I agree with just about every point that you make except for the part about you seeming 100% positive that Stoops is the right guy for the job--if we're being honest with ourselves it's still yet to be seen whether he's the guy, and Stoops would say the exact same thing at this point in his tenure where he hasn't had a winning season yet.
He's shown that he's a great recruiter by Kentucky standards, but he hasn't shown that he's THE guy yet...that comes with wins on the field. I'm not saying he won't get that done (I'm as excited as anyone about what he could POTENTIALLY do) but to say that he's THE guy without any equivocations is dangerous. Let's not jump the gun.
I also think you're blatantly short-changing what Fran Curci and Jerry Claiborne did here. Although Fran Curci wasn't consistent, he coached the best team in the SEC more than once in his tenure at UK, and led what was a national-championship caliber team here in 1977. I think Mark Stoops would say he'd be ecstatic if he could ever reach that level.
Let's hold back before we anoint Stoops. I'm excited beyond belief about what the program could do this year and next, but it's one thing to be excited about what he could potentially do, and another thing to jump to conclusions and say he's THE guy already.
Recruiting doesn't always equal success, especially in the SEC (ask Ron Zook, Derek Dooley, Ed Orgeron and about 20 other coaches that have recruited well and ended up being mediocre in the SEC).
I'm not saying we shouldn't be excited, but I'm more than a little weary when we use words like "he will get it done at UK if the fans and administration give him the support he deserves."
We just don't know if that's true at this point in time. I really like the excitement, but I just don't want us to be blinded by our fandom like we were during the Joker tenure.
Even during Joker's final year where he was going 2-10 and getting beat 40-0 at home by Vanderbilt, fans were blinded by their love for UK & arguing that Joker only needed more time to show what his young recruits could do...that started from his first and second year when people were saying that he was 100% for sure the guy to take UK to the next level based on his improved recruiting and the administration investing slightly more in the program.
At the time Joker was bringing in better recruiting classes that UK had in decades..but it didn't mean automatic success..it never does.
I'm not saying that's going to be the case w/ Stoops, but you have to be careful in anointing people before they even get to a bowl game. That doesn't mean we can't support them and root for him to do well..we just don't need to call a coach something that he's not...yet. It's not fair to the fans or the coaching staff to do that.
