Barnhart did not hire Morriss, he inherited him from Larry Ivy. He decided to keep him after the players petitioned to keep him but Baylor came along and UK would not match the money. The Brooks hire in hindsight, was brilliant. The scholarship sanctions didn't start to be felt until Brooks' first year. I remember hearing at the time that Morriss had not signed a single lineman his final season and maybe just a couple the year before. If true, that augured disaster for any team, let alone one handcuffed by sanctions.
Urban legend says we came this close to getting Bill Parcells at the time too but that might have been as much a fantasy as UT fans thinking Jon Gruden was coming there. Brooks was an experienced solid coach at the end of his career who wasn't going to leave until the job was finished. If you think the Brooks hire set us back, you're out of your mind. Especially at UK, where moments of football glory have been as common as waiting to see Haley's Comet.
Urban legend says we came this close to getting Bill Parcells at the time too but that might have been as much a fantasy as UT fans thinking Jon Gruden was coming there. Brooks was an experienced solid coach at the end of his career who wasn't going to leave until the job was finished. If you think the Brooks hire set us back, you're out of your mind. Especially at UK, where moments of football glory have been as common as waiting to see Haley's Comet.