Louisville football coach Scott Satterfield keeps his job and quarterback Malik Cunningham

Scott Satterfield's future as Louisville's head football coach was solidified twice on Friday.

Hours after star quarterback Malik Cunningham announced his intention to return for the 2022 season via Twitter, Satterfield emerged from an end-of-the-season review with U of L athletic director Vince Tyra assured he would be back for the fourth year of his original six-year contract.

Though the Cardinals are in line for one of the post-season bowl bids to be announced on Sunday, Satterfield's status had been in doubt following last Saturday's 52-21 loss to rival Kentucky. Spurred by talk radio speculation and fan discontent expressed on social media, scenarios involving the return of Purdue coach Jeff Brohm to his alma mater had gained widespread circulation.

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But bringing Brohm back home figured to be considerably more expensive than it would have been when he rebuffed U of L three years ago, and there has been no confirmation that U of L was prepared to dismiss Satterfield or ready to make an offer to a potential replacement.

Such a deal would have been contingent on paying Satterfield a buyout of more than $7.3 million and finding the funds to pay Brohm at a rate competitive with a Purdue package worth more than $20 million over the next four seasons. With its endowment funds depleted by previous buyouts and already servicing a $20 million loan taken out to cover operating expenses, U of L would seem poorly positioned to be taking on additional multi-million-dollar obligations.

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At the same time, Tyra had to weigh whether Satterfield's three-year record of 18-18 amounts to progress after Bobby Petrino's disastrous 2018 season and if keeping Satterfield will mean further erosion in attendance.

"When you have a program that is going to rely on developing, three years is a short window for a coach," Tyra told WDRB. "And I know we've seen that sometimes at other schools. You can be opportunistic or strategic. We're trying to be strategic about where he's taking the program. He knows this is a year to really show more improvement than what we did this year."

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Tyra declined an interview request from the Courier Journal. His reluctance to address the decision to retain Satterfield in greater detail, followed by a Friday afternoon report by Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel of Tyra's candidacy for the athletic director vacancy at Florida State has fueled further speculation.

Tyra's original five-year contract, signed in 2018, has not been extended. And though he has denied rumors he was looking to leave -- "You're stuck with me," he said last month -- he did not deny interest in Florida State on Friday.

"I don't talk about jobs," Tyra said as he departed U of L's volleyball match at L&N Arena. "I never have."

University President Neeli Bendapudi did not return a phone call seeking comment on Satterfield and Tyra on Saturday, but a U of L spokesman provided a brief prepared statement.

"Decisions about personnel matters within the athletic department are made by the Athletic Director," Bendapudi said. "I have faith in Vince Tyra's leadership of the department, and I support his decision in this matter."

Tim Sullivan: 502-582-4650, tsullivan@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @TimSullivan714

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: University of Louisville football keep Satterfield, Malik Cunningham