Rumors have begun to swirl about Steve Kragthorpe leaving Louisville after one season and moving on to take over for Phil Bennett at SMU. There are many reasons to either believe the hype and also discredit the rumor. First, I don't doubt that SMU is interested in Kragthorpe and I also believe Kragthorpe is at least interested in the opportunity at SMU. That being said, the decision really lies on the shoulders of Kragthorpe. If he wants this job, more than likely he can have it.
There are many reasons why he would want this job:
1. He's a Texas guy. He played at West Texas A&M University. After playing he went on to take coaching jobs at North Texas and Texas A&M. His last stint in Tulsa obviously helped him build roots into Texas and Oklahoma. His wife is also from Dallas.
2. He has fallen out of favor with the Louisville faithful, and may have dug himself a hole to large to climb out of.
3. He's losing Brian Brohm amongst other star seniors for next year's team.
4. He gets a chance to reestablish himself in the coaching ranks at a smaller school and can try to write this season off as a fluke.
5. The SMU job is an attractive one. Once upon a time SMU was a national powerhouse and they still reside in a recruiting hotbed. The right coach could easily return that team to prominence.
On the flipside, the impression that I and many others will feel about this situation is he's abandoning a ship that he caused to sink. I would have a hard time believing he would receive any kind of opportunity to get a coaching job as high up as Louisville ever again if he were to leave. Kragthorpe, however, may have realized that he enjoys coaching in the limelight and will be content with trying to build up a down program in exchange for realistic national title hopes. This may wind up being a mutual separation between Kragthorope and Louisville that is beneficial for both parties.
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