Eight possible replacements for Peter Sirmon as Louisville's defensive coordinator

The Louisville football program is in the market for a new defensive coordinator.

Louisville announced Friday that former coordinator Peter Sirmon had resigned, and shortly thereafter California introduced Sirmon as its new assistant head coach/inside linebackers coach. Sirmon coached Louisville's defense for one season, during which the Cardinals ranked 62nd nationally in total yards allowed.

Bobby Petrino’s search for a replacement will be a tricky one, because it is now late in the coaching transition process.

Of the 13 Power Five schools that have new head coaches, nine former defensive coordinators have already found new homes. Of the six non-Power Five head coaches who have lost their jobs since the 2017 season began, two have defensive backgrounds, and they have also landed elsewhere.

But Petrino still has time, and there are still good candidates available, both from within the program and outside.

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Sirmon was making a $950,000 salary, and if Louisville could still offer in that range, it’d be a competitive rate. But the Cardinals are also facing limitations. Their defense struggled last season, and they lose nine part- or full-time starters from that unit. The new defensive coordinator also faces a limited ability to bring in his own staff, as Louisville is unlikely to part with any of its defensive assistants.

Louisville would presumably seek someone from the college level rather than the NFL, as this will be a young defense next year in need of mentorship. Some candidates on this list have defensive coordinator experience, and some don’t.

This list is mostly speculative, as Petrino has accumulated a number of ties to coaches over his long career. For example, he knew Sirmon because he coached against Sirmon’s brother back when he worked at Idaho. He should have a long list of names in mind.

Here are eight possible candidates for Sirmon’s replacement:

Lorenzo Ward, cornerbacks coach, Louisville

Perhaps the most sensible new coordinator is already in Louisville’s program. Ward has more than two decades of experience and checks all of the boxes. He knows Petrino and Louisville, he has experience as a coordinator (at South Carolina from 2009-15 and Fresno State in 2016) and he is attainable for this job.

Ward also coached in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders in 2006, has coached in this region of the country and is a good recruiter. Perhaps his only knock would be that his defensive backs unit struggled at Louisville this year as the Cards ranked 66th in passing yards allowed.

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Travis Williams, linebackers coach, Auburn

Williams is an unknown, but he is an excellent recruiter, ranked No. 9 in the country according to 247sports.com. He is affordable. He has never worked with Petrino before, but he works where Petrino used to coach, and he would have coached against Petrino when Petrino was at Arkansas. Louisville defensive line coach L.D. Scott is from Auburn, Alabama.

Williams is still young, turning 35 on Saturday, and it may look curious to Ward to promote the young position coach over the former coordinator. Williams has no coordinator experience.

Vic Koenning, defensive coordinator, Troy

Former Kentucky offensive coordinator Neal Brown hired Koenning as his defensive coordinator when he became the head coach at Troy in 2015, and the two have been successful. Troy fielded a top-25 defense last season, upset Louisiana State and finished 11-2.

Koenning has accumulated more than three decades of experience, including 12 years as defensive coordinator and seven in the ACC as a defensive coordinator at Clemson and assistant coach at North Carolina.

Cort Dennison, linebackers coach, Louisville

Dennison has worked with Petrino for five years, going back to one season at Western Kentucky in 2013. Petrino made him assistant secondary coach in 2016 and inside linebackers coach last season. More valuable, Dennison is a top recruiter, the best on Louisville’s staff and the seventh-best in the ACC according to 247sports.com. Petrino has spoken highly of him, and he’s regarded as one of the rising young assistants in college coaching.

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Dennison is still young, having graduated from Washington in 2011, and has no coordinator experience and only two years of position coach experience. But he could be an option if Petrino wants to stay in-house and reward Dennison.

Scott Shafer, defensive coordinator, Middle Tennessee State

Louisville currently does not have an assistant with full-time head coaching experience. Shafer would remedy that. He has 12 years of experience as a defensive coordinator and has led some impressive units. He was the head coach at Syracuse for three years and spent last season at Middle Tennessee State making $300,000, meaning Petrino could offer him a promotion. Middle Tennessee State ranked 35th in total defense last season.

Shafer has no noticeable ties to Petrino or Louisville, and again, it’s unlikely he could bring in many of his own assistants to the Cards’ staff.

Glenn Spencer, former defensive coordinator, Oklahoma State

Spencer settled in for 10 years at Oklahoma State, including five as the defensive coordinator. But Oklahoma State announced earlier this month that he would not return, and he is still looking for work. He coached for six years in the ACC, three at Georgia Tech and three at Duke, and he’s also from Georgia, where Louisville has placed significant recruiting emphasis lately.

But again, he has no known ties to Petrino.

Bob Diaco, former defensive coordinator, Nebraska

Nebraska released Diaco with head coach Mike Riley in the middle of last season. He struggled in his only season as Nebraska’s defensive coordinator and as Connecticut’s head coach, but he was a solid coordinator at Notre Dame before that. He has experience at a number of schools, including in the ACC with Virginia.

Diaco’s name isn’t a hot commodity right now after two inauspicious tenures. But if Petrino wants to give him a call, it may be worth it.

L.D. Scott, defensive line coach, Louisville

Scott is another current defensive assistant who could be promoted, but he’s also young and has no coordinator experience. Petrino hired him at Western Kentucky, and Scott is married to Petrino’s daughter, Kelsey.

If Petrino stays in house, Ward is the most likely candidate, but Scott could get a look.

Jake Lourim: 502-582-4168; jlourim@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @jakelourim. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/jakel.