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Assistant Coaches
Assistant Coaches
Mike Cassity will return for his fourth season
with the Cardinals, serving three years as defensive
coordinator and one as co-defensive coordinator.
Since Cassity has taken over the defense in 2004,
Louisville has finished in the top 40 defensively
after each season.
In 2007, Rivals.com named him the Big East
Recruiter of the Year, and in 2005 and 2007, the
recruiting website named him a top 25 recruiter
nationally.
Cassity’s attacking and disciplined style of
defense has helped U of L become one of the better
defenses in the country.
During the Cardinals’ 2006 Orange Bowl
winning season, the Cardinals finished second in the
nation in sacks with 17 different players recording
sacks and ranked 17th in the country in scoring
defense.
Louisville’s defense had two first team All-BIG
EAST selections in defensive tackle Amobi Okoye
and cornerback William Gay. Louisville held six
opponents to 13 or fewer points including a shutout
at Temple.
In 2005, the Cardinals finished 21st in the
country in rushing defense and 23rd in scoring
defense. U of L held four opponents to less than 20
points in a game. Behind Elvis Dumervil’s school
and BIG EAST record 20 sacks, the Cardinals tied
for second in the nation with Rutgers with 44 sacks.
Off the field in 2005, Cassity was recognized by
Rivals.com as one of the nation’s top 25 recruiters.
Inheriting a defense which ranked 93rd in the nation
in total defense and 72nd in scoring defense in 2003,
the Cardinals improved to 15th in total defense and
24th in scoring defense in 2004.
Cassity oversaw a defense that pitched a pair of
shutouts over Kentucky and North Carolina in 2004,
and limited 10th-ranked Boise State, which had one
of the better-ranked offenses in the nation, to 286
yards of total offense.
In 2004, Cassity built a defense that was based
on speed and an ability to get to the football that was
evident by the team’s 17 interceptions — the most
Mike Cassity
Defensive Coordinator
since the 2001 season. Safety Kerry Rhodes, middle
linebacker Robert “The Hammer” McCune and
defensive end Marcus Jones served as leaders of a
defense known for giving quarterbacks hard-hitting
trouble.
A native of Fort Campbell, Ky., Cassity has 30
years of coaching experience on the defensive side of
the ball — most of which has been in the
Commonwealth. He is also proud to have sent over 30
defensive backs to the NFL.
He came to Louisville after serving three seasons
as defensive coordinator with the Fighting Illini, the
2001 Big Ten Champions who played in the 2002
Sugar Bowl. With an experienced defensive mind,
Cassity’s aggressive style really took shape at
Oklahoma State in 1999 co-coordinating with now
Oakland Raiders coach Rob Ryan, son of the
legendary defensive mind Buddy Ryan.
Prior to his two-year stint at OSU, Cassity served
1997-98 as the assistant head coach and defensive
coordinator at Baylor. At Baylor and OSU, Cassity
coached against U of L head coach Steve Kragthorpe
then at Texas A&M.
Cassity coached secondary at Wisconsin in 1995-
96. He has been a defensive coordinator at Cincinnati
(1994), Georgia Tech (1992-93), East Carolina (1990-
91), Northeast Louisiana (1989) and Western
Kentucky (1983-88). Again with the secondary, he
coached at Morehead State (1982), Kentucky (1979-
81), Paducah Tilghman High School in Paducah, Ky.,
(1976-78) and as a student coach at Kentucky (1975).
As a two-sport athlete at Kentucky, Cassity
lettered three times. In football, he played safety,
winning the prestigious Kiwanis 110% Award, and he
was a teammate of current Louisville assistant coach
Greg Nord. As member of the Wildcat wrestling team,
he was the SEC second runner-up at 190 pounds. He
graduated in 1976 with a degree in physical
education.
A Fort Campbell High School graduate, Cassity
is married to the former Colleen Hartman. The family
has four children: Brooke, Hunter, Skyler and
Braden.
Cassity at a Glance
PERSONAL
Birthdate: August 22, 1953
Hometown: Fort Campbell, Ky.
Alma Mater: Kentucky ‘76
Family: Married to the former Colleen Hartman.
The couple has four children, Brooke, Hunter,
Skyler and Braden.
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2004-07 Louisville
2001-03 Illinois
1999-2000 Oklahoma State
1997-98 Baylor
1995-96 Wisconsin
1994 Cincinnati
1992-93 Georgia Tech
1990-91 East Carolina
1989 Northeast Louisiana
1983-88 Western Kentucky
1982 Morehead State
1979-81 Kentucky
1975 Kentucky
BOWLS AS A COACH
1995 Hall of Fame
1996 Copper
2001 Sugar
2003 GMAC Bowl
2004 Liberty Bowl
2006 Gator Bowl
2007 Orange Bowl
RECRUITING AREAS
Western KY, Southern OH, Nashville, Louisiana,
Tennessee, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota,
South Dakota
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