What if Appalachian State’s Sun Belt title was Scott Satterfield’s Boone farewell?

It fully registered on Appalachian State football coach Scott Satterfield on Saturday that winning the Sun Belt championship meant turning his players loose on Bourbon Street in a couple of weeks.

“Maybe a handful of our guys have been to New Orleans,” Satterfield said of the Dec. 15 bowl appearance attached to this title. “So, that’s a little scary.”

Satterfield was half-joking. He says he strongly advocates experiencing life. That will apply to his players, who beat Louisiana 30-19 in the first Sun Belt title game in football. It might also apply to him, as in experiencing professional life on a different platform.

The 10-2 Mountaineers will end their season with a bowl game for the fourth consecutive year. The transition from the Football Championship Subdivision to the higher Football Bowl Subdivision has been as successful as any such step up in college football history.

Satterfield is a hot commodity with a career record of 47-16. Satterfield is going to hear from Power 5 schools needing a head coach. There’s a definite possibility he coached his last game at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Saturday.

If so, don’t resent that. Don’t be selfish in expecting him to stay in Boone forever. Tell him, “job well done,” and then go find the next Satterfield.

North Carolina didn’t inquire if he had interest before going with Mack Brown for a second stint. However, Louisville has an opening and Purdue’s Jeff Brohm turned down the Cardinals. Media reports have Louisville quite interested in Satterfield.

He said post-game Saturday he has not been contacted yet. He also gave every indication he’d listen if contacted.

“In the last four years we’ve gotten inquiries from other colleges. I’d rather it be that way than the other way,” Satterfield said.

“This is a tough profession that we’re in. When you struggle, you’re probably not going to struggle very long, because they’re going to find somebody else. And when you have success, your name is going to get mentioned.

“If there is interest, then we’ll cross that bridge when it happens.”

Aspirations

I believe Satterfield is ready for an ACC- or SEC-level job. When a North Carolina alumnus asked me why I thought he’d have been good there, I said Satterfield has demonstrated he’s a program-builder and an excellent talent evaluator. Some of his top players — cornerback Clifton Duck, quarterback Zac Thomas and injured running back Jalin Moore — were guys other FBS programs ignored as high school prospects.

I’ve seen Satterfield’s communication and leadership skills, and they’re strong. He took a big chance in Saturday’s game, going for a fouth-and-1 in a situation where failing would give Louisiana the ball about 30 yards from the end zone. The play did fail, so naturally he was asked about that risky choice post-game.

Satterfield replied that he believes that much in his defense this season and he doesn’t want to send passive signals to his players. You can question the judgment of not punting — I did — but don’t dismiss the boost to those players’ confidence that symbolism provides.

That’s guts. Combine that with a former quarterback’s vision for play-design and play-calling, and he’s attractive at the Power 5 level.

Deep ties

After Saturday’s game, fans flooded onto the field at Kidd Brewer for a championship ceremony. Satterfield mentioned how he saw guys he played with 25 years ago at Appalachian State mixing with guys who were in uniform just last season.

That formed quite a flashback for Satterfield, who started at quarterback at Appalachian State in the early ’90s, playing for the coach he eventually succeeded, Jerry Moore.

He reflected post-game about remembering when Appalachian State had 7,000 students and half the current buildings. How he met his wife here. How his kids, now teenagers, have grown up here.

That’s lovely and if his destiny becomes being to Appalachian State football what Bob McKillop is to Davidson basketball, great.

But if instead he chooses to test all he’s learned as the Mountaineers’ coach at the highest level of his profession, don’t grumble.

There’s some other guy out there like him. Satterfield’s Boone legacy will be making this job something that next coach craves.

This story was originally published December 1, 2018 at 6:25 PM.