Vince Marrow on joining Louisville football, Jeff Brohm, time at Kentucky with Mark Stoops

• Longtime Kentucky football staffer Vince Marrow has switched sides in the rivalry — joining Louisville as Jeff Brohm’s executive director of player personnel and recruiting.
• Here’s what Marrow had to say about the move during his first interview since joining the Cardinals’ staff.

It’s been one whirlwind of a week for Vince Marrow, who after more than a decade of working for Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops decided to cross rivalry lines and join forces with Jeff Brohm at Louisville.

Marrow, 56, was officially introduced Thursday as the Cardinals’ executive director of player personnel and recruiting. According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Youngstown, Ohio, native signed a three-year deal with U of L.

This wasn’t the first time Brohm courted Marrow, who during his stint with the Wildcats became regarded as one of the country’s top recruiters. As he told Drew Deener and Mark Blankenbaker during a Friday morning radio interview on ESPN Louisville, they talked about teaming up back when Brohm was the head coach at Purdue.

“When (Louisville) came up and they hired him, I was like, ‘Man, we’ve got to really get ready now; because this (rivalry) is going to be a different thing,'” said Marrow, whose friendship with Brohm dates back to their time as teammates in the old XFL with the Orlando Rage. “I knew Jeff’s background. I know his family, and it was a situation where I felt — and I’m not lying — that I could see myself working with him sometime soon; because we talked about it.

“Honestly, I just wasn’t going to go to Purdue. That’s all that was.”

Here are some more highlights from Marrow’s first interview as a member of the U of L staff:

On Jeff Brohm

In a statement from Louisville Athletics, Marrow said he decided to join the Cards “to win a national championship.

“I am very confident that we can accomplish that goal,” he said, “and I can’t wait to get started.”

Friday morning, Deener asked Marrow to elaborate on that sentiment. Here’s what he said:

“I think (Brohm) is one of the most underrated coaches,” Marrow said. “What he did at Purdue — the games he won with that roster — it was unbelievable. I think he’s a great X’s and O’s guy. I really feel, when you look at Louisville, they were 9-4 last year and I think 9-3 the year before, when we beat them that one year; and I really believe that they had a chance to get into the playoffs. … I just really feel that they’re on the brink — right there on the cusp of kicking that door in.

“When me and (Brohm) talk, he’s like, ‘Hey, we can really do some damage.’ And he says, ‘I think you’d be the missing piece.’ I’m like, ‘Don’t put that pressure on me, man.’ But, at the end of the day, you work for a guy that you believe in.”

On Mark Stoops

In a statement after Marrow’s departure, Stoops said Kentucky was “thankful” for his contributions to the program over the past decade-plus.

“As we look to the new season, and a new era of college football, we’re focused on the opportunities at hand,” Stoops said. “We will continue to build a roster and staff that balances talent, experience, maturity, physicality and the attitude it takes to win in the nation’s most competitive conference. I wish my friend and colleague nothing but the best.”

Here’s what Marrow had to say about the difficult decision to leave his longtime colleague:

“Me and Mark are really good friends,” he said. “Was it tough? I’m going to be honest: It was tough. It was like, you’ve been with somebody that long; and I’ve been very close with his family. Our families have been very close for years. So with that leap, I kind of wanted to talk to him at camp that Sunday, but then he left town to go to his son’s graduation party in Denver.

“So we talked; it was some talks. … We actually came to the end of that conversation, and he said, ‘You know what, man? I love you. You love me.’ And it’s like, ‘Hey, if you want to work with a good guy, maybe it’s like a marriage; maybe it’s time to break this up.’ But no, did he want me to leave? No, not at all. It was a tough conversation.”

Deener asked a follow-up question: Was this decision more about working with Brohm than it was about getting out of Lexington?

“It was more about working with Jeff,” Marrow said. “I think Jeff is really, really going to do some good things at Louisville; and it was more about working for a friend, moving on to something new. … If you go back and listen to one of my (old) interviews, I was telling people two years ago that this is where college football was going — you’ve really got to run it like an NFL front office. I think Jeff got out in front of this, and that tells you how good he is.

“It was more (about) doing that; and it was more (about) staying in the state of Kentucky. I really embraced this state. It’s really like my second home.”

On his role at Louisville

Marrow, who coached Kentucky’s tight ends, is leaving on-field duties behind at Louisville.

Here’s what he had to say about his new role:

“When we started talking about this, (Brohm) told me, ‘Hey, I’m going to turn the roster, recruiting, transfer portal (to you). You’ll be the guy. We’ll work as a team, but you will be the guy,'” Marrow said. “My thing is, I’m not coming here acting like Jesus Christ or anything like that. I’m coming in to work together. I’m fired up, and my role will be over those three things.

“I do a lot more; I do community (work), raising money and things of that nature with donors and people I know, donors that I’m going to get to know. There’s a lot of things, really, that I’m going to do; but the main thing I’m going to do is assist Jeff with what he needs to get done. I think he trusts me and knows who I am and knows that he can just like turn it over and say, ‘Hey, we can work together and get this thing to ultimately go.'”

On recruiting at Louisville

There were some years at Kentucky, Marrow admitted, where he “didn’t have that much to sell.” And yet, “(I) still brought it four-stars — high four-stars.”

At Louisville, he said, “this is going to be really easy to sell; and I think I can do it with the best.”

“I’m selling, really, a top-10 coach who’s the best offensive mind — one of the best offensive minds — in college football,” Marrow said. “… There’s a lot of (NFL) GMs that really admire Jeff. So, selling that, selling the city.

“I’ve got to be honest: Being in Lexington for 13 years — and that was great; I love Lexington. And it was kind of like, not that I was brainwashed, but you get locked into like, ‘Hey, this is Lexington.’ When I took over and started recruiting Louisville, in the city, I started to see, ‘Wow, this place really has a lot going for it.’ … It’s a great city to sell; the surrounding areas are very nice, and there’s a lot to do when you bring recruits in here.”

On a memorable interaction with a Kentucky fan

After Thamel published his initial report on Marrow joining Louisville’s staff Monday, the new Cards staffer said he had a memorable interaction in Frankfort with a Kentucky fan who was upset about the news.

“I don’t know who that guy was; I’m going to give him a shoutout,” Marrow said. “I wasn’t in Dunkin’ Donuts; I was coming out of the car wash, and he flipped me off, gave me the bird, and then he put L’s down.”

Listen to Marrow’s full interview with ESPN Louisville below:

Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.