Stoops should get 6-7 years almost no matter what.

[jauk11]

"Outside of recruiting prowess/connection how can you argue any of the other points that Stoops does well compared to another coach UK could get?.

- Program mgmt? Was hiring Shannon Dawson a good idea? "

He had the same system and some pretty good references, a gamble that failed. Who else was available? Hopefully corrected after only one year.

"Hanging on to Schlarman this long...has that been a good idea?"

Not sure yet, how much of getting the best OL in UK's history (potentially) together is due to him? You do realize that we will probably have a starting OL with better credentials as recruits than anyone in the nation if we get Wills this year, don't you? If he is a big factor in getting Wills (don't know) then keeping him is a good idea to me.

"No special teams coach was that a good idea?"

Most agree that was a bad move, but then we don't know what we would have had otherwise either Have to chalk it up to part of the learning curve.

"The move to a 3-4 (which has never worked at UK) has not proven to be a good idea yet?"

The key word there is yet. We have a potentially great DB corp now, we need some new elite talent to step up to go with a few proven players on the front seven-------I think we probably have a few of those, including some transfers. A lot of other teams have gone to the 3-4.

"Personnel is probably Stoops worse trait as UK coach? Do our kids really improve/grow in their college career? Alot of our highly touted kids haven't played like it (Towles, Dorian Baker, none of our OL, Flannigan, Hatcher, Big Z had a bad Sr year, etc..). What current UK player looks like a NFL player that Stoops has on roster (Westry, Boom maybe)".

Personnel is a strong point, not the worst trait, lack of improvement you might argue, but most of the talent should just be getting ready to emerge-------this year hopefully, a lot of these players haven't finished playing yet. Westry wasn't the only TRUE FRESHMAN to start at DB, AHEAD OF SOME FOUR STARS, how would you compare our crop of potential NFL players to what we had a couple of years ago? Edwards could be our best DB per Stoops, how can you overlook Conrad, Johnson, Ross has drawn some raves, lots of others, some transfers we haven't seen yet, Barker is just starting his career and was a highly regarded 5.9, with this talent around him (and the OL) he could really climb the ladder.

"Bottom line, Stoops recruiting is the only thing that has been very good. But that is possibly going to dry up a bit if we don't win/make a bowl game. He needs to win ball games (i.e. beat Vandy, UL and start swipping some games from Miss St) and also needs to stop with so many blow outs. He probably will get the 6 years due to only that silly extension Barnhart gave out...but the attendance at UK games will be falling off if the season starts to go south"

I think everyone agrees we have to start winning games, but I think we do THIS year (bowl game minimum) and really progress next year. I think the coaching has been upgraded a lot, and hopefully the experience also helps. Any criticism of Barnhart welcome here, I won't ever forget the miserable support of football ("recruiting room", anyone?) he gave football for over ten years, Brooks and Joker never had a chance in the SEC. Joker upset top ten USC with TWO four stars playing (both JCs) when USC had a five star and 38 four star commits in the previous four classes, also came within THREE points of upsetting Cam and NC Auburn, and seven of the SEC opponents that year AVERAGED 39 four star commits in four years, PLUS five stars.

Bottom line, the upgrade in recruiting at UK has been nothing short of phenomenal, and yes, it is time to win.

 

[Kats23]

You can never say no matter what. Last year's off season produced an article saying Stoops could be on the hot seat at UK. It was mostly blasted here and I remember playing devil's advocate and saying what if UK doesn't make a bowl and loses to UL again. The following year (this season) he would probably be under some heat. If he didn't produce a bowl again, then Stoops would be in trouble. One person responded "why talk about things that aren't going to happen? That's stupid." Yet here we are, no bowl appearance last year and quite possible a 5-7 or even worse W-L record for this season. I say that to say this. You can't put absolutes on any situation especially sports.

If the program continues to stay at 5-7 or get worse this season, you have to start asking the questions. Now, I will say and I've said it before. It's possible this team goes 5-7 and still improves. I want to see them competitive for the entire season, not the first 4 or 5. I want to see what we saw when Brooks was here. A team you never expected to beat the #1 team in the Country but you felt like you weren't going to get crushed just showing up. A team you want to be proud of.As a program we're still at "might" beat Vandy and Mizzou. UK doesn't have to go 8-5 this year or even next year. They can go 5-7 and go 7-5 the following season and if they look like a football team heading in the right direction, I'll say give Stoops more time, because he deserves that. But if we're still standing as a program at the end of next year that we're standing at now, then no, you don't get "6-7 years no matter what." You get shown the door & you find a coach who can develop the roster of talent that seems to exist here. "No matter whats" give you nothing but complacency.

 

[Levibooty]

The history of failure at UK shouldn't be set as the standard here unless you feel that UK football has been run at optimum performance level over those years. UK football has been neglected and/or made so many terrible decisions through the years that's hard to use much of any of the failures of the past as an example of what to actually expect from UK football.

Bottom line, UK football has been garbage far too often. The fact that fans who are typically desperate for any signs of hope can't see much variance today from those pitiful eras, isn't a source of much comfort or understanding.

The overwhelming majority of unhappy UK fans simply want UK to get back to the Rich Brooks levels of competitiveness. That's more than wins and losses. That's not spending one entire half of seasons getting THROTTLED by every team with a pulse. We're not asking for much.

Bottom line is that this is it for Stoops. Continue to roll out a disaster this season and it's over. They can delay this for another season due to his buy out, but it will only deepen the slumber that will exist between UK football and their fans.

Lastly, if the best defense for Stoops is that the mess he is cleaning up was so immense that it might take 6-8 years to clean it up, then that should mean that Barnhart needs to be gone. The fact that it was ever allowed to sink that low under his watch would be inexcusable and his presence is only harming Stoops in his ability to "clean up the mess" created by the previous regime.

So, either Barnhart was negligent in his duties or the rebuilding process is not nearly as awful as it's being portrayed. It's got to be at least one of them.

I don't agree. You can expect freshmen and sophomores to change a 50 year losing record against some of the best teams in the nation but you will be sorely disappointed. That's the problem with Kentucky fans they think football can change at the same pace as basketball. Ain't gonna happen and if you constantly change coaching staffs you will never entice a great coach to come here and will be stuck in the same rut another 50 years. And yes I would like to get back to the Rich Brooks level of performance. It was right here on this board during the Brooks era that our fans were complaining about the low level bowl games we were going to.

Ditch Mitch and Rich!!! Yeah that's what our fans wanted for Brooks and Barnhart.

Everybody's goto cliche complaint is Barnhart as if he single handedly destroyed a football dynasty at Kentucky.

Our fans want to be Donald Trump firing people on unreal TV.

 

[CB3UK]

The four years or bust crowd needs to settle down. It took Steve Spurrier six years in a row of 7-5 at South Carolina before going 11-2. This does not happen over night at a place like Kentucky. Some of you need to stick to basketball.

 

[The_Godfather_rivals]

The four years or bust crowd needs to settle down. It took Steve Spurrier six years in a row of 7-5 at South Carolina before going 11-2. This does not happen over night at a place like Kentucky. Some of you need to stick to basketball.

[roll]

 

[StubbornPenny]

Perfectly stated. A hard fought, well played game resulting in loss is a factor when playing in our league. It's acceptable.

Getting pistol whipped and ST gaffes in every game isn't.

I don't even mind getting solidly beat so long as I see our guys engaged, learning, and running functional plays. The biggest problem with the last two years is the total collapse on the back half.

 

[kypecos]

When he was hired, the mantra was that it would take 2-3 years for him to turn it around and be successful. With the unprecedented contract extension, some then said that it would take 4-5 years. Now we're at 6-7 years? By that time, some of you will then be saying that he needs at least 9-10 years. SMH. If all that he can show is an ability to recruit, but not win, then he will not be here in 18 months b/c the recruits will stop coming and the stands will be empty. If he starts winning, then the topic becomes moot.

 

[Shavers48]

The four years or bust crowd needs to settle down. It took Steve Spurrier six years in a row of 7-5 at South Carolina before going 11-2. This does not happen over night at a place like Kentucky. Some of you need to stick to basketball.

1) USC began a 3 year probation when HBC became coach
2) HBC had a pretty good track record as a head coach PRIOR to USC
3) 7-5 was immediate improvement over the prior 3 years
4) I hate basketball

 

[theoledog]

The history of failure at UK shouldn't be set as the standard here unless you feel that UK football has been run at optimum performance level over those years. UK football has been neglected and/or made so many terrible decisions through the years that's hard to use much of any of the failures of the past as an example of what to actually expect from UK football.

Bottom line, UK football has been garbage far too often. The fact that fans who are typically desperate for any signs of hope can't see much variance today from those pitiful eras, isn't a source of much comfort or understanding.

The overwhelming majority of unhappy UK fans simply want UK to get back to the Rich Brooks levels of competitiveness. That's more than wins and losses. That's not spending one entire half of seasons getting THROTTLED by every team with a pulse. We're not asking for much.

Bottom line is that this is it for Stoops. Continue to roll out a disaster this season and it's over. They can delay this for another season due to his buy out, but it will only deepen the slumber that will exist between UK football and their fans.

Lastly, if the best defense for Stoops is that the mess he is cleaning up was so immense that it might take 6-8 years to clean it up, then that should mean that Barnhart needs to be gone. The fact that it was ever allowed to sink that low under his watch would be inexcusable and his presence is only harming Stoops in his ability to "clean up the mess" created by the previous regime.

So, either Barnhart was negligent in his duties or the rebuilding process is not nearly as awful as it's being portrayed. It's got to be at least one of them.

Barney.... is everything you'd want in an AD.
So say we all!!!

 

[richbrookstomato]

6 wins at this point in Coach Stoops' UK tenure should not be too much to ask for!!

I just want our team to be fundamentally sound enough to win against equally talented teams and compete to win against those teams that have more talent.

The way we lost the Vandy game last season was inexcusable!! The UofL meltdown was unbelievable!! The end of the Auburn game was unexplainable!!

The time is NOW to show the world "WHY NOT UK"!!!

 

[akaukswoosh]

The 5-7 record last season bothers me less than the fact that the for the final half of the season, UK looked like they where coached by if Joker Phillips and Bill Curry created a baby head coach named Biker Phurry.

 

[jauk11]

The history of failure at UK shouldn't be set as the standard here unless you feel that UK football has been run at optimum performance level over those years. UK football has been neglected and/or made so many terrible decisions through the years that's hard to use much of any of the failures of the past as an example of what to actually expect from UK football.

Bottom line, UK football has been garbage far too often. The fact that fans who are typically desperate for any signs of hope can't see much variance today from those pitiful eras, isn't a source of much comfort or understanding.

The overwhelming majority of unhappy UK fans simply want UK to get back to the Rich Brooks levels of competitiveness. That's more than wins and losses. That's not spending one entire half of seasons getting THROTTLED by every team with a pulse. We're not asking for much.

Bottom line is that this is it for Stoops. Continue to roll out a disaster this season and it's over. They can delay this for another season due to his buy out, but it will only deepen the slumber that will exist between UK football and their fans.

Lastly, if the best defense for Stoops is that the mess he is cleaning up was so immense that it might take 6-8 years to clean it up, then that should mean that Barnhart needs to be gone. The fact that it was ever allowed to sink that low under his watch would be inexcusable and his presence is only harming Stoops in his ability to "clean up the mess" created by the previous regime.

So, either Barnhart was negligent in his duties or the rebuilding process is not nearly as awful as it's being portrayed. It's got to be at least one of them.

Ten years of penny pinching and near zero support will do that to a lot of programs, especially when they are coming off probation and weren't great to start with.

 

[Levibooty]

Ten years of penny pinching and near zero support will do that to a lot of programs, especially when they are coming off probation and weren't great to start with.

Gee never heard this before, of course funding a billion dollar hospital was going on at the same time and may have had some influence on the budget decisions at the time. Thank god we didn't act like UL.

 

[andreIGUODOLLAsigns4UK]

No. To me this is a make or break year. If I see the same terrible in game preparation, and the same team with zero fire in them, and arguably the worst in game head coach in the SEC of all coaches who have coached a game. Then I'm canceling my season tickets. I'm tired of the BS. If it weren't for his extension if we crapped the bed this year he would be gone. But no matter what he will be here next season regardless how bad we do. But to me in my opinion this is the make or break year if he craps the bed then I'm done pouring money into this stuff considering he'll just be here again next season because of a premature contract extension. I hope he turns it around. If he is going to then this year is the year, considering he said before last season that we would be turning it around last season. And that team didn't turn it around obviously like he said they would. So it's gotta be this year, I'm just going by stoops' word and how he said last season was the first time he was confident in our roster and team and that it would be turned around last season. If not then he should be done for, at least if you go by stoops' word.

 

[K_TIME]

I'm really hoping for Stoops to break thru (I am really of the mindset Gran/Hinshaw will be a huge upgrade to help Stoops on offensive side of the ball) the next 2 years.

His first class are now Jrs...he needs to win with guys like Boom, Juice,Baker, OL is almost all upperclassmen, Elam, LBers are almost all upperclassmen, Meant, etc.. Drew is in his 3rd year of the program as a RsSo. His guys are upperclassmen and all over the depth chart. He really has little excuse now...it needs to happen this year.

 

[Gabewcat]

I have mixed feelings about Stoops, He has to show more coaching in game for me to get an extension. When I see confusion on the sidelines with the special teams or players not aligned properly on defense as they did did vs Prescott or getting fooled by Vanderbilt on a little league trick play, I question whe6ther Stoops will ever become an SEC head coach. On the posiitive side, He has recruited better than every UK coach since Fran Curci.

 

[jauk11]

I have mixed feelings about Stoops, He has to show more coaching in game for me to get an extension. When I see confusion on the sidelines with the special teams or players not aligned properly on defense as they did did vs Prescott or getting fooled by Vanderbilt on a little league trick play, I question whe6ther Stoops will ever become an SEC head coach. On the posiitive side, He has recruited better than every UK coach since Fran Curci.

And it appears that he has recruited without cheating like most of our opponents are doing.

 

[SanAntonioCat_rivals376502]

You are free to disagree and some of what you said is true, IMO. Big picture here is a consideration. Playing by the rules, don't be a miscreant, in-game adjustments --- all great. Six decades of UK football history shows that it's not easy. If you do those things at UK, most every other coach UK would have would still be playing at a huge talent disadvantage. Stoops is perhaps the only one who is showing he can drastically reduce the talent disadvantage.

Six decades of losing football began with Bernie Shively hiring Charlie Bradshaw instead of Jerry Claiborne in 1962. Since then there have been decades of inept AD's including Cliff Hagan, CM Newton and God forbid, Larry Ivy. Go back to John Ray, Fran Curci, Jerry Clsiborne (at the end of his career), Hal Mumme (basketball on grass according to CM), more probation, a short stint by Guy Morriss (who tried to leverage Mitch, failed miserably at Baylor and became a high school assistant) and when no one would take the job, Rich Brooks. Then there was the coach in waiting, Joker.

Now, according to the experts on this board, we should fire the only coach who has recruited better than any UK coach since Bear Bryant if he cannot win in a 6-7 year total rebuild. Yes, we should have had a winning record in 2015 because "it was so set up for us to win."

The truth is most posters do not think UK can ever win at football. Their answer is hire the "big time coach" or Bobby Petrino.

Folks, this is madness, pure madness.

Yet, when CMS wins, these same posters will proclaim, "I was always with him and knew he could lead us down the glory road."

 

[Perrin75]

How in the hell is this a "total rebuild"? This is year 4 of his tenure. We should be looking at a team that has progressed and matured under their head coach. This team is made up of players he recruited and has coached up. This should be a crowning achievement year that puts together everything a coach has been working towards. If it is a rebuilding year, then problems are much worse than is being talked about.

 

[Levibooty]

How in the hell is this a "total rebuild"? This is year 4 of his tenure. We should be looking at a team that has progressed and matured under their head coach. This team is made up of players he recruited and has coached up. This should be a crowning achievement year that puts together everything a coach has been working towards. If it is a rebuilding year, then problems are much worse than is being talked about.

Yeah right.

 

[BlueRunner11]

6 wins at this point in Coach Stoops' UK tenure should not be too much to ask for!!

Exactly. Especially when 3 of those are scheduled pencilled in wins.

 

[Deeeefense]

I don't know if he should automatically get that kind of run, but honestly, who the hell else are we going to hire that A. can bring in talent B. can coach and C. wants to come to a place like this and D. wants to stay here? I doubt there's anyone out there that can fulfill all 4. Hell, maybe Stoops can't, but he at least can get most of them. I don't think we have much of a choice but to ride it out, even without a bowl game this year. Bill Parcells isn't walking through that door.

I agree with this or stated numerically, even if Stoops does have a subpar year this year and next year, the probability of him eventually being successful here is greater than bringing in most any new coach. So the odds are better sticking with him. Of course other things play into coaching decisions such as fan support and game attendance.

Personally I believe with the type of energy, effort and money they are putting into the program success is almost a given, its just a matter of when and how much - hopefully this year turns the corner.

 

[jauk11]

How in the hell is this a "total rebuild"? This is year 4 of his tenure. We should be looking at a team that has progressed and matured under their head coach. This team is made up of players he recruited and has coached up. This should be a crowning achievement year that puts together everything a coach has been working towards. If it is a rebuilding year, then problems are much worse than is being talked about.

Looks like you finally got it, but it took until the last half of your last sentence. and then you should replace the "are" with a "were". We are on the road to recovery.

 

[theoledog]

Six decades of losing football began with Bernie Shively hiring Charlie Bradshaw instead of Jerry Claiborne in 1962. Since then there have been decades of inept AD's including Cliff Hagan, CM Newton and God forbid, Larry Ivy. Go back to John Ray, Fran Curci, Jerry Clsiborne (at the end of his career), Hal Mumme (basketball on grass according to CM), more probation, a short stint by Guy Morriss (who tried to leverage Mitch, failed miserably at Baylor and became a high school assistant) and when no one would take the job, Rich Brooks. Then there was the coach in waiting, Joker.

Now, according to the experts on this board, we should fire the only coach who has recruited better than any UK coach since Bear Bryant if he cannot win in a 6-7 year total rebuild. Yes, we should have had a winning record in 2015 because "it was so set up for us to win."

The truth is most posters do not think UK can ever win at football. Their answer is hire the "big time coach" or Bobby Petrino.

Folks, this is madness, pure madness.

Yet, when CMS wins, these same posters will proclaim, "I was always with him and knew he could lead us down the glory road."

I agree with you SAC.... Been to games with every coach mentioned (damn!!!)... I hope I'm still around when they turn the corner... And hope CMS is also....
Might as well give the man lots-o-time... It's the one thing UK football has... If there is to be another football coach, "crazy" would be if it's Mitch Barnhart making the pick... He's here as long as Mitch, my opinion, so like it or not.

 

[The_Godfather_rivals]

Six decades of losing football began with Bernie Shively hiring Charlie Bradshaw instead of Jerry Claiborne in 1962. Since then there have been decades of inept AD's including Cliff Hagan, CM Newton and God forbid, Larry Ivy. Go back to John Ray, Fran Curci, Jerry Clsiborne (at the end of his career), Hal Mumme (basketball on grass according to CM), more probation, a short stint by Guy Morriss (who tried to leverage Mitch, failed miserably at Baylor and became a high school assistant) and when no one would take the job, Rich Brooks. Then there was the coach in waiting, Joker.

Now, according to the experts on this board, we should fire the only coach who has recruited better than any UK coach since Bear Bryant if he cannot win in a 6-7 year total rebuild. Yes, we should have had a winning record in 2015 because "it was so set up for us to win."

The truth is most posters do not think UK can ever win at football. Their answer is hire the "big time coach" or Bobby Petrino.

Folks, this is madness, pure madness.

Yet, when CMS wins, these same posters will proclaim, "I was always with him and knew he could lead us down the glory road."

First off, it's presumptive to assume that this recruiting will not result in any NCAA issues for UK. You nor anyone else here has any real knowledge as to whether or not rules are being broken. It's not like the fans knew Curci and Mumme were going to get into trouble.

Secondly, the talent upgrade argument loses relevance if it never seems to translate to improved levels of play. Nobody will care about high school rankings if they all seem to come to UK and produce like the MAC level recruits UK landed in the past.

Lastly, I think most are saying we should fire Stoops IF this season is yet another dumpster fire. It's an argument against the insane notion that Stoops is getting a 5th year "no matter what".

Can UK ever win at football? Define win? Not sure if we can ever win the SEC title, but I know for sure that we can be better than a laughingstock. I know this because I've witnessed it happen and it's been far too long ago.

 

[jpbky2]

Perfectly stated. A hard fought, well played game resulting in loss is a factor when playing in our league. It's acceptable.

Getting pistol whipped and ST gaffes in every game isn't.

Absolutely. There is such thing as a good 5-6 and a bad 5-6. We are going to go to Alabama this year and they are the best. If we go down there and get beat 56-0, that's unacceptable. I want to see a team that competes and I also want a team that when I walk into Commonwealth Stadium on a Saturday, they have a legitimate chance to win if they play well. We had that in 2007 and that would be the next step.

 

[cantmissprospect]

The mistakes I see UK making under Stoops have nothing to do with talent level. There are to many instances of being disorganized and coaching blunders that you don't see on any level of football.

 

[Chuckinden]

At this point, I don't want to measure Stoops in wins and losses. To me, with the elite teams, we must show that we can play with them. This is the year we should show that. If it doesn't happen this year, then Mitch has to be thinking about how much longer do we continue this association. Mitch could think, "OK, I will give him two more years after this season to show he can coach the talent he's bringing in". I would be OK with that, but by then he has to be winning all the winnable games while throwing in a few that we shouldn't have won. These coaches are making too much money to just keep "biding" along. Cutliff is doing it at Duke and Brooks did it here and there's no reason Stoops can't.

 

[Bluetick2100]

Perfectly stated. A hard fought, well played game resulting in loss is a factor when playing in our league. It's acceptable.

Getting pistol whipped and ST gaffes in every game isn't.

Hell we had a win last season that was unacceptable.
The come from behind game against EKU was a embarrassment.

 

[sluggercatfan]

I don't know if he should automatically get that kind of run, but honestly, who the hell else are we going to hire that A. can bring in talent B. can coach and C. wants to come to a place like this and D. wants to stay here? I doubt there's anyone out there that can fulfill all 4. Hell, maybe Stoops can't, but he at least can get most of them. I don't think we have much of a choice but to ride it out, even without a bowl game this year. Bill Parcells isn't walking through that door.

Mike Leach....

 

[Deeeefense]

Mike Leach....

Leach's team leads the nation in arrests (31) and they take a lot of "second chance" types. Not sure I would want to see that come here.

 

[StubbornPenny]

Mike Leach....

I am not one of the people sold on Leach. Somewhere else can have the drama.

Leach's team leads the nation in arrests (31) and they take a lot of "second chance" types. Not sure I would want to see that come here.

Though I will say, you almost have to at a place like Washington St. Did he bring a lot of that at Texas Tech?

 

[Shavers48]

Leach's team leads the nation in arrests (31) and they take a lot of "second chance" types. Not sure I would want to see that come here.

and UK is No. 12 which is higher than UofL at No. 49 but still worse than 7 other SEC teams. Wouldn't you like to lead the nation in something at football?!?!

 

[jauk11]

We should've lost to an OVC team. Just reminding.

We should have beat Florida at Florida, a pass directly in our DBs breadbasket with an open field ahead that bobbled directly into the receivers hands for about 40 yards setting up an easy TD. A 14 point swing.

Just reminding.

 

[Bryo72]

Agree....otherwise, new coach = 3 yrs, then gone.....new coach = 3 yrs, gone again etc.....then Powell, Wolfe, breathitt county coaches (callers/posters) have the solution on how too fix everything UK, as usual....

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

if we only win five games next season I can only see certain circumstances where the fanbase does not get very upset. Those circumstances are a win against Alabama, a win versus Florida or against Louisville.

you have to admit the vast majority of our top-notch recruiting is due to mainly one coach and thats Vince marrow. if our offensive line and defensive line does not show drastic improvement this upcoming season then those two coaches need to be replaced. There is no reason why we have to have 5 stars at every position just for them to be able to perform at an OVC level. our offensive line coach has a problem Landing any recruit that is out of state even though he was the primary recruiter in the city of Cincinnati. Also Vince marrow is bringing in most of the offensive line recruits for him. Thank goodness that the area of Lexington is producing some top-notch Talent for the offensive line otherwise we would be in trouble.
I think we Kentucky can land better coaches then a coach who has come from a junior college and the other that was a couple of years removed from high school.

 

[Kooky Kats_anon]

We should have beat Florida at Florida, a pass directly in our DBs breadbasket with an open field ahead that bobbled directly into the receivers hands for about 40 yards setting up an easy TD. A 14 point swing.

Just reminding.

That was 2 years ago. That loss was still a good loss. It proved, at that time, we could perform at a respectable level... Then, the rest of the season cratered. Half our recruiting class flipped.

Then, last year happened.

So, the OP stated: Stoops, regardless of his body of work deserves 6-7 years... Which every other AD in a power 5 conference would consider this - insane.

There have been too many crucial coaching screw ups in all three phases of football (consistently) that, in my opinion, surpass issues attributable to a FTHC learning curve. Can it be that Coach Stoops just ain't the next Knute Rockne?

I hope for the best. But as Red says, "Hope is a very dangerous thing."

This is the year. If it ain't happening in '16, it ain't ever happening... For this staff.

 

[*Bleedingblue*]

That was 2 years ago. That loss was still a good loss. It proved, at that time, we could perform at a respectable level... Then, the rest of the season cratered. Half our recruiting class flipped.

Then, last year happened.

So, the OP stated: Stoops, regardless of his body of work deserves 6-7 years... Which every other AD in a power 5 conference would consider this - insane.

There have been too many crucial coaching screw ups in all three phases of football (consistently) that, in my opinion, surpass issues attributable to a FTHC learning curve. Can it be that Coach Stoops just ain't the next Knute Rockne?

I hope for the best. But as Red says, "Hope is a very dangerous thing."

This is the year. If it ain't happening in '16, it ain't ever happening... For this staff.

this is why I have stated in the past about our coaching staff. With having a brand new head coach you would think that the new head coach would want to surround himself by older very experienced other coaches. I can understand Neil Brown that was an OK hire but the other offensive coaches that left your head scratching. and then on the defensive side of the ball it was the same way as well.

 

[Petjurino]

Hear me out because I know that sounds crazy. My point is, it's going to be hard for UK to find another guy that does the "other things" as well as Stoops; ie program mgt, recruitment, personnel, media, accountability. The thing he has struggled a bit with to this point is game mgt and development. These are all characteristics of a first time head coach. And we should have known that when we hired him. My point being, if we can improve those two things, he will be a hell of a good coach. I don't see the advantage of hiring another guy and hoping he does better. I think this program needs this stability and at worst, if he does fail, the program will have a more solid foundation for the next guy.

Stoops should definitely get 6 or 7 more years.

 

[WildCard]

Multi-season success is hard to sustain at UK. And time in the job in no way guarantees success.

> Bradshaw (7 years) gradually improved from 3 wins to 6 wins in year 4 then never won more than 3 in his last 3 years
> Curci (9 years) never won more 5 (once) in the 4 years following his 10 win season in 1977
> Claiborne (8 years) won 9 in his third year then never won more than 6 (only once) in his last 5 years
> Curry (7 years) reached 6 wins in year 4 and never won more than 3 thereafter
> Mumme (4 years) did quite well by UK standards but...

Regarding their football coaches, I have long thought UK overvalues that "1 good year" and consequently spends more time than they should with guys who cannot really get it done. Brooks (7 years) and Joker (3 years) are the clear exceptions. Brooks indeed moved the program forward and they saw the handwriting on the wall with CIW Joker. To the best of my knowledge, other than Morriss, Ray and Joker were the only 2 coaches which did not get extensions beyond their original contract.

Which brings us to Stoops. Jury is still out however A LOT is riding on this season. But we all know that buyout clause virtually guarantees him a 5th, maybe even a 6th (I forget the buyout $$$) year. JMO

Peace