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CBS Sports Rank Mark Stoops 20th Best Coach in CFB

But CMS is top 10 in salary.

He was ranked 14th two years ago, but his money then was only top 20.

I doubt that these rankings will perfectly match rankings by pay, and given the head-winds Kentucky Coaches have always encountered, they likely shouldn’t.
 
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This. Idk what the other poster is talking about.

Stoops would probably get less if he leaves though so he should stay.
Yeah not sure it applies to football or college sports always, but I can tell you from my raises at UK, I’d have been much better off financially to job and title hop my way up. Just can’t beat the convenience for the family life.
 
Yeah not sure it applies to football or college sports always, but I can tell you from my raises at UK, I’d have been much better off financially to job and title hop my way up. Just can’t beat the convenience for the family life.
To a point, Stoops probably does get increased salary the longer he stays at UK. Partly because the market value skyrockets every year anyway, partly because if a coach has good market value, he gets paid more and more to stay. In most real world jobs, you get a raise to move to a new company; in college-football, you can also get a raise to NOT move, which happened here. The question is, is this astronomical extension worth it.
 
To a point, Stoops probably does get increased salary the longer he stays at UK. Partly because the market value skyrockets every year anyway, partly because if a coach has good market value, he gets paid more and more to stay. In most real world jobs, you get a raise to move to a new company; in college-football, you can also get a raise to NOT move, which happened here. The question is, is this astronomical extension worth it.
I think for UK football and where it was before stoops, yes. We’re unlikely to get anyone who is clearly better. I don’t think stoops will ever win a title, but if he has us in the playoff here and there and establishes 20 years or so of stability, the NEXT guy could be the home run hire that pushes us to the next level.
 
This. Idk what the other poster is talking about.

Stoops would probably get less if he leaves though so he should stay.
Yeah he's in a spot where Barnhart overpaid so much that it's hard to imagine anybody else paying it for a one side of the ball coach. Who knows what the deal at atm was for but my guess was it was about the same amount and maybe he would even take a little less to have the resources the school puts into football. Seems to me barnharts strategy has been to overpay a guy that is ok with him still underfunding football a bit relative to his peers as long as he just keeps enough interest. These publications and even some of our fans are going to overvalue stoops if you compare it to the entire history of football here. but really, there's no way to compare stoops to anyone at uk. Only the back half of brooks' tenure and joker for a few seasons got to coach during the flood of bowls with slotted spots era where a formulated schedule can really manufacture where you land. Even Stoops went a step further by making the OOC all MAC and avoiding the Sun Belt or CUSA after taking early losses to them here because those leagues do have more speed than MAC schools. And neither of those got to coach with the tv contract money to where we are competitive within the conference. stoops has also been fortunate with the switch of power from east to west. As i always say, it's not that stoops hasn't done ok and had a couple of special seasons, It's also difficult to buy into the guy being considered a landmark coach. if he was, he would've been poached long before now, overpaid salary prohibitive or not. It was a bit stunning tam was going to hire the defensive version of the guy they just fired, but ad Bjork had only made one fb hire in his career....Matt Luke at ole miss. the guy was overruled and a couple months later was gone for another job. Stoops made his hay here with Odom and Muschamp at mizzou and sc and UF in a stretch of what is probably its floor as well as ul being a disaster. We'll see if he can find it again with others in charge at those spots and with not having as favorable a schedule as a SEC program can have but for now he's lost that.
 
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But CMS is top 10 in salary.
SEC football coaches make a lot of money. It's a difficult job with high stakes. Prior to Brooks and Stoops, UK was widely known as the "football coaches' graveyard". Our fans forget that too quickly. As I have explained here before, UK's Board of Trustees Committee on Athletics under the leadership of Chair David Melanson has pre-approved every Stoops contract and extension. Stoops has the Board's solid support. Unlike the rest of us, the Board's Committee on Athletics is intimately familiar on a granular level with every aspect of our football program and its leadership.
 
Not sure what the ‘athletics board’ signing off has to do with much other than to say 5 other people rubber stamp overpaying one man and underfund fb as a whole? So we should spread the blame around?

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Certainly glad we have this guy on the case and he is both intimate and granular. He certainly has that look of acute awareness of athletics. Count me as ‘on board with whatever the athletics board signs off on’. I’m sure if mb hadn’t gone rogue on bcg, elzy, joker etc they would’ve stopped all of that. They never sign off on poor decisions like Cal’s contract either. Not sure how mb pulled that off without them knowing about it.
 
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Not sure what the ‘athletics board’ signing off has to do with much other than to say 5 other people rubber stamp overpaying one man and underfund fb as a whole? So we should spread the blame around?

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Certainly glad we have this guy on the case and he is both intimate and granular. He certainly has that look of acute awareness of athletics. Count me as ‘on board with whatever the athletics board signs off on’. I’m sure if mb hadn’t gone rogue on bcg, elzy, joker etc they would’ve stopped all of that. They never sign off on poor decisions like Cal’s contract either. Not sure how mb pulled that off without them knowing about it.

As explained, nothing happens without the Board of Trustees Committee on Athletics pre-approval. The Board of Trustees controls the budgets and holds all authority over spending. You characterize that as "signing off" and "rubber stamping" because you evidently intend to imply the Board doesn't do its job at a granular level. In reality, the Board of Trustees is the governing and decision-making body. It actually doesn't matter how that makes any of us here feel, especially those who are not familiar with the decision process. But as I have explained before, Mitch cannot even buy a desk without Mr. Melanson making it happen. Mitch never "went rogue" either. That is a false narrative for the misinformed. Perpetuating it gives away your agenda.
 
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Brohm at 19, in front of Stoops when his first Season in the ACC didn't have to play Florida State, Clemson or North Carolina in the regular season (top 3 teams in the conference) then lost to Fla State with a 8th string QB.
 
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As explained, nothing happens without the Board of Trustees Committee on Athletics pre-approval. The Board of Trustees controls the budgets and holds all authority over spending. You characterize that as "signing off" and "rubber stamping" because you evidently intend to imply the Board doesn't do its job at a granular level. In reality, the Board of Trustees is the governing and decision-making body. It actually doesn't matter how that makes any of us here feel, especially those who are not familiar with the decision process. But as I have explained before, Mitch cannot even buy a desk without Mr. Melanson making it happen. Mitch never "went rogue" either. That is a false narrative for the misinformed. Perpetuating it gives away your agenda.
There is no agenda. I believe stoops is overpaid. I’ve never advocated for him being fired but for a program that can use money elsewhere he is overpaid and after 12 years needs to take a step up on the offensive side of the ball. I actually felt like tam was going to be a good move for both of us, like Cal, because it feels like he’s stuck. And the fact that you don’t pick up that those aren’t legitimate comments about going rogue and only are used to prove the point that continuing to bring up administrators and boards is irrelevant and doesn’t stop bad decisions from occurring further proves a level of obtuseness. Continuing to bring up that an athletics board run by an academic that is highlighted as being Lee Todd’s speechwriter really isn’t making any point whatsoever. Again, what is the point you are making? That other people sign off on poor decisions as well?
 
There is no agenda. I believe stoops is overpaid. I’ve never advocated for him being fired but for a program that can use money elsewhere he is overpaid and after 12 years needs to take a step up on the offensive side of the ball. I actually felt like tam was going to be a good move for both of us, like Cal, because it feels like he’s stuck. And the fact that you don’t pick up that those aren’t legitimate comments about going rogue and only are used to prove the point that continuing to bring up administrators and boards is irrelevant and doesn’t stop bad decisions from occurring further proves a level of obtuseness. Continuing to bring up that an athletics board run by an academic that is highlighted as being Lee Todd’s speechwriter really isn’t making any point whatsoever. Again, what is the point you are making? That other people sign off on poor decisions as well?

They aren't "poor decisions". Again, that is your arbitrary agenda.


The point is actually clear. You may not accept it, but that doesn't change the management structure. This is about governance. The Board of Trustees runs UK. The Board of Trustees controls all budgets and decision making. This is done by working through a Board committee system. Each Board committee performs due diligence and controls budgets for its departments including 200 academic programs.

You use the term "rubber stamp" because you do not grasp how a Board committee and governance system works. Managing a major university with 2,000 faculty members and 31,500 students cannot be done at the level of department heads. It must be done in an integrated, efficient fashion. UK's current annual budget is $5.6 billion. UK Healthcare revenues have grown 200% over the last decade. Annual tuition increases averaging 1.6% are well below the national rate of inflation. The size of UK's freshman class has been growing every year.

UK athletics generate about $160 million in annual revenue which, despite the small size of our state, outranks eight other SEC schools including TN. Overall, CBS Sports currently ranks UK #16 in strength among all university athletics departments. Last year, syndicated columnist Pat Dooley named Mitch Barnhart #1 on his published list of the 12 most influential people in the SEC. Since 2017, Barnhart has served as Chair of the SEC Athletics Directors Committee. He currently serves as a member of the Selection Committee for College Football Playoffs after a 5 year term as a member of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Committee. UK is one of only 10 schools that have ranked in the top 20 of the NACDA Director's Cup all-sports standings for each of the last 6 years. For 22 consecutive semesters, UK scholarship athletes have maintained an integrated GPA >3.0.

US News and World Report currently ranks UK #84 out of 227 major public universities, and UK has been moving upward in the rankings in recent years. Those are facts, not opinions. On a factual basis, it is indisputable that UK's governance is effective. However you may choose to spin or disregard these facts, they are still facts.


It was you who falsely claimed the Board of Trustees "rubber stamps" decisions by UK's athletics department, and that UK's athletics department makes "poor" decisions. My point? UK's system of governance (including governance of athletics) is effective, and overall results are still improving, although your comments indicate that you do not understand why that is factually true.
 
Stoops career record is worth his pay, imo. Remove that opening 2-10 season when the roster was in year 1 of a complete rebuild then his career numbers look better. Put that in context of UK’s relatively bad in-state recruiting, the state of facilities pre-2017, and state of assistant pay pool pre-2016 then it looks even better.

Since he’s the best coach I’ve ever had at UK I don’t have issues. He has had a UGA problem (like the rest of the conference) in 2018 and 2021 when his teams probably win the SECE if a juggernaut wasn’t in the division. UK probably makes a 16 team playoff one of those years if not both.

Could UK have Sumrall today for less? Yes, I think so. Would he do better…I don’t know as SEC is big step up from G5. I do know Stoops is a proven commodity when it comes to making UK competitive unlike all of his predecessors when taking into account his 10+ years here. The sample size is impossible to ignore.

It’s also not my money ;)
 
Only the back half of brooks' tenure and joker for a few seasons got to coach during the flood of bowls with slotted spots era where a formulated schedule can really manufacture where you land.

Riiiight.

Bowling teams were an exclusive club, requiring truly outstanding seasons prior to Brooks, such as Jerry Claiborne’s powerhouse 6-4-1 team in 1983, Curry’s 6-6 team in 1993, and Mumme’s 6-6 team in 1999.

Stoops has had it easier, slipping into bowl
Games with actual winning records, playing 8 instead of 6 SEC games.
 
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there's no way to compare stoops to anyone at uk.

True.

Except for victories over ranked teams . . . 14 at last count in his 11 seasons. The prior 40 seasons produced about the same.

Oh, and playing and defeating ranked teams in New Years Day bowl games . . . comparable only to Bear Bryant.

And batting .500 in the SEC for eight seasons . . . again, an era comparable only to Bryant.

But, sure, ignoring every numerical advantage Stoops’ era has over almost all prior Kentucky Coaches, there’s no way to compare Stoops to anyone previously at UK.
 
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That list is all over the place.
Over Sony Dykes, and Josh Hypel.
Below Brohm, Luke Fickell, and Dave Dorean.
 
True.

Except for victories over ranked teams . . . 14 at last count in his 11 seasons. The prior 40 seasons produced about the same.

Oh, and playing and defeating ranked teams in New Years Day bowl games . . . comparable only to Bear Bryant.

And batting .500 in the SEC for eight seasons . . . again, an era comparable only to Bryant.

But, sure, ignoring every numerical advantage Stoops’ era has over almost all prior Kentucky Coaches, there’s no way to compare Stoops to anyone previously at UK.
You put that more succinctly. He’s sustained a higher bar of performance longer than others despite roster, facility, and recruiting handicaps.
 
That list is all over the place.
Over Sony Dykes, and Josh Hypel.
Below Brohm, Luke Fickell, and Dave Dorean.
I thought so too but I think I get the logic of it. Dykes gets a bump because making it to the natty at a non blue blood. Another bad season and I could see him dropping as much as the guys who fell20- 30 spots. Looking through the whole list it can be volatile so some guys rise and fall a lot.

Fickell could fall a lot if he doesn’t have a good season. Brohm winning more than anyone has at Purdue prob insulates him for a good while. I would g he and dropped Dabo but I guess two nattys carries weight. Maybe that’s fair.
 
If someone can be a consistent loser in SEC play and be voted 20th best coach....well, what a world we live in.
 
If someone can be a consistent loser in SEC play and be voted 20th best coach....well, what a world we live in.
Why it is almost like the people who are paid by CBS/247 to analyze and comment on CFB recognize better than a Cats Pause nobody poster that Stoops is getting more out of UK Football than he should given the program limitations he faces as opposed to most of the SEC!
 
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Brohm winning more than anyone has at Purdue prob insulates him for a good while.
But these guys shot him up the list based on a year 1 at UL, playing no one and beating no one - before as Purdue coach he was I think ranked in the 30's
 
If someone can be a consistent loser in SEC play and be voted 20th best coach....well, what a world we live in.

And Stoops has been a consistent loser in the SEC, except for his 5-3 campaigns, the first of which (in 2018/19) broke a 41 year drought for a winning SEC slate by Kentucky.

And this is not really a commentary on “the world we live in,” but more a sign of the conference we play in.
 
But these guys shot him up the list based on a year 1 at UL, playing no one and beating no one - before as Purdue coach he was I think ranked in the 30's
Good point. I didn't look for the 2023 and 2022 rankings (I assume then it was just 247 before CBS bought them), but up from 33rd based on last year at UL is sketchy to me too. I think it does go with the macro trend of guys rising and falling a lot. If I had to guess, Brohm was in the Top 25 prior to his 2023 (4-8 record) and the voters keep overcorrecting.
 
We have a top 20 coach and top 10 in salary. Wouldn't it be nice if that translated into a consistently ranked team? Or is that just ridiculousness to the "7-6 is perfectly fine with me cuz it's better than it used to be" crowd?
UK has been ranked at some point in the season every year since 2020. FInished 2021 Ranked # 12, 2022 was ranked as high as #7, and last year ranked much of the first 7 weeks of the season.

Did the last two years finish how we wanted? no. But lets not act like he is failing please.
 
UK has been ranked at some point in the season every year since 2020. FInished 2021 Ranked # 12, 2022 was ranked as high as #7, and last year ranked much of the first 7 weeks of the season.

Did the last two years finish how we wanted? no. But lets not act like he is failing please.
He's not failing, but do you think what he is giving us is worth what he and his assistants are being paid? Maybe you say "yes", I expect more.
 
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And batting .500 in the SEC for eight seasons . . . again, an era comparable only to Bryant.
Not knocking Stoops or you, but unless you're rounding to a 500 win percentage, UK is 31-35 in SEC for last eight seasons or win 470 percentage.
 
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