One thing that Stoops is absolutely without peer

[Tskware]

Without question, in my 50 years as a fan, Mark Stoops is the worst “in game” coach in the history of college football. I have never seen a coach who is such a poor game manager, literally, it makes no difference how big a lead we have, there will be no adjustments and the other team will always have a chance. When ULL ran the spread option in last season’s opener the whole second half and nearly came back from a 33-10 deficit, I sat there in amazement. Then UL did the same thing with a true freshman QB making up a 21 point deficit (in fact, UK was up by 17 midway through the 3rd quarter!!). So last night, where USM scored on 6 on 7 straight possessions was certainly nothing new.


Second, UK has recruited better in certain areas, e.g., WR, and secondary. However, the recruiting and or development of other positions is vastly over rated. Our O line and D line is no better than it ever has been, which is really poor by Power 5 conference standards. Losing Tubman, Hatcher and Meant off of what was already a poor defensive front was just a killer. Not that they were world beaters either.


Third, watch some other teams play. I have long thought that Kentucky should aspire to be the Wisconsin of the SEC, which was historically a bottom feeder program in the Big 10. No one will convince me that Wisconsin is a hotbed of HS football talent. Yet they always are well coached, have hired not one but several good ones in a row. To see how they controlled the game against LSU and pulled off the win was just another good example. To tell you the truth, but for a couple of lucky defensive plays, Wisconsin would have routed LSU.


Forget recruiting, and fancy offensive schemes , just get a good coach (like Rich Brooks) that can actually run a program, has a clue about special teams (about which Stoops is utterly clueless), and can teach blocking and tackling

 

[Warrior Poet31]

Good take.

 

[gamecockcat]

You dig up a thread from 5+ years ago and expect nothing has changed? And, weren't there a few games when clock management and midgame adjustments still weren't exactly ideal? You must have a lot of time on your hands. Is there a thread on the political board
from the same time that said 'no way can Trump win'? You ought to comment on that one, too.

 

[catben]

Coach Stoops received a TON of On-The-Job training these past 6 seasons. No more leaving WR's uncovered, no more falling for grade school tricks by opposing coaches, getting an OC that can recruit and run a MODERN offense and being able to KEEP coaches even when Blue Blood schools come after them.

Coach Stoops has ARRIVED!!!!

 

[ktbug]

Looks like a post right after So. Miss in 16. I was as mad as TT, but I always avoid the internet for a day or two after a bad loss.

 

[JBHolmesfan]

Digging up old threads like this is odd. Some people think because Stoops has improved doesn’t mean the criticisms of him before we’re wrong. He got better and credit to him for that. I don’t think Stoops was ever the worst game manager although I did think we were too conservative with leads at times. It seems like the OP from 4 years ago was venting after a loss.

I feel like some posters will pull up a thread complaining about not covering the receivers against Florida and make it some kind of gotcha thread because we’ve won 10 games twice since then. It’s odd to me.

 

[seccats04]

I think criticism of Stoops was a valid point 5 years ago but you'd have to be blind to not see how he's progressed as a coach. He's come a long way, in fact. The biggest issues that Stoops needs to figure out now are how to avoid the letdown games against FCS opponents; how to avoid the one stinker game every year; how to improve instead of coming out flat after a bye week and maybe practice with loud cow bells all week to prepare for road games at MSU. Besides that, he's done quite well.

 

[Tubbyfan78]

That’s the worst take in college football history. Stoops is a very good and improving in game coach. He made a lot of new coach blunders early which most new coaches make. He never had strategy and adjustment issues though. They were just bonehead mistakes that are getting less and less frequent as he gain experience. Stoops is a great coach.

 

[Warrior Poet31]

I just ran across this thread when I was keyword searching for another topic. I have nothing against the OP or anyone else who had issue with Stoops back then. It's simply amused me how wrong the OPs take has turned out to be.

 

[Jtf2217]

Why do we keep resurrecting threads from years ago? Yes Stoops sucked bad at time management ect, and truthfully still isn't great at it. But it was a legit concern when it was posted, and you can't look at things years later. Like Ford if they had a bad run of motors for example and recalled them, but in turn learn and fix it going forward.... are all ford motors trash? No same thing here.

 

[JPFisher]

I just ran across this thread when I was keyword searching for another topic. I have nothing against the OP or anyone else who had issue with Stoops back then. It's simply amused me how wrong the OPs take has turned out to be.

Hindsight is 2020. I sometimes find myself wanting to resurrect "bad take" threads, myself. However, we are only human and I don't want to make myself look like more of an ass than I already do.

 

[Chump Change X]

Stoops has grown as a game coach immensely in the last few years. No doubt about it.

 

[TBCat]

Good take.

Dec 30? Wow you created this account just in time to make a bad first impression.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Good take.

Exactly…He should have waited until Stoops beats Miami of Ohio and UF next season to break the Bear’s record for most wins at UK to drop this thread!!!

 

[JC CATS]

I think criticism of Stoops was a valid point 5 years ago but you'd have to be blind to not see how he's progressed as a coach. He's come a long way, in fact. The biggest issues that Stoops needs to figure out now are how to avoid the letdown games against FCS opponents; how to avoid the one stinker game every year; how to improve instead of coming out flat after a bye week and maybe practice with loud cow bells all week to prepare for road games at MSU. Besides that, he's done quite well.

I think it was odd not to see that he was putting building blocks in place and improving the team and it wasn't going to be done in 2 weeks! That's just me though

 

[Tskware]

Good Lord some of you people really need to get a life. A six-year-old thread? By the way the next to last paragraph about becoming the Wisconsin of the SEC is still valid and I'm glad to see we've largely achieved that.

 

[Warrior Poet31]

Good Lord some of you people really need to get a life. A six-year-old thread? By the way the next to last paragraph about becoming the Wisconsin of the SEC is still valid and I'm glad to see we've largely achieved that.

Yeah, I wasn't meaning to stir the pot too bad. I think we all had the same thoughts back in 2015. Back then it was hard to see the success that Stoops has had the last 4 years coming to fruition.

 

[The-Hack]

Our O line and D line is no better than it ever has been, which is really poor by Power 5 conference standards. Losing Tubman, Hatcher and Meant off of what was already a poor defensive front was just a killer.

This was the part I would have agreed to the most.

But by mid-season, missing Barker, we became that “Wisconsin” of the SEC, at least on the O-line.

It took two more years to solidify the defense.

 

[The-Hack]

I think we all had the same thoughts back in 2015.

I will not claim to have foreseen multiple 10 win seasons, a 4 bowl winning streak, the nation’s
longest OOC winning streak, etc., but I and many others were pro-Stoops throughout (and you can pull the old posts).

 

[TJWalkersBurner]

To me, it’s pretty simple; don’t want people digging up incredibly stupid takes you made? Then don’t post incredibly stupid takes.

 

[The-Hack]

Then don’t post incredibly stupid takes.

I try not to post soon after losses, while angry or intoxicated.

And all three of those things have held me back, simultaneously at times.

 

[TBCat]

To me, it’s pretty simple; don’t want people digging up incredibly stupid takes you made? Then don’t post incredibly stupid takes.

Yep, I can see this stupid take being brought up in the future. You realize that the reason this is assholish behavior is because you aren't even taking their statement in context. If you want to dig up a 6 year old post where someone is criticizing Stoops' poor clock management in a game that was played 6 years ago then do so. But keep it to what they were talking about. Talk about why Stoops' poor clock management wasn't an issue. That would be fine, but that's not what you are doing here. You are comparing a 6 year old topic to a current day issue. That's like digging up a quote from Reagan when talking about today's inflation rate, as if Reagan can possibly be responsible for inflation 35 years after his presidency. Pulling up old quotes is bad because you are not putting them in the context in which they were made. All aging topics can be made to look stupid by doing that, even the positive ones.

 

[TJWalkersBurner]

Sorry, but no. There is no context that will make the statement “Mark Stoops is the worst “in game” coach in the history of college football” anything but embarrassingly, pathetically stupid. Not when he got here, not in 2016, not now. Criticizing stoops’ clock management, even if you’re correct that it was poor, doesn’t mean you get to stretch that criticism into such a wildly outlandish statement and still think you’re “correct.” And if you’re defending it, that’s also embarrassingly, pathetically stupid.

Yep, I can see this stupid take being brought up in the future. You realize that the reason this is assholish behavior is because you aren't even taking their statement in context. If you want to dig up a 6 year old post where someone is criticizing Stoops' poor clock management in a game that was played 6 years ago then do so. But keep it to what they were talking about. Talk about why Stoops' poor clock management wasn't an issue. That would be fine, but that's not what you are doing here. You are comparing a 6 year old topic to a current day issue. That's like digging up a quote from Reagan when talking about today's inflation rate, as if Reagan can possibly be responsible for inflation 35 years after his presidency. Pulling up old quotes is bad because you are not putting them in the context in which they were made. All aging topics can be made to look stupid by doing that, even the positive ones.

 

[Tskware]

In all the years I have posted on this site this thread may well be one of the silliest ones ever.. and that is really saying something

I was glad to be wrong about Stoops I will say that

 

[DCFseattle]

Lol what kind of necromancy is this?
This was 5.5 years old and had ONE post. I mean it was a terrible take, no offense OP, but what's the point bringing this particular one back from the dead?

 

[SmedMoley]

I just ran across this thread when I was keyword searching for another topic. I have nothing against the OP or anyone else who had issue with Stoops back then. It's simply amused me how wrong the OPs take has turned out to be.

Stop keyword searching and stop digging up 6 year old threads. This thread is older than most of the bourbon you can buy.

 

[Hjack]

In all the years I have posted on this site this thread may well be one of the silliest ones ever.. and that is really saying something

I was glad to be wrong about Stoops I will say that

And none of us, particularly on this board, has ever said anything or done anything we would regret.

 

[sieken]

Good take.

You must be new around here if this thread is the one that shocked you. Go back and read through the game threads of Stoop's tenure. It's the emotional roller coaster of being a fan.

 

[Deeeefense]

The OP is not that much out of tune with the mood at the time. However since it was brought up the take away here is that Mitch, who took enormous heat giving Stoops contract extensions while loosing was right in the end.
He followed the Pittsburg Steelers model. Carefully select your guy and then back up him all the way through good and bad times, as opposed to the Cleveland Browns model who has fired a coach on the average of once every two years the last decade.

What's missing in the minds of many fans is a rather simple concept, the longer a smart capable person is on any job, the better he/she performs. Investing in the right guy pays off in the end.

 

[JBHolmesfan]

You must be new around here if this thread is the one that shocked you. Go back and read through the game threads of Stoop's tenure. It's the emotional roller coaster of being a fan.

If he thinks this post was bad he won’t make it to the 4th page on the game threads if our opponent scores first.

 

[Tskware]

Good God I hope no one finds posts I made about Bill Curry or Joker Phillips! Lol

 

[Nuke99m]

I would like to see the ol Smitty qb posts.

 

[Big10Cat]

Gee, maybe if Stoops would learn how to coach, we might win 11 games in a season?

 

[cat89jd]

Without question, in my 50 years as a fan, Mark Stoops is the worst “in game” coach in the history of college football. I have never seen a coach who is such a poor game manager, literally, it makes no difference how big a lead we have, there will be no adjustments and the other team will always have a chance. When ULL ran the spread option in last season’s opener the whole second half and nearly came back from a 33-10 deficit, I sat there in amazement. Then UL did the same thing with a true freshman QB making up a 21 point deficit (in fact, UK was up by 17 midway through the 3rd quarter!!). So last night, where USM scored on 6 on 7 straight possessions was certainly nothing new.


Second, UK has recruited better in certain areas, e.g., WR, and secondary. However, the recruiting and or development of other positions is vastly over rated. Our O line and D line is no better than it ever has been, which is really poor by Power 5 conference standards. Losing Tubman, Hatcher and Meant off of what was already a poor defensive front was just a killer. Not that they were world beaters either.


Third, watch some other teams play. I have long thought that Kentucky should aspire to be the Wisconsin of the SEC, which was historically a bottom feeder program in the Big 10. No one will convince me that Wisconsin is a hotbed of HS football talent. Yet they always are well coached, have hired not one but several good ones in a row. To see how they controlled the game against LSU and pulled off the win was just another good example. To tell you the truth, but for a couple of lucky defensive plays, Wisconsin would have routed LSU.


Forget recruiting, and fancy offensive schemes , just get a good coach (like Rich Brooks) that can actually run a program, has a clue about special teams (about which Stoops is utterly clueless), and can teach blocking and tackling

I hope you realize this will go on your permanent record....

Get a grip folks. Let anyone who has been on this board for longer than 3 years cast the first stone here. I know I cannot. Thankfully I think I was on "sabbatical" from the site the night we forgot to cover the WR's vs. UF.