Louisville interim focused on games
Louisville interim coach Lorenzo Ward said he is focused solely on salvaging the Cardinals’ final two games rather than whether he will have the job permanently.
It’s unclear who will be Louisville’s next head coach, whether it’s Ward or possibly Purdue’s Jeff Brohm, a former Cardinals quarterback who has been mentioned as a possible candidate.
It’s a challenge either way: Whether Ward gets the job is not within his control and ending the Cardinals sevengame slide that won’t be easy Saturday against N.C. State.
“We’re going through tough times,” Ward said Monday in his first news conference as interim coach. “They’re used to winning. We’re not, and the thing we want to do is try to make these next two weeks as fun as we can possibly make them.
“It’s not going to be about me . ... It’s about what we’re going to do for these young men.”
Ward, 51, was named Sunday to replace Bobby Petrino, who was dismissed after a 2-8 start featuring a handful of blowout losses. Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra said he tabbed the second-year safeties coach for his administrative and leadership skills.
No matter how the season ends on the field, Ward might not keep the job permanently.
There already are questions about who takes the reins after the season finale against No. 20 Kentucky. Brohm has been frequently mentioned as the top candidate. The former Cardinals quarterback who became an assistant under Petrino acknowledged the reports but dismissed them, saying he is concentrating on making the Boilermakers (5-5) bowl eligible.
Michigan
Former New York Giants running back Ron Johnson, who was the first black player to be a captain of the Michigan football team, died. He was 71. Michigan announced that Johnson had died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was in an assisted living facility in New Jersey. Johnson was an All-American for the Wolverines in 1968 when he set a school record that still stands with 347 yards rushing against Wisconsin. He ran for 1,391 yards that season and scored a school-record 19 touchdowns, another record that still stands.
Elsewhere
Carroll College coach Mike Van Diest announced his retirement after 20 seasons and six NAIA national championships at the Montana school. Van Diest’s teams posted a 203-54 record in his tenure, winning 14 Frontier Conference titles and going undefeated in 2005, 2007 and 2010 . ... Saint Vincent College in Latrobe announced opening a search for a new coach at the Division III school. Ron Dolciato will not return in 2019.