In a move that is certain to send shock waves across the state of Kentucky, University of Louisville football coach Jeff Brohm has hired one of the key - and most veteran - figures from Mark Stoops' coaching staff at the University of Kentucky.
Yes, the Big Dawg will now be barking in Louisville.
Longtime UK assistant coach and recruiting giant Vince Marrow has accepted a position on Brohm's staff at U of L. Marrow will not move to Louisville in a coaching role, but will take over in the player personnel department for Brohm's football program. Marrow is expected to oversee all recruiting efforts, along with roster managament and the transfer portal.
ESPN's Pete Thamel was the first to report the news.
Cardinal Authority can confirm that Marrow is headed to Louisville in a three-year deal that is still being finalized. Multiple sources have told Cardinal Authority the hire would likely become official later in the week.
Louisville had recently posted for a general manager position for football.
The 55-year-old Marrow, who joined Stoops' staff at UK in 2012, has been rumored to be headed to Louisville several times since Brohm accepted the head coaching position at his alma mater in December of 2023. Marrow and Brohm have a long-time friendship and were teammates in the XFL.
The other times there were rumors, Marrow ended up staying at Kentucky. But this time, he's flipping sides in one of college sports most heated rivalries.
Marrow's contract terms with the Cardinals have not been made public to this point. At UK, Marrow earned $1.3 million last season. He started as a full-time assistant coach at Kentucky and then was promoted to recruiting coordinator. He has also been the tight ends coach and most recently had the title of associate head coach.
On Stoops' staff at Kentucky, Marrow was a key figure in the Wildcats' recruiting efforts and roster-building. He was interviewed by Bowling Green and Southern Miss for head coaching positions during this offseason and he was also connected with an assistant position on Bill Belicheck's staff at North Carolina.
Marrow has had a ton of interest from other schools pretty much every offseason, but it's Brohm who could finally pry him away from Kentucky.
A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Marrow was an 11th round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills in 1992 after he had a standout career at Toledo. He had played two years of basketball at Youngstown State but then transferred to Toledo where he played in 11 games as a tight end in his final college season. He was on the All-Mid-American Conference second team during the 1991 season. He was the No. 307 pick by the Bills.
Marrow began his coaching career in 2006 as the tight ends coach of the Berlin Thunder in Germany. He spent one year at Toledo held several other positions before taking a graduate assistant coaching position at Nebraska in 2011.
He was one of the first assistants hired by Stoops when he took over at Kentucky prior to the 2013 season.
Stoops hired Marrow as the tight ends coach but he then became the recruiting coordinator and the NFL liaison. He was elevated to associate head coach in 2019.
During his time at UK, Marrow has become an elite recruiter, especially in the state of Ohio. The Wildcats have made in-roads in Ohio and landed a ton of solid prospects from the state. He has also done very well here at home with the connections that he has built with the high school coaches.
Now, he'll try to bring that recruiting prowess to the other side of the rivalry at Louisville.