The contest will take place Dec. 30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. EST and ESPN will televise the matchup.
Jeff Brohm is in his fifth season as Purdue’s head coach.
Brohm played quarterback at Louisville for head coach Howard Schnellenberger from 1989-93. Brohm launched his collegiate coaching career at Louisville as the Cardinals’ quarterbacks coach from 2003-06 under head coach Bobby Petrino.
Following Petrino’s departure to Atlanta in the NFL, Brohm joined Schnellenberger’s Florida Atlantic staff as quarterbacks coach in 2009.
He would reunite with Paul Petrino from 2010-11 at Illinois. Paul Petrino served as Illinois’ offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach as Brohm oversaw quarterbacks. At Louisville, Paul Petrino served as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach under his brother, Bobby Petrino.
Another coach from the Petrino coaching tree, Garrick McGee, was hired as UAB’s head coach in 2012. McGee hired Brohm to serve as the Blazers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Brohm almost did not serve as UAB’s offensive coordinator in 2012.
McGee initially hired Joe Gilbert as his offensive coordinator, while Brohm was slated to oversee the Blazers’ quarterbacks.
Gilbert departed UAB after three weeks to become an offensive line coach with Indianapolis in the NFL. Brohm was then elevated to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, a position that would help elevate his career into where he is today 10 years later.
Ahead of the TransPerfect Music City Bowl, Tyler Cantrell and myself discussed Brohm’s career and his one season at UAB. In 2012, Cantrell covered UAB and I worked with the Blazers’ football program.
“Jeff Brohm was actually not hired initially as the offensive coordinator and only the quarterbacks coach,” Cantrell told Vols Wire in a TransPerfect Music City Bowl preview. “They hired Joe Gilbert. Joe Gilbert came with Jeff Brohm and they had been working on Ron Zook’s staff at Illinois together. They both came over together.
“Joe Gilbert was introduced as offensive coordinator, but a very short time later he took an offensive line position under Chuck Pagano with the Indianapolis Colts. He never got into spring before he took a job in the NFL.”
Under Brohm in 2012, UAB had two 1,000-yard passers, one 1,000-yard rusher and three wide receivers with 600-plus yards.
Brohm’s one season serving as a first-time offensive coordinator away from Louisville helped him elevate his career into becoming a head coach at Western Kentucky (2014-16) and Purdue.
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