint the picture for me because you had you exceeded expectations of many last year in the program but so did Eli Drinkwitz at App State last year winning 13 games with players that you had really strong relationships with. When games end or even as you're getting ready for a game how much on your radar screen was that 13 win season the Mountaineers had? Well you know I'm always going to pull for the Mountaineers and always going to check up on them and see how they're doing I mean obviously as a team that you know we obviously recruited all those players and you know except for the ones that just came in last year but predominantly recruited most all those players that played last year you know just love all those guys obviously and have a great relationship with them all and so we grew up we're a lot of us guys that were here a little last year we're watching scores and trying to see you know what what's one of the Mountaineers doing there Boone and and how they plan we've got an opportunity to watch some TV you know or even pull up on your phone and kind of watch a little bit so you got to keep an eye on it just because we're so close with all the guys that were there and then you know and then even even before that when I when I left that a long time ago and I'm playing I mean I always try to keep keep tabs on what they were doing what's the score who are we playing all those things I think we always will we had so much so much vested interest in that program so much you know sweat and hard work that was put into that program so and obviously we love it and want the best for it so you're gonna you know pay attention to what they're doing. Tell me this though you you poured so much blood sweat and tears into that program along with Jerry Moore to build it to where it currently is so given how much time you spent there and in FCS and in group of five how much did it affect you seeing schools like app lose power five games when the Big Ten pulled the plug on out of conference games last week? Well I just think this is a obviously a time that nobody has ever seen before in any of our lifetime of what we're dealing with with this pandemic and you know I think having been through so far I mean what we've been through since really February March you know it's it's crazy it's crazy to think you know anything like that can happen you know you're just trying to take it approach it day by day so many of these things are out of our hands you know and I'm you know as a head coach here in Louisville I'm out you know you have no idea what's what's happened you don't know if you're playing you don't know you know what's what's tomorrow going to hold and so the thing they always talk to our players about is control we can control and so you know that's that's our day-to-day attitudes and efforts and what we're doing and that's kind of what we're controlling right now and you know I just I just want to play football I think our guys want to play football whatever that looks like I know at state the same thing I mean they they want to obviously want to play their full schedule they have there and when that announcement came I'm sure that was very disappointing to them and I think you know at that level and of course any level you know you're talking about those kind of games there was was where you know financially really helps your program big time and that that get taken away obviously is going to hurt that part of it but I think at this point we just want to play for football and we want to find find ways to make that happen in the safest manner you know so I at this point I just hope we play I mean that that's the whole deal and I you know whoever that may be I told our IED yesterday I'm like I just want to play football and hopefully we'll get this thing worked out and I just think are so many of us need it and psychologically and emotionally I think more than anything.

Scott Satterfield with us here Louisville head coach on Sports Up Tryant. David Cutcliffe's response to wanting to play football time and time again was you got to accept that it's going to be different it's going to be upended at points and if you have to do things that are different throw your hands up and say it's 2020 this is what you have to do. David Cutcliffe was on the station last week in fact and said he would be in favor of a conference only schedule he thought it was a good idea just because he cited uniform protocols and safety protocols across the conference understanding that the ACC has more resources than maybe some lesser conferences do.

Where do you stand on that issue? Yeah again I think whatever we can do to play the game of football for us this this year and and I think if that does happen to be able to go conference only I agree with Coach Cudd and the fact that you know we can monitor all our teams in our league and it holds each of these teams to the same standards the same testing standards the same things that we're doing on a daily basis right now is you know testing our guys if there is a positive you know quarantine in those guys anybody that has any contact tracing and if you know been around them for an extended period of time that they're quarantining all those things and our people in our campus have done an outstanding job of having a bunch of policies in place and so far for us it's going outstanding this summer and our guys have really done a great job with it so and if that's if that's the case and you're able to do this and carry this on like like we are right now then we can play and we can play safe because each week you know we we want to know if there is any positive if there is then they don't play and and if you're playing teams that are out of your league and there's different standards then who's to say that that they may have some guys that are positive now that puts more guys in jeopardy so I understand where he's coming from and if that's the way that we can play this year then I'm all for it. Your first game at Louisville last year was against Notre Dame and Notre Dame has kind of a unique partnership with the ACC and I know coaches I've talked to in the conference they look at Notre Dame and they think okay why should they get all the benefits of being in the league without actually being a football member given that you're somebody in the conference and has a significant voice in it now how do you make sense of the Irish's relationship in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Well you know I'm still learning what that relationship looks like I know I know football is a little bit different entity you know they've got their own you know television deal they've had that for years and I think they've kind of got you know a little bit in the ACC and then of course football's kind of doing its own thing so I do like the fact that that they are playing teams in our league you know this year maybe I think it was you know coming in this year I think maybe six games this year in ACC so you know they're very close to being a member of this conference so you know I think I think Thomas would love to have them it's a great school and they do great things academically as well as athletically so I think they'd be a great addition to our school as it is and it fits right now I mean it was great for us to have an opportunity to play there last year to host them in our first game great atmosphere you know big time game and this year we're you know we're scheduled to go up there I'm looking forward to that game it's a great we know it's an outstanding program in our top 20 program year in and year out so for us it's a great gauge of where we want to be we want to be that program that's in the you know ranked in the top 20 each and every year so I love it I love the fact we're playing them and so we're looking forward to it you know and who knows where you know the future will hold if they will become a full-fledged member or not but I think most of us would love to have them be a part of our league. Before we let you go coach give me the restaurant now that we're enough time removed from you moving to Louisville from Boone give me the restaurant or two in Boone that you suffered the most withdrawals not being able to go to.

Well you know when I was there I still still you know have our house there in Blower Rock so we used to go to Blower Rock quite a bit you know in Blower Rock Bistro and Rocha is my first O2 spot even before it was Bistro and Rocha it was Dockside hours so when I got engaged with my wife that's when we went and we've been going there ever since so we kind of love that spot right there at you know it's so many great restaurants you know I love best seller in Blower Rock also as well you know but we were in Boone we probably the one I look forward to going to most maybe Mikoto's I just I love the I love the food they have there the hibachi shrimp and some of that sushi so I'd have to say most is good. I don't think I've heard the engagement story from coach Sat. How emotional were you? Are you a sappy guy when you're in that spot?

As my wife absolutely not I mean I'm not very good at those type things. Well hold one sec hold one sec was it what I'd like to picture it's like a recruiting visit that listen here we could have a commitment and you spend the rest of your life with me I mean come on you're a five star in my mind. Well we you know my wife and I dated for shoot I think three three and a half years before we got engaged we got engaged right before my senior year in 95 and so you know she obviously said yes and we've been married she's 24 years now so she's I mean I was very very lucky she's a but she's an out-of-state girl through and through ran track there and man it's worked and I wouldn't be able to have the kind of career coaching I have I without her I promise you that. Oh very well said great way to tie it up and I'll let that be the last word coach Sat it's good to have you on back in this triad again congratulations on the success last year we hope we can catch up sometime soon. Yeah appreciate you having me on miss you guys y'all take care there you go that is coach Sat on twitter at coach sat you avail the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals football program app state legend as well.