Question From A Hawkeye On Mark Stoops

[rucker4]

As a Hawk fan living in Iowa City, I have always followed closely former Hawk players or coaches who now are Head Coaches elsewhere- guys like Bob and Mike and Mark Stoops, Bielema, Bill Snyder in the day, Barry Alvarez, McCarney......on and on.

I recall not that many years ago checking on your boards here and knowing many fans were not happy with Mark-- several even calling for his head.

QUESTION: What changed (besides winning more obviously)? Was Mark unfairly criticized at the time?

For whatever it's worth, I think it's fabulous Kentucky gave Mark the time to build a program and didn't do what many places are doing now-- cutting ties with their HCs after just 2 or 3 years. I say this because Iowa has had only two HCs in 43 years-- Hayden Fry and now Ferentz. It's been committing to let a coach build which has given fans here really solid football to watch for decades now. Kirk Ferentz was 1-15 after his first 16 games at Iowa and in today's world likely to be fired after year 2. But the AD (Bob Bowlsby at the time) held on, believing in him. We went from 1 win in 1999, to 3 wins in 2000, to the Alamo Bowl in year 3, to a top 10 rated team in Year 4 and playing USC in the Orange Bowl. Sad today's climate doesn't allow for building. Hats off to UK for letting Mark do his job.

 

[BlueRaider22]

Nothing really has changed.

Message boards tend to draw the extremists of a given population........but they are not generally the representative of the majority. We all know there will be some yahoos that will on sports boards calling for a coach's head the day after a loss......even though the team is 11-1 on the year. Sometimes people are idiots.


The vast, vast majority of the UK fanbase is very pleased with Stoops and has been behind him for many yrs now.

 

[Tskware]

Great question.

He got a pass in 2013, previous coach left him a stinking pile of crap for a roster, and we went 2-10

2014 and 2015 we improved quite a bit, 5-7 each year. But there were some critics (I was one at least to some extent). Blew a game against Louisville we had won in 2014 that would have put us in a bowl. Blew a game against Vanderbilt who had their usual terrible team that would have put us in a bowl in 2015, then blew a 21-0 lead at home to lose to Louisville, again. Offense was really bad in some of those losses which caused most of the issues

2016 is where things changed, but started off awful. Blew a 25 point lead against Southern Miss at home and took a terrible loss, then no showed at Florida, lost by a million points. I doubted he would make it to the end of the season.

But Stoops switched QBs (starter was injured), and went to more of a power running game, and slowly righted the ship. It completely turned around in the Miss State game, another home game we almost blew a double digit lead, but made a miraculous 51 yard FG on the last play to pull out a win. Then pulled the biggest upset in Ky history at Louisville (26 point underdog) against Lamar Jackson and company.

Since then, UK has capitalized on its improved play and continued to slowly, but steadily improve recruiting and overall talent. Anyone can see Kentucky today and see that we are way better talent wise than we were 10 or 12 years ago. And that is the biggest difference, just better players.

I personally do not think that Stoops is any brilliant tactician or game coach, but really is well grounded in fundamentals, blocking, tackling, create a solid running game that can consistently make first downs, don't make stupid mistakes, keep the ball in front of you on defense, don't give up big plays, etc. We are now 19-9 in our last one score games.

He has a great lead recruiter in Vince Marrow, and has changed offensive coordinators when it was necessary, Liam Coen will be hired soon by an NFL team or another good football school, has really made a difference in 2021 for sure.

Program is in a really solid place at the moment.

 

[jace2012]

The SEC being down really helped Coach Stoops as far as being able to beat teams that are historically great but are having down years.
It will be interesting to see if Coach can keep the momentum going forward.
Also being at UK there is very little pressure unlike basketball, you can have multiple down years and not have to look over your shoulder. Stoops is a ball control offense coach which is somewhat boring but it wins and that is all that matters.

 

[UK2KJAG]

Patience from the fans and administration coupled with Stoops willingness to change his offensive philosophies over the years I think is what changed. Early years tried the air raid, then Eddie Gran power running scheme, and now Coen has introduced a pro style offense. Also recruiting and development has taken off.

 

[rucker4]

Great perspectives so far. Interesting how everyone perceives what's transpired since Stoops took over.

From a far away perspective like a Big 10 guy in Iowa as I am, I often felt the Kentucky job is tough because it's so well known as a basketball school-- Kansas and North Carolina and Duke and Indiana being the same. But I know there's likely a far deeper perspective than that.

I must say you folks here seem to be every bit as passionate about football as anywhere else-- though not the insanity fans at Alabama and Auburn have.

You have a good man in Mark Stoops. Again, the Stoops family is admired in Iowa as three Ohio brothers all opting to come to Iowa to play football earlier in their lives. To this day Bob Stoops is as big of a self professed Hawkeye homer as there is and Iowans love the Stoops'. Have always rooted for them and their teams.

 

[Oldtrainer]

Great question.

He got a pass in 2013, previous coach left him a stinking pile of crap for a roster, and we went 2-10

2014 and 2015 we improved quite a bit, 5-7 each year. But there were some critics (I was one at least to some extent). Blew a game against Louisville we had won in 2014 that would have put us in a bowl. Blew a game against Vanderbilt who had their usual terrible team that would have put us in a bowl in 2015, then blew a 21-0 lead at home to lose to Louisville, again. Offense was really bad in some of those losses which caused most of the issues

2016 is where things changed, but started off awful. Blew a 25 point lead against Southern Miss at home and took a terrible loss, then no showed at Florida, lost by a million points. I doubted he would make it to the end of the season.

But Stoops switched QBs (starter was injured), and went to more of a power running game, and slowly righted the ship. It completely turned around in the Miss State game, another home game we almost blew a double digit lead, but made a miraculous 51 yard FG on the last play to pull out a win. Then pulled the biggest upset in Ky history at Louisville (26 point underdog) against Lamar Jackson and company.

Since then, UK has capitalized on its improved play and continued to slowly, but steadily improve recruiting and overall talent. Anyone can see Kentucky today and see that we are way better talent wise than we were 10 or 12 years ago. And that is the biggest difference, just better players.

I personally do not think that Stoops is any brilliant tactician or game coach, but really is well grounded in fundamentals, blocking, tackling, create a solid running game that can consistently make first downs, don't make stupid mistakes, keep the ball in front of you on defense, don't give up big plays, etc. We are now 19-9 in our last one score games.

He has a great lead recruiter in Vince Marrow, and has changed offensive coordinators when it was necessary, Liam Coen will be hired soon by an NFL team or another good football school, has really made a difference in 2021 for sure.

Program is in a really solid place at the moment.

 

[Oldtrainer]

Well put!

 

[jace2012]

I don’t think the fans were patient at all considering they were making up rumors about the man after the 2015 season and ready to get rid of him. Now the administration did the right thing and just blocked out the fan noise thank goodness. But I won’t give any credit to the fan base on this one.

 

[Tskware]

Great perspectives so far. Interesting how everyone perceives what's transpired since Stoops took over.

From a far away perspective like a Big 10 guy in Iowa as I am, I often felt the Kentucky job is tough because it's so well known as a basketball school-- Kansas and North Carolina and Duke and Indiana being the same. But I know there's likely a far deeper perspective than that.

I must say you folks here seem to be every bit as passionate about football as anywhere else-- though not the insanity fans at Alabama and Auburn have.

One of the great urban legends of college sports is that UK fans don't care about football. Nothing could be further from the truth, Commonwealth Stadium is a great venue, and when the team is winning and we are playing a name opponent, is a loud and boisterous venue. Typically travel well to bowl games.

Finally, it is an absolute fact that Kentucky fans care way more about football than any three other SEC teams put together care about basketball.

 

[kb22stang]

As a Hawk fan living in Iowa City, I have always followed closely former Hawk players or coaches who now are Head Coaches elsewhere- guys like Bob and Mike and Mark Stoops, Bielema, Bill Snyder in the day, Barry Alvarez, McCarney......on and on.

I recall not that many years ago checking on your boards here and knowing many fans were not happy with Mark-- several even calling for his head.

QUESTION: What changed (besides winning more obviously)? Was Mark unfairly criticized at the time?

For whatever it's worth, I think it's fabulous Kentucky gave Mark the time to build a program and didn't do what many places are doing now-- cutting ties with their HCs after just 2 or 3 years. I say this because Iowa has had only two HCs in 43 years-- Hayden Fry and now Ferentz. It's been committing to let a coach build which has given fans here really solid football to watch for decades now. Kirk Ferentz was 1-15 after his first 16 games at Iowa and in today's world likely to be fired after year 2. But the AD (Bob Bowlsby at the time) held on, believing in him. We went from 1 win in 1999, to 3 wins in 2000, to the Alamo Bowl in year 3, to a top 10 rated team in Year 4 and playing USC in the Orange Bowl. Sad today's climate doesn't allow for building. Hats off to UK for letting Mark do his job.

Nothing has changed, but Stoops has steadily improved the program since he's been here. It was a slow build and the folks that couldn't see that the coaching staff was building a foundation and improving incrementally were very vocal. But it was obvious, to those that watch much football, that Stoops and Co. were headed in this direction a long time ago.

 

[rucker4]

One of the great urban legends of college sports is that UK fans don't care about football. Nothing could be further from the truth, Commonwealth Stadium is a great venue, and when the team is winning and we are playing a name opponent, is a loud and boisterous venue. Typically travel well to bowl games.

Finally, it is an absolute fact that Kentucky fans care way more about football than any three other SEC teams put together care about basketball.

I actually got inside your stadium several summers ago while vacationing and going through Lexington. It was neat.

And again, you indeed are defeating the myth UK doesn't really care about football. Being on your board tells me you aren't just passionate, but really follow and know your football shit.

Personally, fans at places like Alabama and Auburn and their radical over-the-top talk of football, gives the SEC a bad look because so many people in the Midwest think that's how it is among all SEC school fan bases. I know it's not however.

 

[rucker4]

Nothing has changed, but Stoops has steadily improved the program since he's been here. It was a slow build and the folks that couldn't see that the coaching staff was building a foundation and improving incrementally were very vocal. But it was obvious, to those that watch much football, that Stoops and Co. were headed in this direction a long time ago.

Curious, how much turn over has Mark had in his program among coaches? How many guys are still with him today that he originally brought in?

At Iowa with Ferentz, there are so many guys who have now been here 10+ years and his Defensive Coordinator has been here all 23 years. The one thing so many recruits say about Iowa is how stable the coaching staff is and is a big draw.

 

[Deli owl]

1. winning
2. recruiting
3. beating your rival

nm

 

[kb22stang]

Curious, how much turn over has Mark had in his program among coaches? How many guys are still with him today that he originally brought in?

At Iowa with Ferentz, there are so many guys who have now been here 10+ years and his Defensive Coordinator has been here all 23 years. The one thing so many recruits say about Iowa is how stable the coaching staff is and is a big draw.

There's actually been a decent amount of turnover from guys that got promotions to leave, for the most part. He's on his 4th OC and 3rd DC (I think) and we've had position coach turnover as well. One thing about Stoops has been that he's done a great job hiring guys, for the most part and he's kept our recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow which has been key.

 

[Deeeefense]

I think what many people fail to realize is becoming a successful head coach is a process, not an event. To be honest Mark made a lot of mistakes early on. He had recruiting misses, he had poor game clock management and at times was obviously being outcoached.

But he learned from his mistakes and grew as a coach. Just like anyone that's ever held a job doing anything knows, they can do that job a heck of a lot better after a few years of experience under the belt.

Fortunately we have a really smart AD that saw the potential in Mark and was willing to take some heat while he got ramped up, and it all worked out eventually.

 

[RocknRollCats]

IMO, there have been several decisions and moments over CMS' tenure that were pivotal with respect to him still being the HC at UK.

One of those decisions, that is rarely mentioned, is the strength & conditioning change of direction after the first few years. In those early years under CMS, UK was incorporating a S&C approach that was unique to UK, new on the sports training landscape, and, IIRC the S&C coach's research project.

Under that S&C program, our players, conspicuously, looked weaker and slower than our opponents and had no stamina for the 2nd half of games.

i know part of that 2nd half collapse phenomenon was simply that we lacked the athletes and depth in those early years. However, the very next year after UK added a more traditional approach to S&C development, to me, the difference was readily apparent on the field.

 

[Tskware]

I actually got inside your stadium several summers ago while vacationing and going through Lexington. It was neat.

And again, you indeed are defeating the myth UK doesn't really care about football. Being on your board tells me you aren't just passionate, but really follow and know your football shit.

Personally, fans at places like Alabama and Auburn and their radical over-the-top talk of football, gives the SEC a bad look because so many people in the Midwest think that's how it is among all SEC school fan bases. I know it's not however.

I have been to several Big Ten venues myself, Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana and even one game at Notre Dame. IU is not much, tbh, but the other three are great college experiences and a lot of fun to see a game. OSU may be the loudest stadium I have ever been in.

We used to play Indiana a lot, but that series got dropped a number of years ago. I would really enjoy a home and home against some of the closer B10 teams, like Purdue, Illinois and Northwestern, to spice up the schedule, but doesn't look like that is likely to happen any time in the near future.

 

[gobigbluebell]

Great perspectives so far. Interesting how everyone perceives what's transpired since Stoops took over.

From a far away perspective like a Big 10 guy in Iowa as I am, I often felt the Kentucky job is tough because it's so well known as a basketball school-- Kansas and North Carolina and Duke and Indiana being the same. But I know there's likely a far deeper perspective than that.

I must say you folks here seem to be every bit as passionate about football as anywhere else-- though not the insanity fans at Alabama and Auburn have.

You have a good man in Mark Stoops. Again, the Stoops family is admired in Iowa as three Ohio brothers all opting to come to Iowa to play football earlier in their lives. To this day Bob Stoops is as big of a self professed Hawkeye homer as there is and Iowans love the Stoops'. Have always rooted for them and their teams.

Mark took over a football program that belonged in the OVC, that’s how poor our talent was. He immediately was able to bring in a caliber of recruit that we weren’t used to. Wins didn’t come as fast as fans may have wanted, but you could see the work Mark was putting in, and you knew it was eventually going to pay off.

Ive fired that man a lot of times over the years. Most notably was the first time we should have beat Florida, and gave up 2 scores where we either had 10 guys on the field, or just forgot to cover a WR. Building a program from scratch in the SEC is tough, and frustrating.

Because of those frustrations, and what we’ve all been through, it makes things that much sweeter. I don’t think many coaches would have done what stoops has here - brought us back from the dead - and stayed here. Most would have jumped at a higher profile job. Well, Stoops is turning UK into a high profile program, and that hard working sob is gonna do things here nobody thought was possible. I really believe that, and I love that man to death.

 

[Kentucky_Coach]

As a Hawk fan living in Iowa City, I have always followed closely former Hawk players or coaches who now are Head Coaches elsewhere- guys like Bob and Mike and Mark Stoops, Bielema, Bill Snyder in the day, Barry Alvarez, McCarney......on and on.

I recall not that many years ago checking on your boards here and knowing many fans were not happy with Mark-- several even calling for his head.

QUESTION: What changed (besides winning more obviously)? Was Mark unfairly criticized at the time?

For whatever it's worth, I think it's fabulous Kentucky gave Mark the time to build a program and didn't do what many places are doing now-- cutting ties with their HCs after just 2 or 3 years. I say this because Iowa has had only two HCs in 43 years-- Hayden Fry and now Ferentz. It's been committing to let a coach build which has given fans here really solid football to watch for decades now. Kirk Ferentz was 1-15 after his first 16 games at Iowa and in today's world likely to be fired after year 2. But the AD (Bob Bowlsby at the time) held on, believing in him. We went from 1 win in 1999, to 3 wins in 2000, to the Alamo Bowl in year 3, to a top 10 rated team in Year 4 and playing USC in the Orange Bowl. Sad today's climate doesn't allow for building. Hats off to UK for letting Mark do his job.

It all comes down to he got a really good offensive line(s) and took advantage

 

[Dead Cat Bounce]

There are a lot of great responses here. I don't have much to add. (That last sentence turned out to be false). But a couple (or more) observations:

a) If you imagine Stoops's career at UK as a line graph, like the kind you see in boardroom meetings on TV or in the movies, the long-term trajectory has been steadily rising. The rise was slower at first, and there have been dips and setbacks along the way. In those moments, the message-board haters have sharpened their claws. They gripe about Stoops's most visible "flaws": his bend-don't-break defense, his tendency to play conservatively with a lead, and his imperfect (but improving) clock management. Notwithstanding those perceived weaknesses, anyone who has followed UK football for more than five years recognizes that Stoops's trajectory has been up, up, up.

b) The three four five six most impressive things, to me, about Stoops's career at UK are as follows, in no particular order:

i) Stoops has developed some world-class football players--especially but not exclusively on the defensive side of the ball--and ridden them to success. I'm looking at you Josh Allen.

ii) Stoops has beaten two divisional rivals that UK had not beaten in many years, FLA and UT, and he pretty consistently kicks the snot out of UL. (I keep rereading that last clause just for the warm fuzzy holiday glow.)

iii) Stoops and Gran pulled a magical Lynn Bowden rabbit out of their hat in a year that could have gone down as a wash. We ran maybe two offensive plays the whole season, but we were very difficult to stop.

iv) Stoops has built nationally competitive OL and DL lines to an extent not seen at UK in my lifetime. He is nearly to the point where he can simply reload. RIP #65.

v) Stoops recognized that his offense was stagnant last year. He stepped up to the challenge, pulled the plug on a longtime coach and friend, brought a smart OC on board, and capitalized on the transfer portal to turn the ship around on a dime. Then he found a way to bring his longtime coach and friend back in the fold. Class act.

vi) However many years he is now into his tenure, Stoops appears to keep learning and getting better. He continues to grow more than any head coach I can recall in any sport.

Here endeth my love song.

 

[rucker4]

I have been to several Big Ten venues myself, Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana and even one game at Notre Dame. IU is not much, tbh, but the other three are great college experiences and a lot of fun to see a game. OSU may be the loudest stadium I have ever been in.

We used to play Indiana a lot, but that series got dropped a number of years ago. I would really enjoy a home and home against some of the closer B10 teams, like Purdue, Illinois and Northwestern, to spice up the schedule, but doesn't look like that is likely to happen any time in the near future.

You will think I'm biased, but I truly hope you get the chance one day to experience a game in Iowa City at Kinnick Stadium. Talk about loud. I have been to games at Michigan Stadium and Ohio State and Penn State through the years multiple times (I used to go to every Iowa road game) and Kinnick is louder-- mostly due to its configuration. We only seat 70,000. Not a bad seat in the house at Kinnick-- stadium sort of built right on top of the field.

 

[rucker4]

I think what many people fail to realize is becoming a successful head coach is a process, not an event. To be honest Mark made a lot of mistakes early on. He had recruiting misses, he had poor game clock management and at times was obviously being outcoached.

But he learned from his mistakes and grew as a coach. Just like anyone that's ever held a job doing anything knows, they can do that job a heck of a lot better after a few years of experience under the belt.

Fortunately we have a really smart AD that saw the potential in Mark and was willing to take some heat while he got ramped up, and it all worked out eventually.

All of this is the key, no doubt. Biggest key is a patient AD.

I look at Nebraska and since Osborne they are now already on the 5th different head coach and that entire time we have had ONE Head Coach. And on top of this they are on their 4th AD in that same time frame. That's why they can't get it right and have morphed into a low tier football program.

 

[Deeeefense]

All of this is the key, no doubt. Biggest key is a patient AD.

I look at Nebraska and since Osborne they are now already on the 5th different head coach and that entire time we have had ONE Head Coach. And on top of this they are on their 4th AD in that same time frame. That's why they can't get it right and have morphed into a low tier football program.

Yep, here in the SEC we have extremely fickled fan bases such as Tennessee, Florida and Auburn the go through coaches like I go through 6 packs. And LSU has fired coaches twice in the wake of winning national titles.

 

[Tskware]

iii) Stoops and Gran pulled a magical Lynn Bowden rabbit out of their hat in a year that could have gone down as a wash. We ran maybe two offensive plays the whole season, but we were very difficult to stop.

To be fair, we actually ran five or six different plays, not just two . . . but they were five really damn good plays!!

That was one of my all time favorite UK teams, really became fun to watch, and we beat the hell out of several teams, even running only five different plays. Set a school rushing record (by 500 yards!!) that I doubt will ever be broken in my lifetime.

 

[rucker4]

Yep, here in the SEC we have extremely fickled fan bases such as Tennessee, Florida and Auburn the go through coaches like I go through 6 packs. And LSU has fired coaches twice in the wake of winning national titles.

What LSU and Auburn did in firing HCs only short times after they won national titles is not just insane, but speaks to how sad their fan bases are and literally expecting national titles almost annually.

Can you imagine what it will be like at Alabama once Saban retires? I pray for the first few coaches that took on that job because none will last long.

I think back to when John Wooden retired at UCLA. Gene Bartow took over then and lasted 2 years. Then Gary Cunningham...2 years. Then Larry Brown....2 years. Then Larry Farmer 3 years. Yep, 4 coaches over 9 years after Wooden retired. Guessing the same will be the case at Alabama.

 

[mebeblue2]

a huge majority of UK FB fans knew it would be a marathon not a sprint considering the lack of SEC talent Stoops inherited

with every fanbase you will have a very very small minority that will BMG no matter what

 

[ukalum1988]

I must say you folks here seem to be every bit as passionate about football as anywhere else-- though not the insanity fans at Alabama and Auburn have.

You have a good man in Mark Stoops. Again, the Stoops family is admired in Iowa as three Ohio brothers all opting to come to Iowa to play football earlier in their lives. To this day Bob Stoops is as big of a self professed Hawkeye homer as there is and Iowans love the Stoops'. Have always rooted for them and their teams.

Thank you…. No offense but I believe we have the best free football board on Rivals. During football season we’ll have multiple threads about multiple games, many of them going multiple pages. Our game threads will often go 20+ pages.

That said, you’re a good dude and you’re welcome here anytime.

 

[ukalum1988]

What LSU and Auburn did in firing HCs only short times after they won national titles is not just insane, but speaks to how sad their fan bases are and literally expecting national titles almost annually.

Can you imagine what it will be like at Alabama once Saban retires? I pray for the first few coaches that took on that job because none will last long.

I think back to when John Wooden retired at UCLA. Gene Bartow took over then and lasted 2 years. Then Gary Cunningham...2 years. Then Larry Brown....2 years. Then Larry Farmer 3 years. Yep, 4 coaches over 9 years after Wooden retired. Guessing the same will be the case at Alabama.

Great post. UCLA had the greatest 10-year run in college athletics with what they did in mens BB, but they have been very up and down since then. It makes me appreciate what Joe B Hall accomplished following Adolph Rupp, having to follow up on what he did.

 

[rucker4]

Thank you…. No offense but I believe we have the best free football board on Rivals. During football season we’ll have multiple threads about multiple games, many of them going multiple pages. Our game threads will often go 20+ pages.

That said, you’re a good dude and you’re welcome here anytime.

I appreciate the comments. This is a great board and I've enjoyed interacting with everyone here the past week or two. We may have a favorite team but it's all about respect and interacting. Everyone here has been terrific. Thank you all!

 

[catsfanbgky]

Very simple, he is a old school, roll up your sleeves and go to work guy. Plays tough, ball control football, and has complete rebuilt the football program from top to bottom. His first big accomplishment was getting the President / AD to update and completely overhaul the facilities and got them to buy in and spend on recruiting budget and assistants. That was a very big deal. He started out by getting players from Ohio and surrounding areas that OSU did not want / have room for, then developed a "system" for how he wanted to play. After establishing the Ohio area, he then completely took over KY players and dominates in state recruiting. After putting together a base recruiting plan / area, he has started to cast a wider net for better, more highly regarded players all over (Michigan, Florida, Tenn.) just to name a few. As talent has increased, we developed more depth, better overall roster top to bottom. The guys we go after now, very few have the mid-major, lower power five offers. Basicly recruiting against Big Boy football schools and has won several battles. He has even accepted that being mostly a running football team will not win against the upper echelon teams, he has adapted and went to a more balanced offense and let the offensive coaches open up the offense to be less predictable to defend. It all started by building a very solid O-Line and has only gotten better. After doing that, we started getting better players offensively and he has always recruited well on the defensive side. His biggest attribute that has helped him is he really has an eye for talent and even better at developing and improving said talent. Does more with less so to speak. He is a true tough, football guy thru and thru. Lives, eats, and breaths football. just a winner.

 

[yoshukai]

Great question.

He got a pass in 2013, previous coach left him a stinking pile of crap for a roster, and we went 2-10

2014 and 2015 we improved quite a bit, 5-7 each year. But there were some critics (I was one at least to some extent). Blew a game against Louisville we had won in 2014 that would have put us in a bowl. Blew a game against Vanderbilt who had their usual terrible team that would have put us in a bowl in 2015, then blew a 21-0 lead at home to lose to Louisville, again. Offense was really bad in some of those losses which caused most of the issues

2016 is where things changed, but started off awful. Blew a 25 point lead against Southern Miss at home and took a terrible loss, then no showed at Florida, lost by a million points. I doubted he would make it to the end of the season.

But Stoops switched QBs (starter was injured), and went to more of a power running game, and slowly righted the ship. It completely turned around in the Miss State game, another home game we almost blew a double digit lead, but made a miraculous 51 yard FG on the last play to pull out a win. Then pulled the biggest upset in Ky history at Louisville (26 point underdog) against Lamar Jackson and company.

Since then, UK has capitalized on its improved play and continued to slowly, but steadily improve recruiting and overall talent. Anyone can see Kentucky today and see that we are way better talent wise than we were 10 or 12 years ago. And that is the biggest difference, just better players.

I personally do not think that Stoops is any brilliant tactician or game coach, but really is well grounded in fundamentals, blocking, tackling, create a solid running game that can consistently make first downs, don't make stupid mistakes, keep the ball in front of you on defense, don't give up big plays, etc. We are now 19-9 in our last one score games.

He has a great lead recruiter in Vince Marrow, and has changed offensive coordinators when it was necessary, Liam Coen will be hired soon by an NFL team or another good football school, has really made a difference in 2021 for sure.

Program is in a really solid place at the moment.

He also caught a lot of heat a couple of times when we only had 10 men on the field. Personally, I think finally getting rid of his first defensive coordinator ( can’t even think of his name now ) was also a watershed moment.

 

[Kat308]

Unfairly criticized
Great coach and fit for UK

 

[Kat308]

He also caught a lot of heat a couple of times when we only had 10 men on the field. Personally, I think finally getting rid of his first defensive coordinator ( can’t even think of his name now ) was also a watershed moment.

DJ Eliot

 

[Blue63Madison]

The SEC being down really helped Coach Stoops as far as being able to beat teams that are historically great but are having down years.
It will be interesting to see if Coach can keep the momentum going forward.
Also being at UK there is very little pressure unlike basketball, you can have multiple down years and not have to look over your shoulder. Stoops is a ball control offense coach which is somewhat boring but it wins and that is all that matters.

LOL … when has the SEC been down?

 

[Tskware]

Another huge factor was that he made a conscious decision to focus very heavily on recruiting Ohio, which us know nothing fans had only been imploring the previous coaches to do for about 50 years. Landed a ton of good to great players like Benny Snell, Lynn Bowden, and Darian Kinnard.

 

[ukalum1988]

He also caught a lot of heat a couple of times when we only had 10 men on the field. Personally, I think finally getting rid of his first defensive coordinator ( can’t even think of his name now ) was also a watershed moment.

DJ Eliot (sp?)

Dawson was a bad OC hire for the 2015 season and Stoops was smart to can him after one season. The loss to Vandy that was 100% on the coaching staff.

 

[jace2012]

LOL … when has the SEC been down?

When Florida LSU AND TENNESSEE finish the season with a 6-6 record that’s called a down season. Two of the three fired their coaches so

 

[gamalielkid]

Great question.

He got a pass in 2013, previous coach left him a stinking pile of crap for a roster, and we went 2-10

2014 and 2015 we improved quite a bit, 5-7 each year. But there were some critics (I was one at least to some extent). Blew a game against Louisville we had won in 2014 that would have put us in a bowl. Blew a game against Vanderbilt who had their usual terrible team that would have put us in a bowl in 2015, then blew a 21-0 lead at home to lose to Louisville, again. Offense was really bad in some of those losses which caused most of the issues

2016 is where things changed, but started off awful. Blew a 25 point lead against Southern Miss at home and took a terrible loss, then no showed at Florida, lost by a million points. I doubted he would make it to the end of the season.

But Stoops switched QBs (starter was injured), and went to more of a power running game, and slowly righted the ship. It completely turned around in the Miss State game, another home game we almost blew a double digit lead, but made a miraculous 51 yard FG on the last play to pull out a win. Then pulled the biggest upset in Ky history at Louisville (26 point underdog) against Lamar Jackson and company.

Since then, UK has capitalized on its improved play and continued to slowly, but steadily improve recruiting and overall talent. Anyone can see Kentucky today and see that we are way better talent wise than we were 10 or 12 years ago. And that is the biggest difference, just better players.

I personally do not think that Stoops is any brilliant tactician or game coach, but really is well grounded in fundamentals, blocking, tackling, create a solid running game that can consistently make first downs, don't make stupid mistakes, keep the ball in front of you on defense, don't give up big plays, etc. We are now 19-9 in our last one score games.

He has a great lead recruiter in Vince Marrow, and has changed offensive coordinators when it was necessary, Liam Coen will be hired soon by an NFL team or another good football school, has really made a difference in 2021 for sure.

Program is in a really solid place at the moment.

Well Said! Exactly spot on and I felt the same way. Some bad in game coaching mistakes almost cost Mark the job - that was how many of us felt. The field goal story and game story was right on the money with Mark.

But as a football coach - Mark is old school, tough, fair, very like able, truly cares about his players, coaches and the fans! Kentucky loves Coach Stoops - and he will be given a long leash in my opinion. I hate that his marriage ended up going down - I think being a head coach and giving it your all is hard on raising children, keeping the Mrs. happy and having a good personal life. But Coach Stoops comes across as the real deal - he is loved by the fans. He was left a pile of nothing - no disrespect to the players on the teams he inherited - they were good guys who gave their all for UK - and I respect them so much for doing it. However, they just weren't SEC caliber.

It took UK fans finally revolting to get the program turned around. I was like many - with deep hesitancy - even living 800 miles away - I gave up my season tickets - not because I didn't love football - but it was a statement to our adminstration. But it worked - and Coach Stoops has been given most everything he and we needed to build a program. I bought my season tickets again - again in 2017. I make 4 to 5 home games a year and live in Florida - all because of a man named Mark Stoops!

Go Big Blue!

 

[bigbluehomer]

You will think I'm biased, but I truly hope you get the chance one day to experience a game in Iowa City at Kinnick Stadium. Talk about loud. I have been to games at Michigan Stadium and Ohio State and Penn State through the years multiple times (I used to go to every Iowa road game) and Kinnick is louder-- mostly due to its configuration. We only seat 70,000. Not a bad seat in the house at Kinnick-- stadium sort of built right on top of the field.

My wife is from Sioux City, played softball at Iowa (184-88 ??). She's a UK fan but is still a Hawkeye at heart. Still has a lot of family back there, mom in law has a house at Lake Okoboji (which is real nice!) so we travel back there pretty much every summer.

She has a lot of stories about Kinnick and has "watched a lot of games in the snow", LOL. One thing I think is really cool is how the Children's Hospital has a top floor that can look out/down at the field. When we watch Iowa games on TV, they will usually show a shot of the kids looking out the windows, etc. We have a special needs daughter and have spent a lot of time at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital, so seeing that always gives me a warm feeling.

Not sure how things will go on Jan. 1, it will be interesting. LOL!