The 2021 season ended with a thud for Louisville and head coach Scott Satterfield as the Cardinals dropped consecutive games to Kentucky and Air Force to end the season. Hot seat rumors then swirled around the head coach before interim athletic director Josh Heird confirmed the former App State lifer would be back at Louisville for year four with a financial commitment from the university to improve the football recruiting operation.
Things officially seemed to change for the better just one month after that loss to a service academy in the First Responder Bowl on the campus of SMU.