How hard-nosed dad, doubting teacher shaped Cincinnati Bearcats coach Scott Satterfield

Scott Satterfield enters his first game as head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday at Nippert Stadium.

Everyone knows he faces the tall order of replacing Luke Fickell and leading the Bearcats into their first season in the Big 12 Conference.

But who is the visor-wearing coach with a southern drawl and how did he get here? I sat down with Satterfield for lunch after a recent practice. Here are five takeaways from our chat:

‘Never forget:’ App State defeats Michigan

Satterfield, a North Carolina native, was quarterbacks coach at his alma, Appalachian State, in 2007. That’s when the then-FCS Mountaineers went to Ann Arbor for the season opener and upset then-No. 5 Michigan, 34-32. It’s widely regarded as the biggest upset in college football history.

Question: What do you remember about that day?

Satterfield: What people don’t realize is we had won two (FCS) national championships in ’05 and ’06. We had a very confident team and a quarterback, Armanti Edwards, who is probably the greatest player I’ve ever coached. By far, the toughest I’ve ever coached.

The first third down of the game for us, we threw a little under route, and Dexter Jackson takes it 68 yards for a touchdown. From that point on, our kids really believed.

I remember the stunned looks on Michigan fans’ faces.

It was a noon game. We flew back (to North Carolina). It was about an hour-and-30-minute drive from the airport to Boone. Thirty minutes out, they are lining the streets with emergency vehicles, cars, people. Everybody’s going crazy when the buses drove by. When we got on campus, there were thousands of people there.

You never forget it.

Steve Spurrier: Fashion role model

Q: Why do you wear a visor on gameday?

Satterfield: My very first football camp, when I was 7 years old, was at Duke University. My roommate was Steve Spurrier’s son, they called him “Bubba” (Steve Spurrier Jr.). Steve Spurrier was the offensive coordinator at the time at Duke. I always followed him after that. He had success, and he always wore the visor. I said, “I’m going to wear the visor.” Duke was my team growing up. It’s working, so I’ll just keep wearing it.”

'Miserable' selling insurance

Q: How’d you get started in coaching?

Satterfield: I started playing quarterback when I was 8. From the time I was 7 until right now, I’m 50, there’s only been one fall that I wasn’t doing football – playing or coaching. It was the year I graduated from App (1996).

My wife’s dad was the owner of an insurance company. I sold life, health, property and casualty insurance. I say, “I sold.” I don’t think I sold anything in 10 months. I was miserable that fall. So the next year, I went and taught K-3 and coached in the high school (his annual salary: $7,000). I went back to App State in 1998 and started coaching.

I always wanted to coach, but I didn’t know where to get a job. It just worked out.

Dual threat QB: From Armanti Edwards to Emory Jones

Satterfield has long had a preference for the dual-threat quarterback, from Edwards to UC's new starter, Emory Jones. Satterfield himself was a dual threat QB at App State.

Q: As a coach, have you always had a dual threat quarterback?

Satterfield: When I finished my career at App, I was the all-time leading rushing quarterback in App State history. Everybody broke it after that. I’ve always liked a good running quarterback, just to put pressure on defenses. I started calling plays in 2003 at App State. We were an (I-formation running) team − power, toss sweep. In the spring of 2004, our quarterback could run.

We said, “Let’s get in the shotgun and see if we can do some of this zone read stuff.” So we visited Rich Rodriguez (then at West Virginia), and started dabbling with it. In ’05, we won our first national championship. From that point on, I’d rather have a guy who can move around a little bit.”

‘Overachiever:’ Walking on at App State

Q: Your dad had a big impact on you. What did he teach you?

Satterfield: My dad (Freddie Satterfield) was a paving contractor. I learned how to have a thick skin. He was hard on us at home, and he was hard on me at work. He was no-nonsense. He passed away two years ago this fall. It made me hard. Let’s say I was 8-for-10 passing, but he’d always talk about the two incompletions. He was always striving for perfection. You know you’re never going to get there, but you strive for it.

Every summer I worked for him. The asphalt would melt the bottom of your shoes. We’d do driveways, parking lots, roads, you’re out shoveling. My dad always said, “Football practice won’t faze you.” It didn’t faze me one bit. I always felt I had an edge.

I walked on at App State on Aug. 3, 1991. That’s when I drove up there by myself in my little black, ’83 Toyota pickup truck not knowing anybody. My parents just waved at me. Neither one of my parents went to college. My brother didn’t go to college. I had no idea what I was in store for. But the reason I made it as a walk on is because of my upbringing. You couldn't break me.

I earned a scholarship after my first year. I faced a ton of adversity. In my first start, I turned it over five times. I went from first-string to last-string. But I worked my way back up. I was an overachiever.

We ended up going undefeated in my senior year. You just will it to happen when a lot of people doubt you.

My senior English teacher said: “You’re going to college?”

I said: “Yeah."

She said: “You’ll never make it.”

That was just motivation.

Contact columnist Jason Williams by email at  jwilliams@enquirer.com and on Twitter @jwilliamscincy.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Scott Satterfield: From Spurrier's visor to App State's win at Michigan