I remember when Stoops was hired ...

[bthaunert]

Not only his pedigree and championship defense that drove that team, he literally fell into our lap after mitch let butch davis lead him on. If stoops doesn't express interest in this job, talk about dark times. People around at the time remember he wasnt even on the radar and reached out to mitch.

That brings up another important issue about making a move - mitch made 3 football hires. Joker was awful. Rich brooks volunteered for the job after helping with the search that ended up empty. Stoops reached out after we were down to 0 prospects.

So hiring isnt exactly smooth under mitch. Two out of three ended up working out but both times he was recipient of good fortune.

I think you mean Butch Jones. Regardless of how he got coaches, get 2 out of 3 good hires is pretty good. Add in Erickson at Oregon State and as an AD, he’s made 3 pretty good hires in 4 opportunities. I’ll take those odds.

Mitch has some faults, but he’s been pretty damn good ss an AD who’s been around as long as him in hiring football coaches.

 

[BigBlue1992]

If you truly think we’ve been close to the second worst team in the SEC since Stoops has been here then you’re not even paying attention.

We’re 4th from the bottom only better than South Carolina, Arkansas, and Vandy in wins vs losses since Stoops has been here. Two of those teams may very well pass us up this year so that would put us next to last. And I’m counting the wins we had to vacate.

You consider that good? Maybe you should wake up.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

I think you mean Butch Jones. Regardless of how he got coaches, get 2 out of 3 good hires is pretty good. Add in Erickson at Oregon State and as an AD, he’s made 3 pretty good hires in 4 opportunities. I’ll take those odds.

Mitch has some faults, but he’s been pretty damn good ss an AD who’s been around as long as him in hiring football coaches.

You are right. Wrong butch.

Mitch was much more shrewd early. Id argue the best value decision he made at uk was letting guy Morris walk when Baylor over valued him.

Cant agree on his hires here. Two of the three turned out good but they both came to him. Thats like a salesperson picking up the phone and taking an order. It technically counts on paper but they added nothing.

Still surprising to think Mitch survived hiring billy g and joker back to back. He must be quite the workplace politician. Or workplace magician.

 

[chevyman 50]

No coach wants to coach at Ky is a dumb statement you throw the money at most any coach and they would coach here.

 

[JPFisher]

I suppose we now know who NOT to use this time around. I still find it interesting that they hire Stoops who had no head coaching experience. To me, it sounds like they were more interested in hiring the name instead of the man. Regardless, I think we all know those involved in the hire then cannot be involved in the next hire. Probably best to start with a new AD, honestly.

Stoops had led a top tier defense at Florida State, was responsible for the best DB group in college football history at Miami, and had name recognition because his brother Bob was a championship level coach at Oklahoma. Stoops had a plan, understood that UK was a "sleeping giant", and had something to prove.

Barnhart has his flaws, but hiring Stoops wasn't one of his mistakes. By all accounts, the CMS hire, at the time, was phenomenal.

 

[Crystalglass]

We’re 4th from the bottom only better than South Carolina, Arkansas, and Vandy in wins vs losses since Stoops has been here. Two of those teams may very well pass us up this year so that would put us next to last. And I’m counting the wins we had to vacate.

You consider that good? Maybe you should wake up.

I consider that far better than all but one or two stretches in our entire history, where we were saved from the absolute bottom only by Vandy. Are you also including his first two seasons where he was literally working FCS level talent from Joker? What’s it look like from 2015-2023?

What about beating Florida four times after not doing it once in 30+ years? What about beating South Carolina 5 in a row and 7 out of 8? You can say “oh they were down!” all you want. For the entirety of my lifetime before Stoops it didn’t matter how down those teams were, so clearly something is different.

Again, I agree it’s time for Stoops to go. But acting like us becoming a middle tier SEC program with the talent level to even get a little above that isn’t a serious accomplishment is just nonsense. If you’re waiting around for a national championship then I guess we just have different expectations

 

[_ukcat]

Feel Stoops was a right hire at the time in UK Football but he done all he will do at UK. It time to move on however without SEC Level NIL Money at Ky. not sure how much move up UK can go

 

[Mike-McD]

Stoops was a great hire at the time. A coaching family legacy who literally walked away from a team about to win a national title to coach a team literally noone wanted. Especially after mitch let butch davis string him along and use us to get the ut job for higher pay.

All that said, as frustrated as we all are with what we saw last week, some fans need to step away from the ledge to an extent. Our schedule is insane. We'd have to be a legit top 10 team to have the record fans wanted before start of the season. Even a very good uk team would hope for 7-8 wins with this schedule.

All that said, there is a very real conversation needed after the season. We have the defense we can win with. There really needs to be something done with the offense and the consistent annual one game meltdown where we look lost all game.

That conversation needs had not because stoops is a bad coach, but because all the schools we play (except Florida) upgraded their coaching and passed us up. If stoops cant get some high level consistency at oc, we need to consider exploring other options.

The old "let's see how the season plays out" canard.

Stoops was very smart in the beginning; he sold Barnhart a long term plan to build the program and Barnhart bought. I was down on Stoops for the first several years and then we won Citrus. After that it's been a long, slow death glide. The writing's on the wall and he needs to go.

UK will always be a program for up and comers who will step over us when they have success. At least until one of them breaks through with a real, scintillating result like a playoff berth. Remember when UofL went to the Orange and Sugar Bowls? How come they never broke through after that and became a national power? Because they just aren't. I hate to admit it, but UK is much the same. The only way we ever get to a playoff is by changing conferences or we catch lightning in a bottle.

 

[jeffky]

I remembered last year when he wanted out of here and did a backdoor act for texas a&m I would have told him not to let the door hit you in the ass

 

[Short-Dawg-69]

Mitch had an alumni committee lead by Tim Couch that consulted with him. The committee chose Stoops.

True

 

[megablue]

I remembered last year when he wanted out of here and did a backdoor act for texas a&m I would have told him not to let the door hit you in the ass

It seems only "natural" that a head coach loses credibility with players, fans and boosters when seriously entertaining positions at other schools.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Mitch had an alumni committee lead by Tim Couch that consulted with him. The committee chose Stoops.

Stoops reached out when he was completely out of options. That committee definitely approved him because well....choices were bleak.

Even if you rule all that out, stoops was a great get. We're fortunate he fell in our lap.

The old "let's see how the season plays out" canard.

Stoops was very smart in the beginning; he sold Barnhart a long term plan to build the program and Barnhart bought. I was down on Stoops for the first several years and then we won Citrus. After that it's been a long, slow death glide. The writing's on the wall and he needs to go.

UK will always be a program for up and comers who will step over us when they have success. At least until one of them breaks through with a real, scintillating result like a playoff berth. Remember when UofL went to the Orange and Sugar Bowls? How come they never broke through after that and became a national power? Because they just aren't. I hate to admit it, but UK is much the same. The only way we ever get to a playoff is by changing conferences or we catch lightning in a bottle.

We won a second citrus too and had other good seasons.

Idk about up and comers but it will mostly require big risks from the ad. Other than money, its a tough sell to come here and face a completely insane grind of a schedule while having mediocre nil and an ad who won't help raise nil and in fact is essentially competing against you with the same donors for general donations.

UL is a different story. Weak conference hanging on by a thread. Noone goes there unless its for exposure to climb the ladder. It is good for exposure because the weak acc has several built in wins.

 

[Boz]

If I remember correctly, Stoops wasn't hired for X and O but his recruiting plan on targeting Ohio and the northern states.

 

[Crystalglass]

The “death slide” after the second Citrus Bowl includes two 7 win seasons. Since 1978 and before Stoops we won 7 or more games 7 times.

 

[EliteBlue]

Revisionist history based on the current vibe around the program.

It was a good hire at the time. It also has provided us the most sustained success in our modern history….even if it is trending down and towards a new era now.

He was a national championship winning coordinator that led the stingiest defense in college football and was directly credited for that defenses improvement. Had a top 5 defense multiple years in a row.

He auditioned for this job and wanted it and had a vision that he largely accomplished for a few years minus beating GA to take the East. We came one step short In the plan and the new NIL, Transfer portal, and now the strengthening of the already toughest conference in the land have all directly contributed to the derailing of the path we were on….which is why is prob time for new blood and a new vision. Stoops is also largely responsible for convincing Mitch tk invest in facilities and football like this university never had before.

Point being…it was a really really solid hire at the time from a credentials standpoint. FSU fans were coming off a title and were disappointed in losing him. The hire resulted in a ton of positives for the program….. even if it is likely time for a new direction in the next 1-3 years.

My guess is that this offseason Stoops takes a throws his name in the hat for any equal level program in an easier conference…like VT, Clemson if the Dabo era ends or maybe back to FSU if they axe Norv (all about timing of openings), or whatever B12 job w a little football history opens. And if he can’t get a bite at a program that he believes he could win the conference at or be top 2 in the conference….thenhe stays here another 2–3 years and retires as a 15 year UK HC and a positive legacy that likely sees a small bust or statue dedicated in a decade or 2 after retirement once the sour of the end wears off….very Joe B Hall vibes. Everyone was ready for JoeB to leave but he ended up beloved and a staple around the program always at games etc.

 

[bigbluedon]

Some people need to realize Stoops isn’t gonna recover.

As far as his time at UK stab a fork in him, he’s done. I’m not sure why some fans are still eager to see how this plays out. The dude was just sitting on the podium the other day talking about how scared he is of the upcoming schedule. There is zero reasons why a top ten paid coach should be talking like that.

His time here has been very overrated. I see posts about how when he got here we were the worst team in the SEC besides Vandy blah blah blah. Newsflash.. it ain’t much different now! If we play like we did against South Carolina we won’t beat any SEC team.

I posted these numbers the other day. In his time here we are 2-28 against winning teams in the SEC and have lost 8 of our last 10 SEC home games.

How is this man still getting more leverage from our fans and more money and contract extensions from the university?

I’ve disliked him for years.He gets no goodwill from me. Watch two decent to good teams play and then watch us play anyone and you will notice a wide gap in how we look vs the other teams. We are usually unprepared, predictable, undisciplined, and poorly coached during the game. Rarely make in game adjustments and are constantly committing stupid penalties. It has been that way since he has been here. He needs to go. Period.

 

[BigBlue1992]

I’ve disliked him for years.He gets no goodwill from me. Watch two decent to good teams play and then watch us play anyone and you will notice a wide gap in how we look vs the other teams. We are usually unprepared, predictable, undisciplined, and poorly coached during the game. Rarely make in game adjustments and are constantly committing stupid penalties. It has been that way since he has been here. He needs to go. Period.

100% agree! I’ve been saying those same exact words about him for years and you summed it up perfect!

 

[BigBlue1992]

I consider that far better than all but one or two stretches in our entire history, where we were saved from the absolute bottom only by Vandy. Are you also including his first two seasons where he was literally working FCS level talent from Joker? What’s it look like from 2015-2023?

What about beating Florida four times after not doing it once in 30+ years? What about beating South Carolina 5 in a row and 7 out of 8? You can say “oh they were down!” all you want. For the entirety of my lifetime before Stoops it didn’t matter how down those teams were, so clearly something is different.

Again, I agree it’s time for Stoops to go. But acting like us becoming a middle tier SEC program with the talent level to even get a little above that isn’t a serious accomplishment is just nonsense. If you’re waiting around for a national championship then I guess we just have different expectations

Not how it works there bud. You said we’re not one of the bottom teams since he’s been here. So I gave you numbers since he’s been here. It’s only fair to count the beginning too. You’re counting Florida’s down years, so why do you get the option to ignore ours?

Look at the numbers I just posted. 2-28 against winning record SEC teams.. that is atrocious!

Stoops would’ve pissed in his pants had he had to go against the likes of Urban Meyer, Phil Fulmer, and Steve Spurrier in the SEC east week after week like Rich Brooks had to. Hard to imagine but his record would be even worse than what it already is.

And what accomplishments were those other than the Citrus Bowl? Serious question. What has he accomplished? Does he have a spot waiting for him in the college football hall of fame? Yeah, I laughed too.

 

[Crystalglass]

Not how it works there bud. You said we’re not one of the bottom teams since he’s been here. So I gave you numbers since he’s been here. It’s only fair to count the beginning too. You’re counting Florida’s down years, so why do you get the option to ignore ours?

Look at the numbers I just posted. 2-28 against winning record SEC teams.. that is atrocious!

Stoops would’ve pissed in his pants had he had to go against the likes of Urban Meyer, Phil Fulmer, and Steve Spurrier in the SEC east week after week like Rich Brooks had to. Hard to imagine but his record would be even worse than what it already is.

And what accomplishments were those other than the Citrus Bowl? Serious question. What has he accomplished? Does he have a spot waiting for him in the college football hall of fame? Yeah, I laughed too.

So unless we get a HOF coach then we suck and accomplished nothing? Got it.

Phil Fulmer won 5 games twice while Brooks was here and we still couldn’t beat UT.

If winning 7+ games 5 times and 10 wins twice doesn’t count for anything then what has ANY UK coach accomplished?

Like I said, if your standard is national championships then I guess you’re just going to be bitterly disappointed the rest of your life, because it ain’t happening here, save the stars aligning. If your standard is the program status being elevated, then Stoops has done that

 

[Crystalglass]

“It’s hard to imagine our record would be any worse.”

It’s actually very easy to imagine UK’s record being worse than Stoops’. Given that, you know, it was forever.

 

[mg0721]

One of the dumbest threads on this board. Stoops has done an outstanding job. He has tailed off a little the last couple of years, and I believe he has hit his ceiling. And, it may be time for him to look elsewhere, but the original take is ridiculous.