I depresses me to say so but you are more likely to be right than anyone who thinks we get 6 wins.
Matt Jones Tweeting About Stoops (1 Jan)
- Thread starter YaketySax
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In the SEC, with the money we have available and the resources we have poured into the program the last decade, much higher than they ever have been. Stoops even gets some credit for that. Although, as has already been pointed out, much of the improvement W/L wise came a direct result of a decline in the SEC east, from which we were able to benefit. Now that it is returning to form, we are seeing the results are reverting towards the earlier part of Stoops tenure.
Our standards shouldn't be reverting as a result. We should be a bowl eligible team at minimum. We play 4 cupcakes a year if you count UL. While they are improving, we should still easily beat them. Add 2 conference wins and you're at 6. That's not that hard. We certainly shouldn't be in battles with mid-majors and FCS teams. We shouldn't be burning through OC's, position coaches and others. We certainly should NOT be paying a top 10 HC salary for not even top 50 results.
Again, I don't think anyone is expecting immediate success. At least they shouldn't be. But 12 seasons without a realistic shot at even making a conference championship while having ample resources is certainly not good. Due to 2021 being vacated, we technically haven't had a winning or even .500 SEC season since 2018. Even if you count 2021, that's 5 out of the last 6 season we are below .500 in our own conference, and 31% overall during his tenure. Add that to the fact we have lost our last 2 shitty bowl games, it's certainly not meeting even UK standards.
We may not have super high standards, and Stoops may even be responsible for helping create some of the ones we do have, but it's clear as day to anyone being unbiased that it's time for a change.
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That's my biggest fear, will we get a Rich Brooks or a Billy Gilispie?
Exactly.
It's just a do-over from this season with no improvements. There's no favorable schedule. There's only three guaranteed wins on that schedule. Then you have "maybes" against Vandy or Louisville (and I don't even think they will win those at this point). What are we doing here? It's definitely not a serious desire to win. It's just there to fund everything else.
It's giving him a year to see if he can straighten it out and honestly he's earned it. It also serves a few other purposes, it greases the rails a little bit in case we do have to fire him next year, he can't say he wasn't given an opportunity to fix things and he should be more agreeable to working out a settlement than being a hardass and wanting the entire buyout. It also sends a message to potential coaches we might hire that we'll give you ever chance to succeed here.
Understood but the decision to keep or not keep a coach, other than monetary ramifications, is really a decision of whether you would hire someone today to lead you in the current circumstances. I get that his past has earned one more year but nothing about the last few seasons smells like he has much or anything left in his tank for here. And it seems he knows it and why he worked the A&M job. I’m not a guy that isn’t accepting of that or that doesn’t want him to do well. I just don’t really understand the ‘he’s the only guy that can or could have’ when he has had an entirely different set of resource circumstances than about every other UK coach. Today’s game, and especially once the settlement procedures start, will favor well run organizations way more than the old school recruiting base and all of that. We’re already seeing it with the sec teams starting to fade a bit from their lack of normal depth. This is a time to take advantage, not stay status quo.
My biggest concern is rumblings about assistant coaches being told not to address the practice issues with certain players.
Danger of making the wrong hire? What’s the worst that could happen? You don’t think someone else can win three OOC cupcake games every year and beat Vandy and pick off a struggling SEC team on a downturn? That’s been Stoops’ MO for most of his tenure.
He’s going to be here so it’s pointless to discuss but Mitch doesn’t give two shits about actually being competitive. He will gladly be okay with 5-7 wins every year.
Who can UK hire that can outperform 6 wins vs this upcoming schedule? I think 6 wins is the most stoops can get vs this schedule. Its brutal.
What's the worst that could happen? Did you live through the Bill Curry years like I did, or the Mumme years? It can get worse brother, lots worse than it is now. I'm not saying a change isn't needed, just saying we need to consider all options because the wrong move could put us back to the bad old days.
I think the choice is on whether to check out or not as a fanbase. With how shaky Kentucky's traditional standing already is, if we check out, we will still get what we want (Stoops gone) but with an even more anemic donor/NIL base that basically dooms Kentucky to an even worse situation even if we replace the Coach. Yes, any coach can turn the ship around in 1 or 2 years in the new environment, but total fan apathy/boycott might mean we have no shot of getting anyone here who would be capable of that.
With this talent level, probably no one. That's a problem that shouldn't be.
Not a soul lol. And that’s always been my point. Even if we were to fire stoops it needs to be after the schedule flips
Lets say our talent level was 50% better. We still arent winning more than 6 games. Its an insane sos.
It's sad but true. I would love to do better i just don't see a practical solution. Summrall is basically it and hed have to do it with a very unproven staff and without the networking advantage of his entire family being in coaching.
That’s because people were responding that he was calling for Cal’s job for years and is giving stoops too much leeway.
He’s just stating that he did not say Cal should not be the coach until after the Oakland game, not equating it to some reason why he’s right.
I was done after St Peters so I agree he was definitely late to the party.
I just love how Matt starts off mentioning the talented players leaving that we can't replace and then creates a strawman through inferring that they were the somehow part of this "culture problem." What a childishly obvious attempt to deflect blame from the guy who is supposed to enforce what our team's culture is. How many years did we witness players being thrown under the bus after the end of another lackluster Calipari season(s)? Same deflection and spin.
Needs another year.. blah blah blah. We aren't as of right now bringing in better players than we have lost, and we know damn well that the coaching philosophy is not changing, nor going to improve in year 13 of his tenure here. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to know how this ends. Yet we have an AD who needs to keep dragging out the misery long enough to take a little sting out of the ludicrous contracts Barnhart has the school in again. He's just buying time. Everyone here knows it, yet we must continue to endure the charade and spin.
We have an AD who cares more about saving face, good ole boy club contracts and bean counting than he does actual football success and winning. If he thought the fanbase would happily accept 3 or 4 wins a season now, he would never change a thing.
Needs another year.. blah blah blah. We aren't as of right now bringing in better players than we have lost, and we know damn well that the coaching philosophy is not changing, nor going to improve in year 13 of his tenure here. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to know how this ends. Yet we have an AD who needs to keep dragging out the misery long enough to take a little sting out of the ludicrous contracts Barnhart has the school in again. He's just buying time. Everyone here knows it, yet we must continue to endure the charade and spin.
We have an AD who cares more about saving face, good ole boy club contracts and bean counting than he does actual football success and winning. If he thought the fanbase would happily accept 3 or 4 wins a season now, he would never change a thing.
It’s not that someone can come in right away and do this next year (hell, who knows considering Dillingham got Arizona State from 3 wins to 11). It’s that we know Stoops’ approach no longer works.
We have peaked and it’s only going to get worse. We don’t play an offensive style that appeals to skill players. We never scored more than 20 points in SEC play. I think we had 113 total points to average 14 ppg.
Instead of getting fans’ hopes up in competing for SEC division title and playoff spots maybe we just need to establish what “success” is instead of this never ending cycle of celebrating Stoops for getting 5-7 wins with three gimme games a year cause we’re afraid we might only win four games.
Like just have Mitch say “Yeah this all we can do” then fine. But until then, if something isn’t working, try something different.
Stoops also benefited from a weak Mizzou, USC, Vandy, and to a certain extent Florida. All of those programs have improved over the past 1-2 seasons while we have clearly regressed.
The relationship between BBN and the UK FB under Stoops has devolved into a loveless marriage.
Stoops had one foot out the door last year and lost the team in the process. Doubt he can get control of something he allowed to happen inmates running the asylum.
The fans have already checked out. They'll be doing bogo specials for season tickets on the checkout at kroger before it's over with.
What coach would come to UK in that scenario? Heck, landing the coach fans would probably want in the current NIL environment will be tough enough. Having strong fan support will be key.
Sumrall was a very good recruiter for UK. He has a passion for the school. He would be UK’s Brohm hire. If he passed on the job or was not offered (cannot imagine that), UK would really be in trouble, I think.
You’re not wrong, but hiring the right coach would generate sufficient enthusiasm to motivate ticket sales, NIL, etc.
Literally anyone who can actually create an offense that averages more than 14 ppg in the conference. What legit QB and WR would want to play in the Stoops system?
No SEC and Top 10-20 money will draw lots of attention and interest. Just need to hire the right guy. Who that is I’m not sure but theirs multiple Coaches that can win here
No different than most years he's been here. His teams have won in spite of it for 8 years. Since his teams have performed better as underdogs and with an "us vs the world" mentality, that may work against the fans that want him gone. Apathy would be the better approach
That for LOD UK fans is always just like the backup QB or the recruit we didn't land. Our next coach is never the right coach until they've moved on to another job. They never support the coach, even if the team is winning. A great season is always a fluke and they're always pining for the games we didn't win.
They're never happy with football, because what they want is a big name, an image, a style of play, and they want that big name driving a Bentley. Unfortunately, it's just the really nice Toyota in a conference with Bentleys and Ferraris and an occasional Lamborghini. They want bragging rights, at a gossip bargain rate, and plausible deniability if they don't deliver, because they can't handle disappointment, so they're ALWAYS negative first and foremost.
There's plenty that aren't that way, but they're not as vocal, and it doesn't take much to get a ton of people turned negative as well, because most dont know much or have the time to know much about the team or football.
That said, Stoops has a year to turn it around, and it's a big, uphill battle
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