Louisville's Kragthorpe fills out staff with three hires

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe has hired three coaches to fill out his staff for the 2009 season.

Former Utah State head coach Brent Guy and former Tennessee assistant Larry Slade will work as defensive coaches while former Southern Mississippi offensive coordinator Jay Johnson will work with the offense.

Kragthorpe says the experience level of all three coaches will help the Cardinals as they try to rebuild after a 5-7 season.

"I'm very excited to add the caliber of coaches like Larry Slade, Brent Guy and Jay Johnson to our staff," Kragthorpe said. "All three of these coaches have a tremendous amount of experience and will be great additions to our football staff."

Slade, who spent a decade at Tennessee under former head coach Phil Fulmer, will work with the secondary. Slade and Kragthorpe worked together at Texas A&M in the 1990s.

"Larry is one of the most-respected defensive back coaches in the nation," Kragthorpe said. "I worked with Larry at Texas A&M, and he is one of the best I've ever been around. I'm excited that he has decided to join our staff."

Guy joins the Cardinals after spending four seasons as head coach at Utah State. Before that he was defensive coordinator at Arizona State for four years. In 2002, Guy's defense forced 40 turnovers, including 22 interceptions. He'll be in charge of helping shore up a defensive unit that must fill massive holes along the line.

"Brent has a proven track record playing great defense wherever he has coached," Kragthorpe said. "He had great success at Arizona State as a defensive coordinator and can add a lot of expertise to that side of the football."

Kragthorpe also announced special teams coach Mark Nelson has resigned to pursue other opportunities.

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