Kentucky Head Coach Mark Stoops Undergoes Offseason Surgery
Following the conclusion of the 2024 Kentucky football season, head coach Mark Stoops had to go under the knife.
www.on3.com
CMS makes 9.1m a year and that's a real sticking point with everyone. But at the time everyone wanted the big cintract with buyout because of concerns other programs coming after him. Been a rough couple years for sure, but his salary is an agreed amount and approved by UK administration. But ultimately CMS is to blame, he heard fans wanted a more offensive based team, more points that it wasn't happy winning game 17-10, it wanted higher scoring games and he gave in. If he had stuck to his guns would likely still be winning 8-10 games.
Winning games consistently in the 17 - 10 range was fine. I think the unhappiness started when we started losing those same games consistently in the 24 - 17 range.CMS makes 9.1m a year and that's a real sticking point with everyone. But at the time everyone wanted the big cintract with buyout because of concerns other programs coming after him. Been a rough couple years for sure, but his salary is an agreed amount and approved by UK administration. But ultimately CMS is to blame, he heard fans wanted a more offensive based team, more points that it wasn't happy winning game 17-10, it wanted higher scoring games and he gave in. If he had stuck to his guns would likely still be winning 8-10 games.
There's paying your staff and then there's placing huge buyouts on the contract that hamstrings you. Stoops has never been a good x and o coach. He relied on "chip on our shoulder" attitude to win games. What has changed is UK admin was slow on NIL and Stoops didn't know how to lobby for it without insulting his current roster. I'll die on the hill that the roving band of OC's has certainly put one foot in the grave for Stoops at UK.Thanks, Grumpy.
I posted this a couple of times on the HOB and will put it here:
Stoops signed this contract everybody is griping about on November 11, 2022.... one day before the Vanderbilt game. At the time, we were sitting at 6-3, expected to beat Vanderbilt and Louisville, and lose to Georgia to finish out the regular season.
The year prior, we went 10-3 with yet another bowl win.
Kentucky football fans have been griping for years that we need to "pay our staff like we are a football school!" That's what we did, especially the way Stoops was doing at the time of the contract.
Now that we have done and and have slipped some, the same Kentucky fans are blasting the contract.
In context (kind of an important aspect of discussing things), it was a great move at the time and when he signed it. For whatever reason, we go 7-6, 7-6, and 4-8 (which happens to align up with NIL... not saying NIL is an issue, but is it? Or is it just coincidence?).
Stoops is a hard nosed coach, and this catering to players when things don't go their way is hard to take with a mentality like that.If the players don't get their way, just go somewhere else. They don't like the money they are getting? Just go somewhere else.
The game has drastically changed since 2013 and that is precisely why we lost one of the best ever in Nick Saban. I remember NS saying, "It used to be when the season was over and you met with players, they would ask, 'How do I get more time, Coach?' Now it's, 'How do I get more money, Ccoach?'" So, we lost a legend.
It is not like Stoops forgot how to coach. I think what happened from my viewpoint is the NIL got to be overwhelming for him, the crazy changes, and he just wasn't able to adapt or handle it very well.
Would this have been a good time to leave? Possibly. Does he deserve another year to make it right? I believe so.
He's got the most wins per year on average than any coach we've ever had, as many 10-win seasons in 6 years than all of our coaches combined in our "illustrious" history, 8 straight bowl games, etc.
Please spare the "SEC was down" argument.... he still had to play the games and had to win. I remember sitting in Commonwealth with my dad in the early 80's and watched us get beat by Miami, OH. I was there in 2004 when we lost to Ohio. So the "weak" SEC argument doesn't really work for me. Just thought I would throw that in there before someone brought it up like they did on HOB. ;-)
"I got us into this, and I'm going to get us out of it." Coach Mark Stoops
I hope he's right as I will be behind the blue!
I don’t know of any uk fan but Mitch that wanted that contract With the ridiculous buyout and extension. Those were Mitch’s words in your second sentence. Don’t blame the fans. We had nothing to do with it. He had just lost to Vandy and SC at home. Get outta here with that stuff Grumpy.CMS makes 9.1m a year and that's a real sticking point with everyone. But at the time everyone wanted the big cintract with buyout because of concerns other programs coming after him. Been a rough couple years for sure, but his salary is an agreed amount and approved by UK administration. But ultimately CMS is to blame, he heard fans wanted a more offensive based team, more points that it wasn't happy winning game 17-10, it wanted higher scoring games and he gave in. If he had stuck to his guns would likely still be winning 8-10 games.
I shouldn’t laugh at this but couldn’t help itRead somewhere else that he was as having his head pulled out of his butt! Either way, I hope for a quick recovery! Go Cats!!!
Earlier today I had a total knee replacement. Not the end of the world these days with the advancements in the area. Still, 2-6 weeks of pretty heavy recovery activities.Surgery of any kind is nothing to joke about. Whatever you think of Stoops" coaching, this is not the way to express it.
You failed to mention this "slide" also coincided with CMS personal problems.Thanks, Grumpy.
I posted this a couple of times on the HOB and will put it here:
Stoops signed this contract everybody is griping about on November 11, 2022.... one day before the Vanderbilt game. At the time, we were sitting at 6-3, expected to beat Vanderbilt and Louisville, and lose to Georgia to finish out the regular season.
The year prior, we went 10-3 with yet another bowl win.
Kentucky football fans have been griping for years that we need to "pay our staff like we are a football school!" That's what we did, especially the way Stoops was doing at the time of the contract.
Now that we have done and and have slipped some, the same Kentucky fans are blasting the contract.
In context (kind of an important aspect of discussing things), it was a great move at the time and when he signed it. For whatever reason, we go 7-6, 7-6, and 4-8 (which happens to align up with NIL... not saying NIL is an issue, but is it? Or is it just coincidence?).
Stoops is a hard nosed coach, and this catering to players when things don't go their way is hard to take with a mentality like that.If the players don't get their way, just go somewhere else. They don't like the money they are getting? Just go somewhere else.
The game has drastically changed since 2013 and that is precisely why we lost one of the best ever in Nick Saban. I remember NS saying, "It used to be when the season was over and you met with players, they would ask, 'How do I get more time, Coach?' Now it's, 'How do I get more money, Ccoach?'" So, we lost a legend.
It is not like Stoops forgot how to coach. I think what happened from my viewpoint is the NIL got to be overwhelming for him, the crazy changes, and he just wasn't able to adapt or handle it very well.
Would this have been a good time to leave? Possibly. Does he deserve another year to make it right? I believe so.
He's got the most wins per year on average than any coach we've ever had, as many 10-win seasons in 6 years than all of our coaches combined in our "illustrious" history, 8 straight bowl games, etc.
Please spare the "SEC was down" argument.... he still had to play the games and had to win. I remember sitting in Commonwealth with my dad in the early 80's and watched us get beat by Miami, OH. I was there in 2004 when we lost to Ohio. So the "weak" SEC argument doesn't really work for me. Just thought I would throw that in there before someone brought it up like they did on HOB. ;-)
"I got us into this, and I'm going to get us out of it." Coach Mark Stoops
I hope he's right as I will be behind the blue!
I know his personal life is nobody’s business, but sure am curious what lead to that divorce and his wife and kids moving off to Colorado. I know the whole Stoops knocked up a coed garbage back a few years ago was rumor cooked up by some UT fans or something, but he was forced to address it as nonsense. His divorce wasn’t all that long after. So I do wonder if there was some infidelity on one or the others part that hasn’t been disclosed or if it was just not wanting the lifestyle and such being a coaches wife.You failed to mention this "slide" also coincided with CMS personal problems.
That is no coincidence.
You failed to mention this "slide" also coincided with CMS personal problems.
That is no coincidence.