The 2 coaches I wanted were Mark Hudspeth and Sonny Dykes.
Hudspeth has several years under his belt as a head coach. He did 7 years at North Alabama, and has been the head man at UL Lafayette since 2011. He has intimate knowledge of the Deep South. Love his offense.
Sonny Dykes doesn't have the number of years as head coach as Hudspeth But he is an offensive minded coach, and I think that is the type of coach UK needs to win with.
And so far, he is doing well at California.
Yeah, I know. The head coaching experience these guys have is at non power 5 schools. But I think that experience is invaluable. Knowing how to be the guy in charge, running the program, making all the decisions. Very different world than being a coordinator. I think that would have benefitted Joker greatly, if he could have done some time as a head coach at somewhere like an OVC school.
Look, I know UK football doesn't have proven head coaches with winning records at the power 5 level beating down their door. And Stoops does have a great football pedigree. And Stoops may very well turn out to be a great head coach. Hope he does.
But you're seeing the result of his growing pains, on and off the field.
What is so deflating, is that with the level of excitement that Stoops' improved recruiting and the upgrade in the facilities has brought, losses like this one become even more of a gut punch.
I'm in no way advocating for Stoops to be fired. But I'm very interested in seeing if Stoops will act like more of a head coach after this season. By that I mean, shaking up his staff. I'm looking at Eliot and Schlaraman. The defense and OL have been putrid. And unlike most fans, I think there is more talent there than the performance has shown.
I'll say this. Losing close games to Florida and Auburn, while gut wrenching, is one thing. Looking like we did in Starkville. Like we don't even belong in the SEC. That will kill the support from this fanbase quicker than anything.