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I've read some dumb tweets, but this one is up there....

I never really cared about this, which I know might not be a popular take. But these schools have BILLIONS in endowment. Pay the table tennis coach $10 mil for all I care, as long as we're relevant. NBA players are making $50mil a year and are not even showing up to work on Fridays (and some Thursdays, looking at you Kawhi).

And talking about Stoops' salary is even more odd to me than Cal's. Stoops is being paid $9mil and he regularly has Kentucky around the top25. I'm not sure how much better Kentucky is going to get in football, playing in a state that has almost nothing in the way of homegrown football talent. If anything I'd say he's earned that salary.

What's the other option here? We cut his pay because he can't beat Georgia? And then what? He leaves and we go back to being nowhere near top25.
 
If my friend hires an expensive plumber I would still expect that plumber to do an outstanding job despite me not paying the plumber myself.

This is one of those moments where it’s better to be a silent fool rather than open your mouth and let everyone know how foolish you are
 
If my friend hires an expensive plumber I would still expect that plumber to do an outstanding job despite me not paying the plumber myself.

This is one of those moments where it’s better to be a silent fool rather than open your mouth and let everyone know how foolish you are

Particularly looking at the Stoops example.. is he not getting the job done at Kentucky? This is a little different than fixing a plumbing issue. Sports isn't binary. It's not fixed/not fixed or completed/unfinished.

Georgia coach is making $12mil.. Maryland and Purdue football coaches make like $6mil.. so Stoops makes $9mil at Kentucky, when he's been our best coach in decades.. seems fair to me. I'd say he's "fixing" the plumbing issue.
 
I never really cared about this, which I know might not be a popular take. But these schools have BILLIONS in endowment. Pay the table tennis coach $10 mil for all I care, as long as we're relevant. NBA players are making $50mil a year and are not even showing up to work on Fridays (and some Thursdays, looking at you Kawhi).

And talking about Stoops' salary is even more odd to me than Cal's. Stoops is being paid $9mil and he regularly has Kentucky around the top25. I'm not sure how much better Kentucky is going to get in football, playing in a state that has almost nothing in the way of homegrown football talent. If anything I'd say he's earned that salary.

What's the other option here? We cut his pay because he can't beat Georgia? And then what? He leaves and we go back to being nowhere near top25.
Higher pay brings higher expectations in almost EVERY walk of life. Otherwise, hire someone cheaper to get the same results. That's just common sense.

I'm not saying Stoops or Cal is directly overpaid, but at some point you have to get some results. Stoops is the 8th highest paid coach in the country, and doesn't even have a conference title. That's a lot of money to just be "ok". And no, we're not paying him directly But great results mean more people at games, which means more money for the university. If fans stop going due to poor performance, that will eventually cause a coach's salary to be reduced.....permenantly.

The pair make 17 million combined. That's a huge chunk for a lot of schools. We should be competitive.
 
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Particularly looking at the Stoops example.. is he not getting the job done at Kentucky? This is a little different than fixing a plumbing issue. Sports isn't binary. It's not fixed/not fixed or completed/unfinished.

Georgia coach is making $12mil.. Maryland and Purdue football coaches make like $6mil.. so Stoops makes $9mil at Kentucky, when he's been our best coach in decades.. seems fair to me. I'd say he's "fixing" the plumbing issue.
At soem point though, he has to go from fixing to improving. He's had a couple of great seasons, just like Cal. But you can't just get embarrassed like last Sat and expect people to be "well, it's better than it used to be" . At some point that gets to be old. Just like Cal saying, "We're young."

My point was more at the stupid comment. Payment directly correlates to expectations and hopefully, performance. If I'm paying someone 100/hr to code, the code better be clean and mostly devoid of bugs- doesn't have to be perfect, but it should be close.
 
Higher pay brings higher expectations in almost EVERY walk of life. Otherwise, higher someone cheaper to get the same results. That's just common sense.

I'm not saying Stoops or Cal is directly overpaid, but at some point you have to get some results. Stoops is the 8th highest paid coach in the country, and doesn't even have a conference title. That's a lot of money to just be "ok". And no, we're not paying him directly But great results mean more people at games, which means more money for the university. If fans stop going due to poor performance, that will eventually cause a coach's salary to be reduced.....permenantly.

The pair make 17 million combined. That's a huge chunk for a lot of schools. We should be competitive.

I would say Kentucky football is more than just "OK" though.

If I thought Kentucky could land a coach that can get us into the top10, I'd say go for it. But I just don't think that's realistic. It's not a traditional football state, it doesn't have the talent and it's not even the main sport of the school (yes I know football is the money maker)..

So to me, an extra million or two to keep a coach, who keeps us in the mix for bowl games every year and gamedays.. something we werent getting with the past few guys.. it seems worth it. Kentucky football isn't a "10". Is it settling? Maybe. But no sense firing someone if we don't have a proper solution waiting for us.
 
I would say Kentucky football is more than just "OK" though.

If I thought Kentucky could land a coach that can get us into the top10, I'd say go for it. But I just don't think that's realistic. It's not a traditional football state, it doesn't have the talent and it's not even the main sport of the school (yes I know football is the money maker)..

So to me, an extra million or two to keep a coach, who keeps us in the mix for bowl games every year and gamedays.. something we werent getting with the past few guys.. it seems worth it. Kentucky football isn't a "10". Is it settling? Maybe. But no sense firing someone if we don't have a proper solution waiting for us.
I'm not calling for him to be fired. Not even close. I'm not naive. But 7-5 is not going to sit well with the fan base this year, just like another post season choke won't sit well with the basketball side.
 
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I'm not calling for him to be fired. Not even close. I'm not naive. But 7-5 is not going to sit well with the fan base this year, just like another post season choke won't sit well with the basketball side.

It's a tough fan base. I'd like to think we can be better than 7 wins when we're 5-1 now. And Georgia just happened to decided to wake up the week they played us.
 
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I would say Kentucky football is more than just "OK" though.

If I thought Kentucky could land a coach that can get us into the top10, I'd say go for it. But I just don't think that's realistic. It's not a traditional football state, it doesn't have the talent and it's not even the main sport of the school (yes I know football is the money maker)..

So to me, an extra million or two to keep a coach, who keeps us in the mix for bowl games every year and gamedays.. something we werent getting with the past few guys.. it seems worth it. Kentucky football isn't a "10". Is it settling? Maybe. But no sense firing someone if we don't have a proper solution waiting for us.
If we can’t achieve top 10 status then why are we paying top 10 money?
 
Agreed. Your pay should be based on job performance.
Your pay is based on your contract, period. Like it or not, no amount of whining can ever change that. Performance is defined by the contract. Fan whims are irrelevant in this regard. This is not a grunt burger flipping role. What should, could, would people think is totally superfluous.

Harsh? Yeah. But that the way it works. There really is no room for negotiation after the agreement is executed unless both sides are willing to participate.
 
Higher pay brings higher expectations in almost EVERY walk of life. Otherwise, hire someone cheaper to get the same results. That's just common sense.

I'm not saying Stoops or Cal is directly overpaid, but at some point you have to get some results. Stoops is the 8th highest paid coach in the country, and doesn't even have a conference title. That's a lot of money to just be "ok". And no, we're not paying him directly But great results mean more people at games, which means more money for the university. If fans stop going due to poor performance, that will eventually cause a coach's salary to be reduced.....permenantly.

The pair make 17 million combined. That's a huge chunk for a lot of schools. We should be competitive.
Almost every walk of life except…..when a particular skill set is very limited. Top tier coaches are very limited in number. Hence top dollar they command. Further, they negotiate on more than salary. This is why so called performance is often tied to bonuses instead of base contract salary.

People with rare and limited skill sets have tremendous power in negotiation. They put skilled and experienced people in charge of those negotiations. I can assure you there is no “beat Georgia” clause in Stooos contract nor anything similar in Cal’s. Is it fair? Yes, absolutely. Everyone tries to make their best deal. However, we are all far from equal in what we bring to the negotiating table.
 
I never really cared about this, which I know might not be a popular take. But these schools have BILLIONS in endowment. Pay the table tennis coach $10 mil for all I care, as long as we're relevant. NBA players are making $50mil a year and are not even showing up to work on Fridays (and some Thursdays, looking at you Kawhi).

And talking about Stoops' salary is even more odd to me than Cal's. Stoops is being paid $9mil and he regularly has Kentucky around the top25. I'm not sure how much better Kentucky is going to get in football, playing in a state that has almost nothing in the way of homegrown football talent. If anything I'd say he's earned that salary.

What's the other option here? We cut his pay because he can't beat Georgia? And then what? He leaves and we go back to being nowhere near top25.
As long as students are paying “fees” this is a suck take
 
I would say Kentucky football is more than just "OK" though.

If I thought Kentucky could land a coach that can get us into the top10, I'd say go for it. But I just don't think that's realistic. It's not a traditional football state, it doesn't have the talent and it's not even the main sport of the school (yes I know football is the money maker)..

So to me, an extra million or two to keep a coach, who keeps us in the mix for bowl games every year and gamedays.. something we werent getting with the past few guys.. it seems worth it. Kentucky football isn't a "10". Is it settling? Maybe. But no sense firing someone if we don't have a proper solution waiting for us.
I think it’s very realistic. Go offer a great, proven coach Stoops’ salary, plus possibly a little more. That would make that coach the 8th highest paid college football coach in the country or better. Based on his pay, Stoops should be a top 10 coach nationally IMO.

If there’s better coaches out there that’ll coach here for that money, go get them. If a coach makes top tier money, he better offer top tier results. JMO.
 
I think it’s very realistic. Go offer a great, proven coach Stoops’ salary, plus possibly a little more. That would make that coach the 8th highest paid college football coach in the country or better. Based on his pay, Stoops should be a top 10 coach nationally IMO.

If there’s better coaches out there that’ll coach here for that money, go get them. If a coach makes top tier money, he better offer top tier results. JMO.

I just don't know if the UK football job is a top10 landing spot, and if it ever will be. It is not a football state, with very little home grown talent. It's not a "sexy" spot like USC or Miami are. We're doing OK in recruiting, but constantly fighting an uphill battle with OSU/Michigan/PSU for Ohio valley kids, while fighting the other SEC schools for kids in Florida/Georgia/Texas. And the second we get this supposed great football mind.. how long before he dips for a truly better football program?

So yeah, I guess Stoops isn't quite earning his salary (although still think 25th best program for top10 salary isn't something to get overly upset about).. it's more for me, are we paying a bit extra to keep Kentucky relevant in football? I think there's some value there, but that's just my opinion.
 
I just don't know if the UK football job is a top10 landing spot, and if it ever will be. It is not a football state, with very little home grown talent. It's not a "sexy" spot like USC or Miami are. We're doing OK in recruiting, but constantly fighting an uphill battle with OSU/Michigan/PSU for Ohio valley kids, while fighting the other SEC schools for kids in Florida/Georgia/Texas. And the second we get this supposed great football mind.. how long before he dips for a truly better football program?

So yeah, I guess Stoops isn't quit earning his salary (although still think 25th best program for top10 salary isn't something to get overly upset about).. it's more for me, are we paying a bit extra to keep Kentucky relevant in football? I think there's some value there, but that's just my opinion.
We are absolutely over paying to keep us relevant in football. I completely agree with you there.
 
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We are absolutely over paying to keep us relevant in football. I completely agree with you there.

Well.. is that such a bad thing? Who can we realistically get to replace Stoops, a guy who I imagine from the outside looking in, is seen as a coach who has done just about everything he can to make UK relevant in the powerhouse SEC conference. I think he's squeezing about everything he can out of UK football. The next coach, and likely coaches plural, probably won't have near the results.
 
Well.. is that such a bad thing? Who can we realistically get to replace Stoops, a guy who I imagine from the outside looking in, is seen as a coach who has done just about everything he can to make UK relevant in the powerhouse SEC conference. I think he's squeezing about everything he can out of UK football. The next coach, and likely coaches plural, probably won't have near the results.

This isn't the same job as it was before Stoops arrived. Top notch facilities, top notch pay to the head coach and the assistants. When Stoops leaves, we will find another good coach.
 
This isn't the same job as it was before Stoops arrived. Top notch facilities, top notch pay to the head coach and the assistants. When Stoops leaves, we will find another good coach.

That's probably true.. and maybe Stoops is that intermediary coach who helps us establish the Kentucky Football name, before a bigger hire next.

But it can also go the other direction. And Stoops' and his success have to be given some credit for the assistants and the upgrades at various levels within the program.
 
That's probably true.. and maybe Stoops is that intermediary coach who helps us establish the Kentucky Football name, before a bigger hire next.

But it can also go the other direction. And Stoops' and his success have to be given some credit for the assistants and the upgrades at various levels within the program.
I don't think anyone is discrediting what Stoops has done here. But part of building a program is getting it to that next level. Some coaches are REALLY good at building programs, some are good at maintaining them, others good at restoring them, but others are good at making programs elite. Some time those all fall in one person. Sometimes they don't.

I'm just not sure Stoops is the guy to push it to the next level. And I'm not sure Cal is the guy to keep maintaining the level of where BB is supposed to be.

Both Stoops and Cal took over programs in trouble. Granted Cal had a lot more to work with tradition wise, but not the less, we were coming off of blocking FT's, so.....

We're at a point with both were we gotta see some hardware. Now with Stoops I think that means getting back to another top tier bowl game (not the Who Gives A Crap Bowl). With Cal, we already know what he needs to do.
 
Particularly looking at the Stoops example.. is he not getting the job done at Kentucky? This is a little different than fixing a plumbing issue. Sports isn't binary. It's not fixed/not fixed or completed/unfinished.

Georgia coach is making $12mil.. Maryland and Purdue football coaches make like $6mil.. so Stoops makes $9mil at Kentucky, when he's been our best coach in decades.. seems fair to me. I'd say he's "fixing" the plumbing issue.
He's paid Saban money for Mike Leach results
 
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Coaching salaries are an open market, and prices are set on that market. Stoops is paid that cause he's earned it whether some fans think so or not. Yes, we don't pay for it so why should we care? But, also yes, can have expectations on certain results returned for that level of salary. The truth is convoluted and nuanced. Not as simple as a single tweet. In my opinion, fans make way too big a deal about coaching salaries. In the worst case scenario, we'll attract a much higher level coach demonstrating we're competitive on salary with the top schools in the country when the time comes. There is no downside to what any of UK's coaches make.
 
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Coaching salaries are an open market, and prices are set on that market. Stoops is paid that cause he's earned it whether some fans think so or not. Yes, we don't pay for it so why should we care? But, also yes, can have expectations on certain results returned for that level of salary. The truth is convoluted and nuanced. Not as simple as a single tweet. In my opinion, fans make way too big a deal about coaching salaries. In the worst case scenario, we'll attract a much higher level coach demonstrating we're competitive on salary with the top schools in the country when the time comes. There is no downside to what any of UK's coaches make.
🤦‍♂️
 
Coaching salaries are an open market, and prices are set on that market. Stoops is paid that cause he's earned it whether some fans think so or not. Yes, we don't pay for it so why should we care? But, also yes, can have expectations on certain results returned for that level of salary. The truth is convoluted and nuanced. Not as simple as a single tweet. In my opinion, fans make way too big a deal about coaching salaries. In the worst case scenario, we'll attract a much higher level coach demonstrating we're competitive on salary with the top schools in the country when the time comes. There is no downside to what any of UK's coaches make.
Stoops record this year is 5-1
4 of those wins are against teams that have a cumulative record of 6-18
Ball St 1-5
EKU 2-3
Akron 1-5
Vandy 2-5

Since 2018 when we beat Florida at Florida, he is 0-10 vs top 15 teams.

In other words, he’s getting paid millions to beat cupcakes
 
The internet has given us front row seats to a circus of idiots. The sad thing is the dumber they are the more they seem convinced that they're smarter than every one else.
I, being the crazed human I am, have had some bad takes too. But man, this one seems so, completely illogical that I had to share it. Like, of course it matters!

Do these people spend thousands for repairs and/or improvements and go, "Eh....good enough."
 
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Particularly looking at the Stoops example.. is he not getting the job done at Kentucky? This is a little different than fixing a plumbing issue. Sports isn't binary. It's not fixed/not fixed or completed/unfinished.

Georgia coach is making $12mil.. Maryland and Purdue football coaches make like $6mil.. so Stoops makes $9mil at Kentucky, when he's been our best coach in decades.. seems fair to me. I'd say he's "fixing" the plumbing issue.
I wasn’t calling out Stoops. I let people who care about football worry about the football coach. Since I don’t care about football I maintain a position of neutrality regarding our coach.

I would argue the basketball coach has definitely not got it done.
 
I never really cared about this, which I know might not be a popular take. But these schools have BILLIONS in endowment. Pay the table tennis coach $10 mil for all I care, as long as we're relevant. NBA players are making $50mil a year and are not even showing up to work on Fridays (and some Thursdays, looking at you Kawhi).

And talking about Stoops' salary is even more odd to me than Cal's. Stoops is being paid $9mil and he regularly has Kentucky around the top25. I'm not sure how much better Kentucky is going to get in football, playing in a state that has almost nothing in the way of homegrown football talent. If anything I'd say he's earned that salary.

What's the other option here? We cut his pay because he can't beat Georgia? And then what? He leaves and we go back to being nowhere near top25.
I Agree that overall Stoops has earned his pay but at the same time we should be competitive with better teams more often. I knew we would lose to Georgia it’s just how we lost that isn’t right.
 
If we can’t achieve top 10 status then why are we paying top 10 money?
Because we have to overpay to get decent coaches and keep them. It is what it is here, little history and no recruiting grounds locally made it a hard sell. At least he improved our recruiting amenities because they were pathetic for an SEC school.
 
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We damn well better beat Missouri this week. That’s what a top 25 program does. We not not contend for the East but we should beat the Missouz, South Carolinas, and Louisvilles of the world. That’s when he earns his check IMO. Keeping us in the top 20 would be fine with me.
 
How much revenue does UK Athletics, specifically the bball and fball programs, generate annually? I don’t see how you can have an honest discussion about their pay without addressing that first.
 
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