Sporting News released its coaches rankings for the upcoming Conference USA season, and Hilltopper head coach Jeff Brohm found himself in the middle of the pack after his first season at the program’s helm (after serving as an assistant for a season under Bobby Petrino) and in WKU’s inaugural season in the league.

Brohm received a sixth place ranking out of 13 coaches from senior college football writer Matt Hayes of SportingNews.com.

Here is Hayes’ list accompanied by the team’s overall and conference record last season:

1. Doc Holliday—Marshall (13-1, 7-1)
2. Bill Bailiff—Rice (8-5, 5-3)
3. Skip Holtz—Louisiana Tech (9-5, 7-1)
4. Larry Coker—University of Texas-San Antonio (4-8, 3-5)
5. Sean Kugler—University of Texas-El Paso (7-6, 5-3)
6. Jeff Brohm—Western Kentucky University  (8-5, 4-4)
7. Dan McCarney—North Texas (4-8, 2-6)
8. Rick Stockstill—Middle Tennessee State (6-6, 5-3)
9. Bobby Wilder—Old Dominion (6-6, 4-4)
10. Brad Lambert—Charlotte (5-6, 3-3 in FCS independent. First year in C-USA)
11. Charlie Partridge—Florida Atlantic (3-9, 2-6)
12. Todd Monken—Southern Mississippi (3-9, 1-7)
13. Ron Turner—Florida International (4-8, 3-5)

The rankings exclude former University of Alabama Birmingham head coach Bill Clark, who led the Blazers to a 6-6 overall mark and a 4-4 finish in their final season. It was announced in December of 2014 that the program was being shut down, but UAB will announce June 1 if it will reinstate the sport. Charlotte takes the Blazers’ place in the C-USA as the 49ers compete in their first season in the FBS.

Critics recognize that the expectations are set high for a coach who just experienced his first Division I head coaching season—coming in after Willie Taggart breathed life into the lungs of a stagnant program and Bobby Petrino made a brief appearance only to set the bar higher.

Furthermore, this middle of the pack ranking as head coach is a much higher mark than the entire staff received for the most recent football recruiting class.

The 2015 Hilltopper recruiting class ranked 106 out of 129 Division I programs according to Rivals.com and eighth out of the then 12-team conference (Charlotte has since been added).  24/7 Sports, an affiliate of CBS Sports, ranked the Hilltopper recruiting class 11 out of the 13 league teams, only besting bottom-ranked UTEP and newcomer Charlotte.  

Hayes said this of Brohm in his analysis of the coaches:

“Willie Taggart set the table at WKU, Bobby Petrino raised expectations for a season and Brohm kept things holding steady. Time to take the next step in a winnable conference.”

Below is a chronology of Brohm’s football career:

Player

• University of Louisville—1989-1993
• San Diego Chargers—1994
• Washington Redskins—1995
• San Francisco 49ers—1995-1997
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers—1998
• Denver Broncos—1999
• Cleveland Browns—2000
• Orlando Rage (XFL)—2001 *Held the league’s highest QB rating with a 99.9 mark, and was named to the 2001 All-XFL team.

Coach

• Louisville Fire (Arena Football 2)—2002
• University of Louisville (QB coach)—2003-2006
• University of Louisville (Assistant Head Coach/Passing Game Coordinator)—2007
• University of Louisville (AHC/ Offensive Coordinator)—2008
• Florida Atlantic (QB coach)—2009
• Illinois (QB coach)—2010-2011
• University of Alabama Birmingham (OC/QB coach)—2012
• Western Kentucky University (AHC/OC/QB coach)—2013
• Western Kentucky University (Head Coach)—2014-present

Matt Hayes’ list can be found here in its entirety.