How many of you remember Jerry Claiborne?

[ram1955]

The two Claiborne teams that went to bowls were FULL of players recruited by Curci. Claiborne redshirted a lot of players his first year...making the freshmen the first bowl year and Sophomores the year they beat ut and Wisc in the bowl.

He didn't have a single bowl team after Curci's players were gone. Heard he could have gone to the Holiday Bowl the year they decided to play Wisc in the whatever bowl. Had they gone to the holiday bowl, they'd have knocked BYU out of their undeserved nc.

 

[brianpoe]

The two Claiborne teams that went to bowls were FULL of players recruited by Curci. Claiborne redshirted a lot of players his first year...making the freshmen the first bowl year and Sophomores the year they beat ut and Wisc in the bowl.

He didn't have a single bowl team after Curci's players were gone. Heard he could have gone to the Holiday Bowl the year they decided to play Wisc in the whatever bowl. Had they gone to the holiday bowl, they'd have knocked BYU out of their undeserved nc.

I think this post is a tad disingenuous.

The bowls were in his 2nd and 3rd seasons.

However, those Curci players went 0-10-1 in his first year. Thus, some coaching must have been done and younger kids must have played.


1984 Team:

Had 3 stud seniors in Adams, Cam Jacobs, Oliver White and DT Jeff Smith was drafted that year as well.

We also had some good youth that played quite a bit:

- Bill Ransdell was only a sophomore - QB starter
- Marc Logan was only a sophomore - MVP of Bowl game
- Mark Higgs was a freshman
- Cisco and Burbage were both sophomores
- Dermontti Dawson was a freshman
- Mo Douglas was a new Juco transfer

 

[lz]

One game I particularly remember watching was at Auburn. Even though they had Bo Jackson, they could not score in the red zone, but, unfortunately, future pro Del Greco kicked 6 FGs and we lost 18-0. Typical great D, poor offense by a Claiborne team. Classy man, HOF coach we hired a bit late in his career, and he sure cleaned up a mess after Curci was fired.

 

[jlkirk]

Really?

Prince redshirted Claiborne's very first season.

Hall of Fame Bowl renamed Outback Bowl in 1995.


I hope you gave a better effort in your 6 other posts...

Poe,
My bad. I thought Prince played for Brooks.

 

[SmokinGun9]

That's actually a sensible post and I agree UK looks like boys taking on grown men. I look forward to having Stoops' 4th and 5th recruiting classes playing. I remember Coach Claiborne well. If games could have been 3 quarters instead of 4, his wins/losses would have looked much different.

Nowhere was that more evident that Saturday night. We got manhandled by a more physical, tougher team as much as it pains me to say. Look back at the unsportsmanlike call on #58 for Tennessee, he basically slung one of our players like a rag doll. Nobody stood up for us. Do that same thing to Wesley Woodyard, or Jeff Snedegar, Bud Dupree, Marty Moore, and he'd have been pulling his helmet out of his teeth. We need some nasty on this team. Not dirty mind you but nasty. I would have been fine with another player grabbing him and knocking the shit out of him and getting thrown out of the game. That's where alot of our "quit" comes from. By the way, theres a meme of that over at Volnation, they were proud of their guy. This team is young, they don't know how to handle success but they like us can't quit. I hope to see a different team in Athens this week

 

[katwest]

His team always played hard and physical and never quit, a reflection of their coach, Kentucky needs to change the name of their field to Jerry Claiborne field, never agreed with C.M. Newton field, he was always to cozy with Bobby Knight.

 

[AirRaidFan]

I was there at Legion Field when Jerry Claiborn won the Hall of Fame Bowl in 1984 against Wisconsin. It wasn't a big bowl, but it was a good time. I hope we can get back to the good times.

 

[swflCAT]

Nice post/ thread to me. I, like a few here, started UK in 82 and didn't miss many home games for several years. Had a friend that was blind side OT, that got drafted and through him and high school sports got to know a few higher level players from both UK and others.

It is so aggravating to me that so many of our fans don't even have the most basic ideal of what has to take place to have a very good SEC football team. The best thing that I am seeing is that Stoops is recruiting at a much higher level than the last two coaches. Since 2002 our nation class average was 58 until Stoops: he has raised it up to 27 for 3 years - and I sure hope it can get better because it is still at the bottom of the SEC/11.7. If the recruit rankings are at all accurate, Stoops has way more to work with than Brooks - which seemed to hush up some of the nuts after a few years of yapping.

Stoops is not trying to bring a game of smoke and mirrors, he is trying to build a SEC football team, it will take time. In the big picture I think he is doing great, improving the program with the potential of increasing the talent level of the recruits.

Like many, I don't understand some of the decisions that are being made - but why should I expect to understand the reasoning of others.

Just like I was with Brooks, I vote we just sit back, watch and let him do his thing.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Claiborne was a proponent of the wide tackle 6 defense alignment. He did well with it. He was a man of good character and a great coach. Kentucky should have hired him earlier in his career.

This^^^^^

 

[Poetax]

Prince came later-not under Claiborne. Also, there was never an Outback Bowl vs Wisc; it was Penn State with Mumme and Couch

I think you're wrong.

 

[gamalielkid]

After reading hundreds of angry posts over the weekend it is obvious that many of you are too young to remember Coach Claiborne or you are mostly basketball fans who know absolutely nothing about the game of football. Especially SEC football.

Coach Claiborne took over as head coach of UK in 1982. He was one of The Bear's boys having played for and coached with Bear Bryant at UK, ALA, and Texas A&M before taking the head coaching jobs at VaTech and then Maryland. He was also a home grown KY kid from Hopkinsville who played and starred at UK for Coach Bryant.

Claiborne was an old school, hardnosed defensive minded coach who knew how to win. He won a National Championship at Maryland and won the ACC Championship several times. Just the man to return UK football to its glory days under Bear Bryant.

Claiborne's first team at UK went 0-10-1.

Did he suddenly forget how to coach? No! The talent cupboard was bare from probation brought by the previous coaching staff. Just like it was for Coach Mark Stoops when he arrived.

Now here is where the two situations are different. Coach Claiborne went 6-5 his second year and took the team to a bowl game. His third team went 9-3 and won the OutbackBowl over Wisconsin.

So Coach Claiborne is obviously a much better coach than Stoops. Right? Well, the real answer is that we do not know, yet and here is the reason why

Coach Claiborne redshirted the entire freshman class his first year at UK. He knew from playing and coaching in the SEC that it takes grow-a$$ men to win in this league.

Coach Stoops was not afforded that opportunity. We can arvgue all the reasons why, but the short answer is that Mitch had to get butts back into seats in CWS asap and playing year 1with the talent that the previous staff left would have been a real disaster, thus CMS was forced to play as many of his better players from that first class that should have been redshirted. Until we get enough talent on the field that CMS can redshirt an entire recruiting class, we will continue to struggle to win games in the SEC.

Let me put that into perspective. Miss State had 22 redhirt Juniors and Seniors in the game against us while we are playing mostly true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophs. Those rs jrs and srs. are 22-24 years old. Those frosh and sophs are 18-19 years old. When I was 22 years old I was a grown-a$$ man that could whip the 18 year old version of myself with one hand tied behind me. The same applies in this case for football.

We are overmatched, out manned, and under talented at almost every position against the upper half teams in the SEC. We will continue to get our ears beat in until we have rs jrs. and srs. linig up on both sides of the ball, especially on both lines of scrimmage.

There is not a coach or a scheme out there that can change the dynamic of grown men whipping young boys rear ends. Here is hoping that CMS gets the opportunity to stay here long enough to see if he can get it done when we do get to that point of playing men against men instead of boys against men.

Coach Stoops reminds me of a younger version of Coach Claiborne. Strong willed, determined to do things the right way, blue collar, no-nonsense guy that if given the opportunity will be successful, but more importantly, he will be loyal to a program that needs a strong willed person that refuses to give up even when he KNOWS the odds are against him, he will continue to work and fight till he builds a winner or dies trying.

It appears that most of you would have fired Jerry Claiborne after the first year. Good things come to those who wait. Let's give CMS a fair chance to build a program There are no quick fixes.

Nice post, I do remember Coach Claiborne and virtually no one said that much negative about year one - for the reason you said. However, he WAS 6-5 in year 2 and 9-3 in year 4. Using some of your analogy and let throw away year one for Stoops. So, this would be year 3 for Stoops - do you think we are going to go even 6-6? Now if you throw away both of Stoops first two years with your reasoning this would be year 2 for Stoops. Do you think again we are going to go 6-6?

I think Coach Stoops and this year's team hold their futures in their hands. It is either get bowl eligible or look very, very good with 5 wins. Anything else should be thanks for playing time!

Go Big Blue!

 

[gamalielkid]

Claiborne was a very good coach but he did not win a national championship at Maryland. Not sure where you got that.

Also, I'm not sure Claiborne is the best comparison to Stoops, because he did what Stoops has not done, i.e. rapid improvement in his first three years. As you say, Claiborne was winless his first year but then won 6 games his second (with a bowl) and 9 wins his third (another bowl). Going to bowl games back then was a big achievement - UK had only been to 5 bowl games in its history before Claiborne. Winning 9 wins at UK is also no joke. Only Bear Bryant in 1950 has won more (11-1).

So, my point is that Claiborne in the same period of his tenure as Stoops (3rd year) had basically proven himself to be a miracle worker. Stoops is a long way from that. I think the best comparison for Stoops is Brooks. Slow but steady improvement, and then (hopefully) good to really good seasons in years 4 and after.

Not true - Fran Curci's 1977 team was 10-1.

Go Big Blue!

 

[Smashcat]

IMO Jerry was good because he brought something different...However, he lost control of the football program and the team began to run amuck. When I got to UK in 86...the team was made up of a lot of thugs. He had no control.
He always had stout defenses, but usually poor offenses. He only won more than 3 conference games ONCE.
Jerry was a great guy...but he should not be close to our litmus. He only had the one really good year...then, we were back to UK football

Kentucky Wildcats (Southeastern Conference) (1982–1989)

1982 Kentucky 0–10–1 0–6 T–8th
1983 Kentucky 6–5–1 2–4 4th L Hall of Fame Classic
1984 Kentucky 9–3 3–3 T–4th W Hall of Fame Classic 19 19
1985 Kentucky 5–6 1–5 7th
1986 Kentucky 5–5-1 2–4 T–4th
1987 Kentucky 5–6 1–5 T–7th
1988 Kentucky 5–6 2–5 T–8th
1989 Kentucky 6–5 2–5 T–7th

Much like Brooks, he made things fun for a while, but he could never field a winning team in the SEC.

 

[UK85]

I'd like to provide a Jerry Claiborne memory that has nothing to do with Mark Stoops. The end result left me with nothing but respect for coach Claiborne.

I am a 1985 UK grad. I worked in the athletics office during that time.

It was a late Spring day when my boss told me to get a blue UK van and pick up Bill Fleming and his cameraman at Blue Grass Field. For those of you who don't know of Bill Fleming, he worked for ABC and was a well known college football broadcaster.

He had flown in on his own plane from Michigan to do an interview with coach Claiborne for what would be part of a college football preview that autumn.

The thing is, he was very late in getting to Lexington. Once I got him on campus I took him around to show him attractive areas in which to conduct the interview. He settled on a spot near the Student Center. As I recall it was near where Brother Jed Smock and Sister Cindy did their bit every few months (that's another reference that students from my era will understand).

Anyway, I dropped off Mr. Fleming and his cameraman before setting out to Commonwealth to pick up coach Claiborne. If you've read this far you'll remember that Mr. Fleming was quite late in getting to Lexington. So late in fact that I could see the steam coming out of coach Claiborne's ears when I went into the office to get him.

I'll just say the rides to and from the Student Center weren't pleasant. Coach Claiborne wasn't going to give Bill Fleming a hard time, so he vented on me. When I dropped him off back at Commonwealth I was quite relieved.

Flash forward 24 hours -- I'm sitting at my desk in Memorial when in comes coach Claiborne. He walked up to me, asked my name and apologized profusely for his behavior the previous day. I thanked him and that was about it.

He didn't have to do that, but he did. I thought of him a class act before that, and that only bolstered my opinion.

 

[Tskware]

I was at UK when Jerry was coach. Except for his second and third years at UK he did nothing. I also remember in the 9-3 season he got smoked by LSU and Georgia. He did beat UT in knoxvegas that year and I was at the game. At that time I never would have dreamed UK would have only one victory over UT since then.

Unfortunately, that is close to the truth, his last five years, UK only won 7 or 8 SEC games, and went something like four seasons in a row without an SEC road win. I was at the HOF bowl in 1984, and we ended up 9-3 and in the top 20. Like Irishcat, I was at UK when Claiborne was the coach, would have never have dreamed we would never win 9 games or finish in the top 20 since 1984.

 

[lz]

To clarify, I posted this on the pay board today:

Claiborne's first class:
Redshirts-8
True frosh that played-14 (he had little choice, low numbers)
5 of them then redshirted as sophs, including QB Mike Whitaker.
At least 11 of Curci's 1980 and 1981 signees were redshirted by Claiborne in 1982.

Claiborne's second class-redshirted 23 of 28 signees, then continued that policy until he retired; Curry mostly did that, too, it was the trend back then.

 

[Sawnee Cat]

I remember when he played for UK under Bear Bryant. THE STADIUM SHOULD BE NAMED AFTER HIM. Not C M
Newton

 

[rockout1]

After reading hundreds of angry posts over the weekend it is obvious that many of you are too young to remember Coach Claiborne or you are mostly basketball fans who know absolutely nothing about the game of football. Especially SEC football.

Coach Claiborne took over as head coach of UK in 1982. He was one of The Bear's boys having played for and coached with Bear Bryant at UK, ALA, and Texas A&M before taking the head coaching jobs at VaTech and then Maryland. He was also a home grown KY kid from Hopkinsville who played and starred at UK for Coach Bryant.

Claiborne was an old school, hardnosed defensive minded coach who knew how to win. He won a National Championship at Maryland and won the ACC Championship several times. Just the man to return UK football to its glory days under Bear Bryant.

Claiborne's first team at UK went 0-10-1.

Did he suddenly forget how to coach? No! The talent cupboard was bare from probation brought by the previous coaching staff. Just like it was for Coach Mark Stoops when he arrived.

Now here is where the two situations are different. Coach Claiborne went 6-5 his second year and took the team to a bowl game. His third team went 9-3 and won the OutbackBowl over Wisconsin.

So Coach Claiborne is obviously a much better coach than Stoops. Right? Well, the real answer is that we do not know, yet and here is the reason why

Coach Claiborne redshirted the entire freshman class his first year at UK. He knew from playing and coaching in the SEC that it takes grow-a$$ men to win in this league.

Coach Stoops was not afforded that opportunity. We can arvgue all the reasons why, but the short answer is that Mitch had to get butts back into seats in CWS asap and playing year 1with the talent that the previous staff left would have been a real disaster, thus CMS was forced to play as many of his better players from that first class that should have been redshirted. Until we get enough talent on the field that CMS can redshirt an entire recruiting class, we will continue to struggle to win games in the SEC.

Let me put that into perspective. Miss State had 22 redhirt Juniors and Seniors in the game against us while we are playing mostly true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophs. Those rs jrs and srs. are 22-24 years old. Those frosh and sophs are 18-19 years old. When I was 22 years old I was a grown-a$$ man that could whip the 18 year old version of myself with one hand tied behind me. The same applies in this case for football.

We are overmatched, out manned, and under talented at almost every position against the upper half teams in the SEC. We will continue to get our ears beat in until we have rs jrs. and srs. linig up on both sides of the ball, especially on both lines of scrimmage.

There is not a coach or a scheme out there that can change the dynamic of grown men whipping young boys rear ends. Here is hoping that CMS gets the opportunity to stay here long enough to see if he can get it done when we do get to that point of playing men against men instead of boys against men.

Coach Stoops reminds me of a younger version of Coach Claiborne. Strong willed, determined to do things the right way, blue collar, no-nonsense guy that if given the opportunity will be successful, but more importantly, he will be loyal to a program that needs a strong willed person that refuses to give up even when he KNOWS the odds are against him, he will continue to work and fight till he builds a winner or dies trying.

It appears that most of you would have fired Jerry Claiborne after the first year. Good things come to those who wait. Let's give CMS a fair chance to build a program There are no quick fixes.

 

[rockout1]

After reading hundreds of angry posts over the weekend it is obvious that many of you are too young to remember Coach Claiborne or you are mostly basketball fans who know absolutely nothing about the game of football. Especially SEC football.

Coach Claiborne took over as head coach of UK in 1982. He was one of The Bear's boys having played for and coached with Bear Bryant at UK, ALA, and Texas A&M before taking the head coaching jobs at VaTech and then Maryland. He was also a home grown KY kid from Hopkinsville who played and starred at UK for Coach Bryant.

Claiborne was an old school, hardnosed defensive minded coach who knew how to win. He won a National Championship at Maryland and won the ACC Championship several times. Just the man to return UK football to its glory days under Bear Bryant.

Claiborne's first team at UK went 0-10-1.

Did he suddenly forget how to coach? No! The talent cupboard was bare from probation brought by the previous coaching staff. Just like it was for Coach Mark Stoops when he arrived.

Now here is where the two situations are different. Coach Claiborne went 6-5 his second year and took the team to a bowl game. His third team went 9-3 and won the OutbackBowl over Wisconsin.

So Coach Claiborne is obviously a much better coach than Stoops. Right? Well, the real answer is that we do not know, yet and here is the reason why

Coach Claiborne redshirted the entire freshman class his first year at UK. He knew from playing and coaching in the SEC that it takes grow-a$$ men to win in this league.

Coach Stoops was not afforded that opportunity. We can arvgue all the reasons why, but the short answer is that Mitch had to get butts back into seats in CWS asap and playing year 1with the talent that the previous staff left would have been a real disaster, thus CMS was forced to play as many of his better players from that first class that should have been redshirted. Until we get enough talent on the field that CMS can redshirt an entire recruiting class, we will continue to struggle to win games in the SEC.

Let me put that into perspective. Miss State had 22 redhirt Juniors and Seniors in the game against us while we are playing mostly true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophs. Those rs jrs and srs. are 22-24 years old. Those frosh and sophs are 18-19 years old. When I was 22 years old I was a grown-a$$ man that could whip the 18 year old version of myself with one hand tied behind me. The same applies in this case for football.

We are overmatched, out manned, and under talented at almost every position against the upper half teams in the SEC. We will continue to get our ears beat in until we have rs jrs. and srs. linig up on both sides of the ball, especially on both lines of scrimmage.

There is not a coach or a scheme out there that can change the dynamic of grown men whipping young boys rear ends. Here is hoping that CMS gets the opportunity to stay here long enough to see if he can get it done when we do get to that point of playing men against men instead of boys against men.

Coach Stoops reminds me of a younger version of Coach Claiborne. Strong willed, determined to do things the right way, blue collar, no-nonsense guy that if given the opportunity will be successful, but more importantly, he will be loyal to a program that needs a strong willed person that refuses to give up even when he KNOWS the odds are against him, he will continue to work and fight till he builds a winner or dies trying.

It appears that most of you would have fired Jerry Claiborne after the first year. Good things come to those who wait. Let's give CMS a fair chance to build a program There are no quick fixes.

I don't think comparing Clairborne to Stoops is a good comparison at all. If it's about youth why are we at least not improving every year with Stoop's players instead of digressing. Stoops has proven he and his staff can't develop talent.

 

[73Card]

I had to chuckle a bit, I guess it's the way OP worded it, "how many remember Jerry"; Geez, it's not Jerry coached with guys wearing leather helmets.

 

[docholiday51]

I remember the Caliborne years well,I think something that was mentioned in the opening post that has been missed since then was that his teams played physical and would hit.SEC teams could and did beat them but those teams knew they had been in a game.

The current team shows little of that fire and there hasn't been a Stoops team to date that has shown that fight.Maybe it is the coach,maybe it is the players of this day and age.It seems they can all dance,or take a cheap shot ever now and then but when have you seen one of our guys knock somebody's jock strap loose with a big hit.Yeah, the rules are different (for safety reasons)but you can still lay the smackdown on someone if you are willing to pay the price

 

[jlkirk]

I think you're wrong.

Poe,
You are right re Prince; my bad. I still think it was the Outback Bowl vs Penn State with Mumme and Couch, though

 

[GOING FOR #9]

i got a get in gear 85s the year unused bumper sticker.

 

[kydan64]

I'd like to provide a Jerry Claiborne memory that has nothing to do with Mark Stoops. The end result left me with nothing but respect for coach Claiborne.

He settled on a spot near the Student Center. As I recall it was near where Brother Jed Smock and Sister Cindy did their bit every few months (that's another reference that students from my era will understand).

I was there for the 0-10-1 season and for the one and only Brother Jed. He is still out there on tour, believe it or not! But, I believe you didn't get Cindy's full title; I believe it was "Sister Cindy, Roller-Derby Queen".

There are a lot of good thoughts in this thread. I think one thing that separates CMS and CJC is that Coach Claibourne had a bunch of head coaching experience when he got here. In addition to other hurdles this staff has encountered, Coach Stoops has had to do on-the-job training.

 

[billoliver40]

Coach C was old school and as decent a man who ever coached. Tales were his first day he talked to players individually they were lined up outside his office...as one came out he would hand his necktie to the next in line, because Claiborne was all about discipline.

I spoke with the former principle of Hopkinsviile High, who knew Claiborne personally. He said that coach was unapologetic that even the best high school player from Kentucky was at the very least a full year behind kids from other states...he lamented that Kentucky high schools did a much poorer job in teaching basics...footwork, stance, tackling, positioning.

Coach C unfortunately fell victim to dementia / Alzheimer's close to the end. Sad ending for a man I seldom heard a bad word about.

 

[willievic]

$hit! When your my age, you remember Moses. It sure beats the alternative.

OLD STOLL FIELD GUY!

 

[SanAntonioCat]

Claiborne was a proponent of the wide tackle 6 defense alignment. He did well with it. He was a man of good character and a great coach. Kentucky should have hired him earlier in his career.

Coach Claiborne was a finalist for the the UK job in 1962. AD Bernie Shiveley picked Charlie Bradshaw because he wanted "Bear Bryant." Had he picked A young up and coming Jerry Claiborne, we would have been competitive in the SEC into the 80s.

 

[Johnfarrel]

Claiborne was a good coach and a good man. The game was different in his day. Offensive lines and defensive lines were smaller back then. A 5'10" defensive end would get killed today.
As many have said, his teams were tough and played tough, but had trouble winning SEC games.
I don't believe the wide tackle 6 would be effective in today's game but it's difficult to compare eras.

 

[southindycat]

I remember when he played for UK under Bear Bryant. THE STADIUM SHOULD BE NAMED AFTER HIM. Not C M
Newton

Damn straight.

 

[southindycat]

I think you're wrong.

We played Wisconsin in the Hall of Fame Classic in Birmingham at Legion Field, old site of the Iron Bowl. Fairly certain they were the B10 runner-up. We won on a late Joey Worley FG. George Adams and Marc Logan ground pounding. Randy Jenkins at QB? Paul Calhoun INT to seal it?My Dad and Grandad took me. I was maybe 16? The bowl later moved and became the Outback. I don't understand how that happens, or why, but I am certain you can read Outback Bowl history that provides this explanation. We had a damn fine football team.

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

Claiborne was a proponent of the wide tackle 6 defense alignment. He did well with it. He was a man of good character and a great coach. Kentucky should have hired him earlier in his career.

Yes, 20 years exactly in 1962, instead of Charlie Bradshaw. Things could have been soooo very different !