Steve Kragthorpe, the former head coach of Louisville football from 2007 to 2009, has passed away at the age of 59, as confirmed by the school. Kragthorpe died after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
He previously coached at Tulsa for four seasons before his tenure at Louisville. His coaching record includes a 29-22 mark at Tulsa and a 15-21 record at Louisville. During his time with the Cardinals, he led the team to seasons of 6-6, 5-7, and 4-8 before being dismissed by then-athletic director Tom Jurich after the 2009 season. Kragthorpe was unable to secure a win against rival Kentucky in their annual series.
After a year away from football, Kragthorpe briefly returned as the offensive coordinator at LSU for the 2011 season but resigned before coaching a game due to his Parkinson’s diagnosis. He continued to contribute to LSU in an off-the-field role. Before becoming a head coach, Kragthorpe was a quarterbacks coach for the Buffalo Bills and offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, among other positions. A native of Missoula, Montana, he played quarterback in college at Eastern New Mexico and West Texas State.
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