Jeff Brohm

Jeff Brohm is staying at Purdue.

The former University of Louisville quarterback and assistant coach turned down an offer from his alma mater to be the school’s new head football coach and will remain as the head coach in West Lafayette, Ind., according to a statement released by Brohm.

The 47-year-old Brohm has a 13-12 record at Purdue and has guided the Boilermakers program to back-to-back bowl bids. He’s re-energized the program and has a top-25 recruiting class in the Class of 2019 at Purdue and the offer to return home was "an emotional strain" on Brohm until he made the decision.

The release from Brohm: "This has been a very difficult and emotional decision for me and my family. We are extremely happy at Purdue and thankful for the opportunity to lead this program. After intense and thorough discussion, I believe it is important to finish the building process we have begun and honor the commitment I made to our football program, players, and recruits. While going home was very appealing and meaningful to me, the timing was not ideal. I believe that remaining at Purdue is the right thing to do, and I am excited for the challenges ahead. I want to thank the University of Louisville and Vince Tyra for reaching out and expressing their interest in me. As a former Cardinal player and coach, I want nothing but the best for the University of Louisville. Under the leadership of President Neeli Bendapudi and Vince Tyra, the future of the university is in great hands. I also want to all Cardinal fans for their support over the years.”

A highly-recruited prospect out of Louisville Trinity High School, Brohm picked U of L over Notre Dame and others coming out of high school. He played quarterback for the Cardinals from 1989-93 under then coach Howard Schnellenberger. He was an assistant coach at the school from 2003-08, working under Petrino and also Steve Kragthorpe.

Brohm’s father, Oscar, and brother, Brian, also played quarterback at Louisville and his brother, Greg, was a wide receiver at the school. The Brohm’s have been known as the “First Family of Louisville football.”

The decision is a major blow for Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra. Brohm was the clear frontrunner for the job that was left open when Tyra fired Bobby Petrino during a 2-10 season on Nov. 11. Louisville lost its last nine games.

The swing for Brohm was supported by the Louisville fanbase and now Tyra must find a suitable replacement for the opening. Expect him to turn toAppalachian State coach Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell or Ohio State offensive coordinator Ryan Day.

But for Brohm it was a tougher decision than just moving back home.

In 2013, Brohm was the offensive coordinator and associate head coach at Western Kentucky under Petrino. He was then elevated to the head coach at WKU once Petrino bolted for Louisville. He coached Western Kentucky during three of the school’s most successful seasons, going 30-10, winning three bowl games and setting dozens of offensive school records.

Brohm struggled with leaving Western Kentucky at that time but eventually signed up with Purdue and has re-energized he Boilermakers program in just two seasons. Purdue went to a bowl game for just the third time since 2007 and finished 7-6 last season in his first year at the Big Ten school.

With his team replacing a ton of talent from that team, Brohm has them 6-6 this season and last month knocked off then No. 5 Ohio State by 29 points in one of college football’s top performances of the season. His star player this season has been Louisville Trinity freshman wide receiver Rondale Moore.