Now that he’s finally taking over his alma mater, his bar for the Cardinals might be raised even higher.

Nearly five years after turning down overtures to focus on building Purdue into an eventual Big Ten runner-up, Brohm is back in the Derby City. He replaces Scott Satterfield, now at Cincinnati, and his eight months of transition have been promising. But given his rich history with the program, an impressive resume with Western Kentucky and the Boilermakers, and inheriting an eight-win, bowl-winning squad that received votes in the preseason AP Top 25, the honeymoon period might be shorter for him than another coach.

It comes with the territory, especially one he’s very familiar with.

“Without question, coming here is another challenge,” said Brohm, who still ranks in the top 10 in many passing categories at Louisville. “In today’s age of college athletics it’s about winning now. It’s about doing it with our current football team and any new pieces we’ve added, we want to do that in year one and it’s important that you do that.”

The Cardinals (8-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference in 2022) return six starters each on offense and defense among 15 overall. Brohm has added 26 transfers, 14 coming after spring practice.