Kragthorpe plans to return in 2010

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe believes he's seen enough progress in the Cardinals to keep his job but allows the decision is not his to make.

A loss to South Florida on Saturday ensured the Cardinals (4-7, 1-5 Big East) their second straight losing season and dropped Kragthorpe's record to 15-20 since he replaced Bobby Petrino in January 2007.

"I know how this thing works as a head coach," Kragthorpe said. "We haven't won enough football games right now. I'm frustrated for our team and for our fans. I'm disappointed we haven't gotten those wins."

Kragthorpe has two years remaining on his contract that pays him about $1.1 million annually. He said he speaks to Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich frequently, but the two have not discussed Kragthorpe's future.

Jurich was in Florida on Monday and not available for comment, university spokesman Rocco Gasparro said.

Louisville's 34-22 loss to the Bulls looked like many of the other 19 defeats during Kragthorpe's tenure. The Cardinals fell behind early, then battled back to make it competitive before fading in the final minutes.

It's a scenario that has soured Louisville fans, who have stayed away in droves in recent weeks. A record-low crowd of just over 21,000 watched Louisville edge Arkansas State at Cardinals Stadium last month and 33,000 turned out for a 10-9 victory over Syracuse on Nov. 14.

The lukewarm turnouts are not a good sign for a program that is currently expanding stadium capacity from 42,000 to 55,000 in time for next year's season-opener.

The expansion came on the heels of Louisville's victory in the 2006 Orange Bowl. Enthusiasm, however, has cooled as the Cardinals have struggled to remain relevant under Kragthorpe.

Still, he remains optimistic for one more chance to get things turned around. It's a job he did successfully at Tulsa, where he rescued a program that won two games in the two years before his arrival. The Golden Hurricanes went 29-22 under his direction, winning the Conference USA title in 2005.

Kragthorpe has been unable to repeat the feat at Louisville, though he believes the Cardinals are not far away from returning to the top of the conference.

"We're going to win here," Kragthorpe said. "It has taken us longer than what I wanted it to ... but we're going to win here."

He appears to have the full backing of his players. Senior cornerback Chaz Thompson said Kragthorpe hasn't been given enough time to develop his own recruits.

"I don't think you can just judge somebody by three years," Thompson said. "It takes more than three years to build a foundation."

It's a foundation that appeared to be in place when Kragthorpe replaced Petrino. Yet he aggressively cleaned house after taking over, getting rid of players who ran into trouble either in the classroom or off the field, like former linebacker Willie Williams.

The discipline, however, robbed the team of most of its depth. While Kragthorpe has tried to plug holes with junior college transfers, it hasn't always worked. Louisville biggest problem during the last three years has been the inability to finish off opponents.

It's led to a series of close losses that seemed to be unimaginable when Kragthorpe was hired. The losing has taken its toll.

"You're miserable when you don't win games," Kragthorpe said. "Ultimately that's how you're judged as a head coach."

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