Mediocre hire with an insane buyout
Our only hope is if Stoops pulls a Cal....
Our only hope is if Stoops pulls a Cal....
We're blaming Stoops when in reality we should be blaming Barnhart
- Thread starter Blueathletics
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I'm not sure I agree that he was a mediocre hire. He was a successful hire imo. Buyouts are the norm in college athletics now and 75% is in the ballpark.
The issue is with the extension that gave him 8 years under contract. In no world should he have been given an 8 year contract if you know that if things go south, you will not have the money to terminate him.
The issue is with the extension that gave him 8 years under contract. In no world should he have been given an 8 year contract if you know that if things go south, you will not have the money to terminate him.
Stoops was a successful hire. He won 10 games twice and has made a bowl like 8 straight seasons. I'm not sure who can expect more at UK.
I agree the contract extension was a massive error on Barney's part. He sucks at that.
I agree the contract extension was a massive error on Barney's part. He sucks at that.
Stoops has been a GREAT hire. But, that doesn't mean that he is great and the right coach for 2024. It's a tough balancing act, but it seems like the end is (should be) near.
I don't get the infatuation people have with blaming Barnhart for everything. Stoops was a great hire at the time and has done very well here for the most part. Is the time coming to start thinking about a different direction? Maybe, but blaming Barnhart for Stoops just doesn't make any sense.
I think it's fair to question the contract extension. The extension makes the buyout if you want to go in a different direction very difficult. I believe his buyout is north of $47 million right now.
As stated....
Stoops hire was fine.
1. The insane contract extensions are absurd...and tie our hands but never the other way around
2. WHy after the Texas AM fiasco.....to just say 'ah no problem' come on back good buddy...is typical Mitch.
I was all in for Stoops until that Texas AM stunt last year. Now I really doubt his long term commitment to us
Yeah, let's blame the AD for bringing in the most stable and productive football coach in the last 50 years!
Stoops has accomplished what most football people said could not be accomplished at UK!
Stoops was a perfect fit and hire for UK after a half-decade of mediocrity. I don't know if he can keep us competitive in an even more difficult SEC, plus get us to the next level? Both statements can be true!!!!
For some reason, that never really bothered me. Coaches look at ways to advance their career all the time. In college football, TA&M > UK.
Who's to blame? Doesn't matter at this point... that is obvious, but how do we fix it?
... then, we're screwed, once again. The real problem is in the AD's office.
LOL, this board never fails- Barnhardt hired the most successful football coach this program has ever seen......period. That is including Bear Bryant. Some times things just change, the run ends, it happens. As for the contract, that is irrelevant IMO, Stoops like his brother will walk away when it isn't right any more. He has said so on many occasions. I honestly feel like it is his last year here. He came into this season frustrated, (doesn't matter if we agree as to why, he was clearly frustrated and he let it be known in the national media) and now we have subpar coaching and play. Mix that with the fact he already tried to leave and I think all of this sums up what we saw Saturday. It is time for a new direction for all involved, but to say Stoops wasn't a successful hire, here at UK.....is quite frankly ridiculous
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The extension was announced the week we lost at home to Vandy....which was a 7-6 downer of a season....why Mitch rewards coaches for such low bars is part of a problem. He has given out some doozy of a contracts which tie the programs hands to keep evolving.
I am not in the camp Mitch is the worst AD...but he's not above average IMO. One thing that is completely lost is UK as part of SEC is swimming in cash with all the extra TV money which wasn't the case in the 80's and 90's. So throwing around big bucks is fine but he ain't a great coaching talent evaluator.
I don't understand the Mitch hate either. UK football was a small step above IU football when he arrived. It has grown into a upper mid tier SEC program, something many thought not possible. Yeah we've kinda flatlined past few years but that can happen at any program. I figured the masterful replacement of Cal would have cemented his legendary status. Mitch has been the best AD in school history and that won't be changing anytime soon.
How is Cal getting pissed by fan giving him constant crap over his crappy seasons and getting lucky he bails to Arkansas (same thing happened to good Ole Tubby Smith to Minnessota...another Mitch give-a-way contract) have anything to do with masterful Cal replacement?
If anything Mitch got lucky off his ass to see dumb Arkansas pony up nearly as much money for Cal to save us from buying his nutbag contract out.
CMS: Look, Stoops developed over time a program where his teams played hard-nosed ball and won more than they lost to include multiple bowl appearances. That is good, solid work but it doesn't mean he is equipped to take us to the next level....or even that he can't slide backwards (the USC game looked a little Jokerish to me). Overall....Solid work by CMS - thanks.
AD: Taking CMS' tenure into account, I am not sure I understand how MB has again found a way to box-in a major program with a mid 8-figure buyout for a coach that has no conference titles, conference runner up years, division titles, or even a tie for a division title where the tiebreaker aced us out of a trip to Atlanta (yes I realize we don't have divisions any more).
AD MO: Similar to the Cal situation over the past 5 years, I think MB demonstrates consistently that he is somewhat lazy and engages in activity that takes hard AD work off of his plate (e.g., buyouts that outpace a coach's performance, automatic contract 1-year rollovers for moderate success, HCIW scheme, making hiring decisions based on "no one else wants to come to Lexington" garbage and so on.
Secure a new AD before a new FB-HC: I am all for evaluating CMS continued service as HC, but AD has structured an oppressive buyout to hurdle AND he has squirrely hiring habits that make me think I would rather keep CMS until we get an AD with a modern mindset that we can trust to make smart hires and who will hold coaches accountable.
Now....let's get to work on that OL.
GBB!
AD: Taking CMS' tenure into account, I am not sure I understand how MB has again found a way to box-in a major program with a mid 8-figure buyout for a coach that has no conference titles, conference runner up years, division titles, or even a tie for a division title where the tiebreaker aced us out of a trip to Atlanta (yes I realize we don't have divisions any more).
AD MO: Similar to the Cal situation over the past 5 years, I think MB demonstrates consistently that he is somewhat lazy and engages in activity that takes hard AD work off of his plate (e.g., buyouts that outpace a coach's performance, automatic contract 1-year rollovers for moderate success, HCIW scheme, making hiring decisions based on "no one else wants to come to Lexington" garbage and so on.
Secure a new AD before a new FB-HC: I am all for evaluating CMS continued service as HC, but AD has structured an oppressive buyout to hurdle AND he has squirrely hiring habits that make me think I would rather keep CMS until we get an AD with a modern mindset that we can trust to make smart hires and who will hold coaches accountable.
Now....let's get to work on that OL.
GBB!
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