Inside Vince Marrow's stunning move from Kentucky to in-state rival Louisville: 'I could have left many times'

Vince Marrow was sitting at a Lexington area restaurant with a Kentucky colleague when his friend got a call from his wife.

"Are you still with Vince?" she asked her husband. When he confirmed they were still eating, she told them they needed to look at Twitter immediately.

It was there that Marrow found out the news of his impending move to Louisville had leaked out much earlier than he anticipated. It set off a flurry of texts and reactions throughout the Bluegrass state on June 9th as the "Big Dog" left Kentucky after more than 12 years for in-state rival Louisville. Later that day, a Kentucky fan even flipped Marrow off at a Dunkin' Donuts.

Marrow hadn't even gotten a chance to discuss the career change with his boss, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, with whom he had worked so closely in rebuilding the program. Marrow wanted to tell Stoops in person, but the Kentucky coach was gone the previous weekend, visiting his sons, and they hadn't had a chance to connect yet that Monday before the news broke.

"It violated what I really wanted," Marrow told CBS Sports. "It was hard because I wanted to do it my way."

Stoops was admittedly caught off guard by Marrow's departure, telling Kentucky Sports Radio last week, "Definitely surprised. But, as I mentioned, you know, that's water under the bridge."

Marrow makes his own unique mark at Kentucky

The news was stunning for so many reasons. Quite a few schools have made runs at Marrow over the years, including Michigan, Michigan State and even recently Bill Belichick's North Carolina, and yet he always said no in favor of staying with Stoops in Lexington. As associate head coach, tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, he played a critical role in recruiting the Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan areas for the Wildcats, helping build a blueprint that saw Kentucky experience previously unheard of levels of success. 247Sports ranked Marrow as one of the top 15 recruiters in the country in 2024, and he's credited with signing future Kentucky stars Lynn Bowden Jr. and Benny Snell Jr, among many others.

Before last season's disappointing 4-8 record, Kentucky had gone to eight consecutive bowl games and twice finished top 15 in the country after 10-win seasons. That Marrow finally left for Louisville, of all places, and for an off-field role as the Cardinals' general manager only added to the surprise. The compensation wasn't, however, as Louisville made Marrow one of the highest-paid general managers in college football with an annual salary of more than $1 million, according to multiple reports.

"I think he can help us acquire talent, he can get to know our players, he can get to know parents, he can build relationships," Brohm recently told reporters. "And it comes natural to him. This guy can talk to someone who's 85 years old and someone who's 5 years old like no one else."

As part of a wide-ranging conversation with CBS Sports, Marrow, who was named to CBS Sports' top college football general managers list, detailed several reasons for trading in his blue tracksuits for cardinal red. He shouldered a heavy load as Stoops' top recruiter and recruiting coordinator. Still, he didn't feel like he had the full power to overrule other coaches on players. He wondered if there might have been some jealousy amongst other coaches over the attention he received for his recruiting prowess.

He thought about the great Ozzie Newsome, a Hall of Fame tight end who even worked Marrow out as a prospect while tight ends coach with the Cleveland Browns before making a shift to scouting. Newsome eventually worked his way up to being the Baltimore Ravens' general manager and is regarded as one of the NFL's finest personnel executives after putting together two Super Bowl rosters. As he thought about Newsome, he reflected on all of the draft room shots while watching the NFL Draft on television. The core group was essentially the same everywhere: general manager, head coach, owner and player personnel executives.

What Marrow didn't see, as he thought about it, was any of what he was: a position coach.

It all crystallized in his head why it was time to make the move from a prominent on-field coaching role to the most important one off it.

"You have stuff in college football where guys can selfishly recruit, they control certain things, and I was like, being in this position, you don't have to worry about that," Marrow said. "You still work hand-in-hand with the coaches, but you and the head coach are going to be the ones that, at the end of the day, that's what it's going to be."

Marrow leaving for Kentucky's chief rival only added to the sting for Wildcats fans, but he says that he didn't have to leave the state is a primary reason why he said yes. Marrow has known Louisville coach Jeff Brohm and the Brohm family for decades, and the two even played football together on the short-lived XFL Orlando Rage. Seven-on-seven coaches and others in the recruiting space had told Marrow for years that if the two ever teamed up, they'd do "serious damage."

"I could have left many times at Kentucky. I could have left many times," Marrow said. "What made me stay and why this one was right is because it was in the state of Kentucky, because I got very invested in this state. Some fans are mad, but I love this state and I'm invested in it. When there were tornadoes and floods, I went and went. These people matter to me; these are good people in this state."

Next chapter for Marrow at Louisville

After working with the Stoops brothers in Lexington, Marrow joins a Louisville program that features four Brohms -- head coach Jeff, offensive coordinator Brian, chief of staff Greg and recruiting Brady. He leaves a Kentucky program coming off an eight-loss season for a Cardinals team that looks to be ascending. Brohm has won at least nine games each of his first two seasons at Louisville and has a group that fell just outside the top 25 in the preseason CBS Sports 136 rankings. If incoming transfer quarterback Miller Moss can improve under the QB tutelage of the Brohm brothers, the Cardinals should be in the College Football Playoff hunt when they navigate a treacherous November with games against Clemson, SMU and, of course, Kentucky.

Marrow has already said he can't wait for Nov. 29 against his former employer, but most importantly, he's excited about what is possible at his new one. Marrow and Stoops did yeoman's work turning Kentucky into one of the toughest teams in the SEC but could never quite get over the hump in the most challenge conference in the country. With Brohm leading the charge and the resources the program has, he knows it is possible at Louisville.

"I feel good about how we're going to do just being around and looking at the roster," he said. "Our (2026) class is going to be a top 20 class when all is said and done. It feels good to be in the position of being the GM and working with Jeff. I think it's going to be something people look at and copy what we do. And I thank God every day that I was in a position where there's another buddy that I knew and played with and he's the head guy and wants me to play a very pivotal part on his staff on a team that could easily be in the playoffs.

"That's my goal, that's going to be the goal every year to be in the playoffs. Not just talking about it, but be in the playoffs, win the ACC, be in the ACC title game. That's what it is."