Former Louisville football head coach Steve Kragthorpe dies at 59

Steve Kragthorpe, who spent three seasons as head football coach at Louisville from 2007-09, has died at age 59, the school confirmed Monday.

Kragthorpe passed away after a yearslong battle with Parkinson’s disease.

The longtime college coach led Tulsa for four seasons before spending three at U of L. His went 29-22 at Tulsa and 15-21 at Louisville in his only two head coaching stops.

Kragthorpe led the Cardinals to records of 6-6, 5-7 and 4-8 before being fired by then-athletics director Tom Jurich after the 2009 season with two years remaining on his contract.

Kragthorpe lost all three of his games in U of L’s annual series against archrival Kentucky, falling 40-34 in 2007, 27-2 in 2008 and 31-27 in 2009.

After a year away from football, Kragthorpe resurfaced as offensive coordinator at LSU ahead of the 2011 season but decided to step down before coaching a game after receiving his Parkinson’s diagnosis. Kragthorpe remained with LSU for several years in an off-the-field role.

Prior to his college head coaching positions, Kragthorpe served as quarterbacks coach with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and offensive coordinator at Texas A&M among other stops. A native of Missoula, Montana, Kragthorpe played quarterback in college for Eastern New Mexico and West Texas State.

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