← See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack
Jeff Brohm is at Louisville for the LONG HAUL | What's Next for the Cardinals in 2026?
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Jeff Braum
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Dave Pollack
on Coach Braum, obviously. Jeff Braum. Everybody knows who he is. Louisville. Jeff, I wanted to start, man, by talking to you just about your background, because your dad played at Louisville, your brother played at Louisville. You play like, I want to know the backyard games. I want to know what they look like, man. I. I bet you there's got to be some stories. I bet you there's got to be some blood. Like, y' all had to have some serious fun in the backyard, man.
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Jeff Braum
Well, we could be here a while. Believe it or not, you know, I really come from a big family, so my. My dad is one of nine. My mom is one of seven. My mom's mom is one of 15. Basically all of them are kind of from Louisville. Living Louisville. So we just got a lot of relatives. Half of them, I don't even know who they are. Haven't met before, but they tell me we're related. But it's a good nucleus of people, so just, we got it. You know, when it comes to the family dynamic, I mean, we just always been involved with sports. So whether it's football, basketball, baseball, track, you name it, softball, I mean, I just think that's kind of what we like to do. And we were competitive. And, yes, you know, the brothers, at least me, my older brother, we like to beat each other up a little bit, and that was good. My younger brother's a little bit younger, so other than us picking on them and, you know, trying to boss him around, it wasn't much More than that, but I think it's just good family love back and forth and, you know, this is a good area. It's a good city with a lot of great people and we just have a lot of ties here, so we try to make it good.
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Dave Pollack
Yeah, I think that's obviously, you know, it's got to be why you're there, right? Like, because, because every year, coach, we hear your name mentioned with jobs and it's got to be, I'm sure, flattering, but I mean, I guess it's home where you're at. Right. And just the lineage and all the history.
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Jeff Braum
Well, there is. And I think, you know, me being from here, I know what this town is all about and the people and the makeup and, you know, we've got a really good setup. You know, this is a sports town. It's a really good place to live with a lot of the things to do, but really there's no pro sports team. So. Louisville football, Louisville basketball is what it revolves around for us. Growing up, basketball had won championships, national championships, so it was kind of cool as a kid to see that and see what it did for the city. Football has not won a championship at the highest level. So to be here, to me there's a purpose now of, hey, let's, let's do something that maybe hasn't been done before. Let's try to get that done. Because I do think if you can do something that hasn't been done before at the highest level makes it special for all. And this is a great city to get that done in. And I think they love high caliber teams that play at a high level. We want to make sure we're trying to push the envelope every year and try to get to that, that, that point.
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Dave Pollack
No doubt. When you, when you talk about being home and you talk about your family, you talk about how much this all means to you. Like, how did, who was your biggest influence you on you offensively? Because, Coach, every year we do lists and everybody every year you're easily one that comes to mind right away with, with offensive. Just the way you design plays, the way you've called the right timing of plays. Where did that, where does that influence come from the most?
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Jeff Braum
Well, I think it is heavily influenced by others. You know, I think anytime you see a good offense or maybe a good play caller, I mean, you're really copycatting what others do and you're piecing all together in the right, the right fashion. But for me, you know, I had a chance to play for coach Howard Snellberger at the University of Louisville, who, you know, we had a great NFL style offense and a passing game that was diverse. And it's what the Miami Dolphins use when they win the Super Bowl. It's what the Alabama Crimson Tide used when he was with Bear Bryant. It's what he used with the Miami Hurricanes and Bernie Kroll czar and Jim Kelly. And then really from there, you know, I was. Got a chance to play in the NFL as a backup for just years. Just kind of hung on for about seven years, but really bounced around a lot of teams. But the main emphasis was the west coast offense. And really Bill Walsh came back when I was with the 49ers for three years as a consultant. So that offense and the ability to be friendly to the quarterback was a huge emphasis. Got a chance to coach with coach Petrino. Kind of put those things in together a little bit. I think it's just a combination of that and then studying other good teams and what are they doing, why is it working and why, why are these teams winning at a high level? Maybe they don't have the talent. I just think you, you study it, you live it, you breathe it, you try to piece it together. The fact that I was able to play quarterback, you try to make it as quarterback friendly as you can and let that guy have success. So I just think you have fun with it and you ride with it. But you know, we're trying here to just be the best team we can and the quarterback play is important.
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Dave Pollack
Well, you say that coach, but, but you actually, every year you do it. So what is the, what is the secret sauce? Like, what's the key to get, I mean, is it just that you played quarterback like, but what's the communication, what's the key to, to making a quarterback, you know, be the best he can be in your system?
- [06:03]
Jeff Braum
Well, like I said, I think it's, you know, being around all those different coaches and those different dynamics, you kind of, you kind of have an idea of what really works and what sometimes doesn't. Well, what looks good in a playbook really doesn't carry over. How can I get my quarterback in rhythm and get him off to a good start where he feels good and confident? You know, as a quarterback you, you know, you don't want to have to just chuck a deep every play and get hit and, and have a five man pro and all that stuff all the time. So you got to have to just get him in a rhythm, build a little bit of a running game, build a Little bit of a play action game where you can protect it up and chuck it deep, move the pockets, some throwing, some screens, some traps, some different plays, add a couple of trick plays and then be good on defense. So I just think all those things tie together. That's what we're trying to do here is kind of piece that together. We're great. Defense, I think, has to be done to win a championship. Great quarterback play has to complement that and then you have to have some reasonable balance so that, yes, when it's time to pass, you got to be able to pass. When it's time to run, you got to be able to run, but you have to be able to do both. And I think the, the teams that went at the highest level have those things. So we're trying to get to that point.
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Dave Pollack
So you put yourself in the quarterback shoes. Basically you're like, all right, how do I, how do I get them in rhythm?
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Jeff Braum
Well, for sure we try to do that. And every quarterback's different. And you know, some guys like to just get the ball out quick. They don't want to hold it long. Other guys, they're good at standing in there and just chucking it deep in small windows. You kind of get a feel of what they're good at and, and build the offense around them. And, you know, I think, you know, getting a quarterback comfortable, letting him know he's in control, give him a little freedom to do some things and a little bit of freedom to make some checks if he has to. And I just think piece of all that together is what my job and our offensive coaches jobs are to do. We've done it for so long now that I think we have a pretty good formula that we're trying to perfect every year. And, and that's the challenge. Every, every year the game changes just slightly and you got to try to stay ahead of the curve and be creative in your approach and, and always be on the attack trying to score points.
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Dave Pollack
Okay, so that's a perfect, that's a perfect. For the first time in a long time. And I want your big huge melon, your big brain when it comes to offense. For the first time in a long time, Coach, I do feel like defense finally got answers. It finally, we're finally. I'm a defensive guy, so we're finally getting some wins. Okay? We're going to take the wins on that side of the football when we can take them. What defense is doing better now that offenses more problems?
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Jeff Braum
Well, that's a really good question. I do think Defenses have gotten better. I think you have to be able to defend the, the spread perimeter game that a lot of teams try to get into to get easy completions. And teams are doing that now. They're, they're displacing out, they're making you forcing you to try to run the ball. They're not letting you throw it over their head as much. They're allowing their, their pass rushers to pass rush. And then the good teams are finding ways to mix in all out blitz is to hit the quarterback no matter what the call is. So I just think you have to play that game. Defenses I do think have improved every year. And if you see the teams that are winning and that are in the playoff every year, man, they're playing really good defense. I know they've got some offensive weapons but normally they, they play really good defense. I just think the game constantly evolves and changes. But teams are doing a good job at taking away the spread elements in the passing game, covering down and having answers to attack the quarterback.
- [09:35]
Dave Pollack
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Jeff Braum
Well, I don't think it's too hard for me. You know, I've got two kids and a wife and I just think you, you've got to find times to, to Maybe do away with the golf hobbies a little bit, all the other side hobbies. And really, it's got to be about family, ball improving, your team, a little bit of vacation mixed in. But you know, for me, I think it's got to be something where that vacation's taken in, in the winter or the early spring. Nowadays with this transfer portal, like the summer, man, it has to be used to get around your team, and if you leave, it's got to be just for the weekend and you got to come back. So for us, we want to try to be around our team as much as we can this summer. There's a lot of new pieces, a lot of new parts. You know, we play ole miss game one in Nashville against a great opponent, won 13 games last year. Like, we have to be ready to go from, from game one, and there's just a lot of work to do because there's so many new faces that come in. You only have so much time. So what you do have, you got to utilize. So for, for us right now, yes, they'll get a little break over the month of May, but, you know, once we get back, you know, right before the month of June, it's going to be full speed ahead and our coaches will be around our players, we'll be working as much as we can, and we've got to get ready to go for game one.
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Dave Pollack
Are you, are you okay with. If the play calling doesn't go as you like, are you, are you going to, are you going to chew on your brother a little bit? We have that relationship.
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Jeff Braum
Well, that's probably the best thing about calling the plays. I don't get to blame anyone else. I just blame myself. And occasionally I might throw a tool at him or something, but for the most part, we got a good staff. We got a good staff. They work hard, you know, play calling on both sides of the ball. It's, it's. It's more challenging than people think. You have to have answers. You have to be able to quick recall things. Yes, you can have a sheet in front of it, man, you got to know what you want to do. You got to know what the answers are going to be. You got to have, you have to be prepared. So it takes a lot of work, I'm not going to lie. But I think, you know, it's something I've done so long. I owe it to our team, to this program to do the best job I can. And without question, my younger brother Brian could do it if I wanted him to. But I just think that's something I feel like is my responsibility and I should be able to handle that. But it takes a full team to put a great plan together and every week it changes a little bit. So you gotta, you gotta roll the dice out there and try to call a couple shots and take a few risks and hope that they work.
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Dave Pollack
Yeah, it's amazing how you do those at the right time. It's pretty impressive. All right. Big week for Chris Bell. Coach. He was one of my favorite guys last year. I'll never forget the Miami game. I don't know how he caught those passes short and did not get tackled. Like he just. It was almost like a video game. It was a cheat code, but big, strong, like obviously this is a big week for Hing, but talk about him as a prospect and as a young man.
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Jeff Braum
Well, I think he's got a tremendous future. He was with us ever since we got here, so he's a young man that stuck with us. He improved every year. His game got more and more polished. This last year he played for us before the knee injury. He was outstanding. Had a great off season, worked really hard, never missed a rep in practice. He was a big, strong, physical receiver. He could block, he could make plays after the catch, he could run fast after the catch. You know, he's 6 to 220 pounds with really good speed and power and he's played in a diverse offense, so I think he can handle quite a bit. It's unfortunately had the knee injury, but it was really just a clean injury where he just had to get fixed. And as, as you know, with injuries, he can come back stronger than ever. So I think whoever takes him, you're going to get a pro medi, pro ready receiver who understands the game, who will show up every day and play physical, do a lot of things for you in the passing game. Even at his size, he can stretch the field. He can. And he can catch a short ball and he can run for yards and break tackles. So I think, you know, this is a physical receiver that I think on any team he will add great value right away and he'll be a great competitor.
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Dave Pollack
When when you look about this team, coach, and, and you've gotten through the spring ball now and had some reps and had some practice. You bring in another new QB this year, what are you seeing from Lincoln? Obviously we're going to talk. Everybody's going to talk about next year. He's came from Ohio State and all of that stuff. That's going to be A part of the conversation, just like we do with transfers. But what do you know about him and what do you see for him this year? I know he's got a little more athletic ability than a lot of guys at that position.
- [15:08]
Jeff Braum
Well, that's what he does has, which we have not had here, really, as someone with his athleticism. He really can run and he likes to run. So we're going to have to use that dynamic. I think it helps him feel comfortable and get a good feel of the game. Do we need to polish up his, you know, pocket passing and presence and all that? Sure, we do, but that's kind of with everybody. But yes, we got to fine tune that. And I think if he wants to play the next level, he's got to really fine tune those skills of how to to run a diverse passing offense, get us in right checks in the run game, and then of course, just make plays with his feet. I think, as you see great quarterbacks in the NFL, they all can make plays with their feet now outside the pocket. So that part he's really good at right now, and we've got to utilize that. We just got to polish up the, the, you know, pocket presence and the ability to operate within the pocket. But I think he's got a bright future and he gives us an element that we have not had that we've got to utilize.
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Dave Pollack
Yeah, I can only imagine your play calling already drives defensive coordinators nuts. But now I have to play a second play or a third play when he can scramble and get another first down. Like you talk about ticking me off. That would be extremely annoying. You're running back coach. I want to know Mr. Brown, like I saw him a couple of years ago as a freshman. I'm like, holy hail. Like, that dude can fly. Where is he on the list of guys that you've been around and speed that can just say, I'm going to take this little pass or this little run and go to the house.
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Jeff Braum
Well, that is what he has for sure. And that's a skill that is hard to teach. He just kind of was blessed with it. He's brought it to the table. He's quick, he's shifty in the, in the hole. He can break up a normal run into a big play. And he showed that from day one. You know, when he first got here, I was worried about the size. I'm like, man, I don't know if he's quite ready. Game one and we kind of eased him in there and once we kind of put in There like, oh geez. Okay, yeah, he is ready. Like he just gives you that game breaking ability that you can't teach with the other guys. So that's impressive for him. You know, becoming a durable player who knows how to practice, who knows how to nice mix, Ms. Reps, who knows how to train the off season, who knows how to play entire season. That's what we're pushing for this year, for him to get him to the next level. To this point, from the end of the season to now, he's been outstanding, better than he's ever been and of course we want to keep him healthy. But if he can prove he's durable, if he can do those simple things, I think he has a future second to none because he does give you a game breaking ability that is just hard to teach with anyone else. So we're really proud of his effort to this point.
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Dave Pollack
Yeah, he can go. There's no doubt. Where do you think, coach? Couple more questions. I promise I'll get you out of here. Where do you think, where do you think offenses are going next? We saw spread palooza, RPO paloozas, tempo palooza. Now we've seen more 12 personnel. Like we've changed a little bit back to that. Like what do you think the next evolution is for offense?
- [18:07]
Jeff Braum
Well, I do think the game has gone to where you know the spread elements are fine but you, you can just kind of mix those in a little bit because I think defense, because defenses can defend that quite a bit more. So teams now we're trying to figure out ways how can I get quick scores. It's hard to drive the ball eight plus plays down the field or get touchdowns. Against these type of defenses, they're going to get a negative play at some point. They're going to cause you to get a penalty on offense, a holding call or something at some point. So how can you create faster touchdowns? And we're trying to do the same thing. You know, we didn't have enough explosive plays, especially in the passing game to create touchdowns. Do we have some big runs that got it for us? Yes, we did, which was great. But in the passing game, so that's where the 12 personnel, that's where the ability to throw, play action, throw the ball over people's head is really becoming vital if you vital if you want to get quick scores. So great defense, good quarterback play. But how can you create the big play, the explosive play, especially in the passing game, but any big play to shorten that drive and get your touchdowns, that's what you're. That's what you're going to see.
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Dave Pollack
More fullbacks again, we're going to see more big old fullbacks I like. You'll put a full. You'll put a tight end there and use them and still use them in the route tree. But.
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Jeff Braum
Well, we actually do use probably a fullback H Vac more than others for what you're saying. It does help us a. It gives us something that other teams don't practice against quite a bit to run the ball, but it allows you to throw that ball deep a little bit and max protect, move the pocket slightly. So Everybody does in 12 personnel, 21 personnel, whatever you got to do. But I think all those things you said are exactly what the game is trying going to trend to. And I just think every year is a little bit different, but that's what I see right now.
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Dave Pollack
Yeah, those hybrid players, man, we. We've kind of. We've gotten so many hybrid guys on defense, but we've also gotten smaller heinies, bro. Like, they're way smaller dudes. Right? Like, I mean, so you can, you can run at them a little bit more. All right. Congratulations, Coach, being where you're at, because I think I know you want to be there. It's your spot. They're lucky to have you at Louisville. Congrats on the extension. And the most important question, Coach, the Kentucky. Kentucky Derby's next week. So what's the craziest thing? Because I don't see you going too crazy. What's the craziest thing you've ever worn at the Kentucky Derby? And is there a strategy for picking a horse?
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Jeff Braum
Well, I'll tell you what. If you haven't been for those that haven't, it's a great week. It's not just Derby day, you know, for here in college, you know, our guys get done a week earlier than normal colleges because Derby week, everyone's off. I mean, it is a full from Monday through Saturday. Going to the track, the media and people are backside watching the horses train. In the morning, everything's on tv. You're at the racetrack during the day, even during the week, especially the locals are really there Tuesday through Thursday. Now, Friday and Saturday really has become a Hollywood carpet event. I mean, you look at the. Our airport on Friday and Saturday, there's 500 plus private planes that are in dropping people off. There's great parties on Friday night. It's really a lot of fun. So I would encourage anyone who hasn't come, you know, come at least for the. For the weekend, if not for more. It's just a great event that all of our coaches love. We'll recruit some, but at the end of the week, we're. We're off. And if someone wants to recruit, that's their own problem. We got derby festivities to attend to and we like to enjoy it.
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Dave Pollack
Do you dress up?
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Jeff Braum
We all dress up. In your own attire. It's all. I don't go too crazy with it, but you'll see some crazy outfits.
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Dave Pollack
You look like a 1990s football coach when you go there. Or do you look like a. Like you look svelte and good?
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Jeff Braum
Well, I don't know if I look good, but I got a bald head now and hopefully I just don't get too fat over the years.
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Dave Pollack
Well, coach, again, congratulations on the extension. Congratulations for you guys and all your success and look forward to watching you dial up more ball plays and take more defensive coordinators off.
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Jeff Braum
Okay? Thanks, Dave. Appreciate it. Thank you, brother.
- [21:45]
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Jeff Braum
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