1.) LOL @ anyone who thinks Tom Herman would come here. The man is going to be the HC at a top 15 program after this season, especially after their huge win over Oklahoma and the prospect that they could conceivably go 12-0 this year now that they've beaten OU and play UL in their home arena.
2.) Now I've been a huge Mark Stoops supporter since he was announced as the new hire, but it has taken until now for me to realize that it is going to take someone else to right this ship. For me, the only choice of proven head coaches that would at least listen to Mitch would be Mike Leach. I wanted Leach over Joker back when Coach Brooks retired. Leach has proven that he can win in a power conference at a middle-of-the-pack school with less than top tier talent. Leach is from the west coast, but has repeatedly stated how much he loved living in Lexington and his desire to return. The stars are aligning for Leach's return to UK. He wasn't a realistic option for UK back in 2013 because he was coming off his first (and worst) season at Washington State and Mitch isn't going to try and pluck a first year coach away from any program, but he is at the end of a 5 year rollover contract at the end of this season and is in prime position for a program change.
I think the addition of Coach Leach would bring back a lot of the fans who have lost faith in the program. He was 47-33 in the Big 12 and is currently 13-23 in the Pac-12. So he is 60-56 for his career at two middle/lower-tier power 5 schools. He's 6-5 in bowl games (he did not coach TTU in their 2009 Alamo Bowl win over Michigan State, but it was his team with his philosophy and he would've won that game regardless so he technically should be 7-5). He has a career 105-74 record at two power conference schools. He's orchestrated some huge wins in his career going back to UK's win over #20 Alabama in 1997. He helped develop Tim Couch (still the most famous former football Wildcat imo, just ahead of Randall Cobb) into a #1 NFL Draft Pick. The man has a history of success that spans 3 different decades and the man would at least listen to UK.
3.) For everyone (Matt Jones included) who think that Coach Stoops couldn't be fired after this season because of the $12 million buyout are fooling themselves. If Coach Stoops team stinks it up this year and goes 3-9 or 4-8 then I can virtually guarantee that the school will weigh its options because of the potential loss of dollars involved with a fan base jumping ship and refusing to buy tickets or attend games. The same thing happened at the end of Jokers tenure. The school has put far too much money into the program and facilities upgrades for the team to lose the faith of the fan base.
Bottom line is despite what people like to say, Rich Brooks has dispelled the myth that you can't win at UK, proving that you can win here consistently. It's not Coach Stoops fault though. He didn't know what he was getting himself into here. He had a great plan of attack, but the follow through on that plan has lacked. He didn't know how truly hard it was going to be to come into the program and try to recruit against schools like Alabama, Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, etc., etc., etc. He didn't know how difficult it was going to be to come in and coach against teams who were stacked at ever position and had 2nd and 3rd stringers who could compete with our 1st stringers. What we need is a coach who has been in the trenches already and knows how to win with less. Mike Leach is that man. He won 66% of his games at Texas Tech winning huge games over the likes of Oklahoma, Texas, Clemson, Baylor, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, California, Nebraska, and Kansas State. Then he goes to Washington State where he scores big wins against USC, California, Washington, Arizona, Oregon, and Miami U. Yes he has had his fair share of down games, but he has had enough upset wins over historically powerful programs to quell that for me, plus he's been to a bowl game in 11 of his 14 years as a HC (12 if you count the 2009 TTU Alamo bowl). The man knows how to win - period, and if you don't think that UK should be considered on the same tier as Texas Tech or Washington State then you're crazy.
At this point in the programs history, I do not think we can risk another Coordinator hire. We are at a point where we've become a laughing stock again and it has become increasingly harder and harder to come into work on Mondays after these terrible games and listen to the taunts of the UL fans each and every week. We as fans have invested farr too much time, money, and energy intot his program to be where we are at right now.
2.) Now I've been a huge Mark Stoops supporter since he was announced as the new hire, but it has taken until now for me to realize that it is going to take someone else to right this ship. For me, the only choice of proven head coaches that would at least listen to Mitch would be Mike Leach. I wanted Leach over Joker back when Coach Brooks retired. Leach has proven that he can win in a power conference at a middle-of-the-pack school with less than top tier talent. Leach is from the west coast, but has repeatedly stated how much he loved living in Lexington and his desire to return. The stars are aligning for Leach's return to UK. He wasn't a realistic option for UK back in 2013 because he was coming off his first (and worst) season at Washington State and Mitch isn't going to try and pluck a first year coach away from any program, but he is at the end of a 5 year rollover contract at the end of this season and is in prime position for a program change.
I think the addition of Coach Leach would bring back a lot of the fans who have lost faith in the program. He was 47-33 in the Big 12 and is currently 13-23 in the Pac-12. So he is 60-56 for his career at two middle/lower-tier power 5 schools. He's 6-5 in bowl games (he did not coach TTU in their 2009 Alamo Bowl win over Michigan State, but it was his team with his philosophy and he would've won that game regardless so he technically should be 7-5). He has a career 105-74 record at two power conference schools. He's orchestrated some huge wins in his career going back to UK's win over #20 Alabama in 1997. He helped develop Tim Couch (still the most famous former football Wildcat imo, just ahead of Randall Cobb) into a #1 NFL Draft Pick. The man has a history of success that spans 3 different decades and the man would at least listen to UK.
3.) For everyone (Matt Jones included) who think that Coach Stoops couldn't be fired after this season because of the $12 million buyout are fooling themselves. If Coach Stoops team stinks it up this year and goes 3-9 or 4-8 then I can virtually guarantee that the school will weigh its options because of the potential loss of dollars involved with a fan base jumping ship and refusing to buy tickets or attend games. The same thing happened at the end of Jokers tenure. The school has put far too much money into the program and facilities upgrades for the team to lose the faith of the fan base.
Bottom line is despite what people like to say, Rich Brooks has dispelled the myth that you can't win at UK, proving that you can win here consistently. It's not Coach Stoops fault though. He didn't know what he was getting himself into here. He had a great plan of attack, but the follow through on that plan has lacked. He didn't know how truly hard it was going to be to come into the program and try to recruit against schools like Alabama, Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, etc., etc., etc. He didn't know how difficult it was going to be to come in and coach against teams who were stacked at ever position and had 2nd and 3rd stringers who could compete with our 1st stringers. What we need is a coach who has been in the trenches already and knows how to win with less. Mike Leach is that man. He won 66% of his games at Texas Tech winning huge games over the likes of Oklahoma, Texas, Clemson, Baylor, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, California, Nebraska, and Kansas State. Then he goes to Washington State where he scores big wins against USC, California, Washington, Arizona, Oregon, and Miami U. Yes he has had his fair share of down games, but he has had enough upset wins over historically powerful programs to quell that for me, plus he's been to a bowl game in 11 of his 14 years as a HC (12 if you count the 2009 TTU Alamo bowl). The man knows how to win - period, and if you don't think that UK should be considered on the same tier as Texas Tech or Washington State then you're crazy.
At this point in the programs history, I do not think we can risk another Coordinator hire. We are at a point where we've become a laughing stock again and it has become increasingly harder and harder to come into work on Mondays after these terrible games and listen to the taunts of the UL fans each and every week. We as fans have invested farr too much time, money, and energy intot his program to be where we are at right now.
