Prior to Louisville football’s spring practices, Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm took his family to Florida for vacation in March.
Brady Brohm, Jeff’s son, made sure the trip included watching the Cardinals’ softball team in the USF tournament. Less than two weeks later, Jeff and Brady were in Washington, D.C., to watch U of L’s men’s basketball team in the ACC Tournament.
Brady’s spring schedule also included supporting the women’s basketball team in the NCAA Tournament, watching the football team’s spring practices and helping on the recruiting trail as a volunteer for the football program.
In March, four-star defensive lineman CJ May told 247Sports that he had built a “best friend type of relationship” with Brady, calling him “the man.” When it comes to all things Louisville athletics, it won’t take long on X, formerly known as Twitter, to see a Brady post in the mix.
Brady may not have played football to the extent that his father, uncles Greg and Brian, and grandfather Oscar did, but he’s found a different way to incorporate football in his budding career.
“He just likes to be around competition, sports and enjoys not really just watching it,” Jeff said, “but just being around the people and experiencing the things they go through.”
Next generation
Like his father, Jeff’s first child was a son: Brady.
But the introduction to parenthood came with complications for Jeff and his wife, Jennifer. Brady was born with a hip condition that required surgery. For four to six months, the infant wore a body cast that extended from his chest to his ankles.
“I think we dealt with it just like any other parent: a little unhappy at first, a little feel sorry first for him at first, but then you move on,” Jeff said. “I think any challenges and setbacks you have, while they’re no fun to go through, they make you stronger in the end. I think they’ve definitely made us stronger.”
Although Brady is fully functional now, Jeff said Brady’s hip may have hindered him growing up. Still, it didn’t stop Brady from playing sports. He followed in his father’s footsteps as a football and baseball player. Jeff coached Brady’s Little League team.
Unlike his former quarterback father, Brady was an offensive and defensive lineman, and his time on the gridiron was short-lived.
Quitting football
The Brohm car rides after summer football practices in 2019 were silent.
The talkative energy Brady usually had was zapped from running stadium steps and gassers in the West Lafayette, Indiana, heat.
“I was watching from my car, had to get out of my car, because I said he’s not going to make it,” said Jeff, who was Purdue’s head coach at the time. “He’s going to pass out. And, they did it. A lot. … I remember thinking like, ‘My gosh, I’ve never worked my team that hard. I never ran them that hard.’ Like, they wouldn’t even make it.”
As a coach, Jeff understood that everyone runs their programs differently but saw the effect it had on his son. Before the fall season began, Brady told his father he didn’t want to play football anymore.
Jeff initially was upset. As a decorated high school two-sport athlete, standout college quarterback and former NFL player, Jeff would’ve loved for his son to keep the family athletic legacy alive. He also didn’t want Brady to think it was OK to quit.
It took Jeff about three months to accept that playing football wasn’t for the younger Brohm.
“You come to realize that people have different interests,” Jeff said. “There are people that are just talented in other areas, and Brady’s more of a people person than me. He likes to talk to people. He likes to get to know people, likes to build relationships. … Once I got over the non-football part, I was like let’s just let him do what he likes to do and be a part of it and find his own path.”
Creating new path
From hosting recruits to learning the administrative side of football at U of L, Brady is doing it all. Jeff jokes that Brady’s involvement is half wanting to be around his dad and half wanting to be around everyone else.
“I would bet he’s probably around everyone else 95% of the time,” Jeff said.
Jeff loves that Brady enjoys sports but, as a parent, wants him to be well versed in other areas of life as he continues to take a different approach to football.
“Sometimes I think he’s too involved with sports, and I don’t want it to consume his life,” he said. “… I just want to make sure he’s well versed in all aspects and able to handle eventually getting on his own and making his own decisions and forging his path forward.”
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.