Vince was part of the problem.

[gg4uk]

Happy Saturday folks. Don’t close the book on the 25’ season before it starts. I don’t post on here like I did 20 years ago but the negativity around this team triggered me to step back in here.

I believe Vince was 100% part of the problem the last two seasons.

Why would Stoops demote one of his best friend?

Once NIL became a thing Vince lost his ability to recruit and a high level. (Read into that what you want)

The bigger problem was that the Tight Ends coach CAN’T out rank your entire offensive staff. Having the Associate Head Coach in the Offensive meetings with the players HE recruited became a big problem. Especially when those players were not that good. This ultimately created a divide in the locker room.

A former OC has stated this very issue.

Overall On paper Kentucky’s top 44 players (2 deep both sides of the ball) have better talent than UL, USC, Auburn, Vandy and of Toledo, EMU and Tenn Tech. Possibly better that Ole Miss also. I’ve not done their roster yet but i feel pretty comfortable saying they are not nearly as talented as they were in 24’

Ole Miss is not even close to being the same team they were in recent years. Teams do not replace that many NFL players especially Ole Miss. Austin Simmons is a very young player that will not fill Jackson Dart’s shoes for a couple years. Dart was Ole Miss most productive QB in history. Couple that with losing 4 other talented players the offense is not going to be what we perceived it to be especially on the road the 2nd week of the season.

Enjoy this team folks. I believe the product we see will be much better than what we’ve had the last couple years.

 

[theKybluedude]

I’m with you.
Vince’s best days have passed. Don’t think they are going to miss him.
New te coach much better technically and doing good recruiting.
Do not agree the tight ends weren’t good. Bates etc pretty solid.

 

[Deeeefense]

Welcome back gg

I don't think Kentucky's underperformance the last couple of years was due to a lack of talent, rather what I've seen on the field points to a lack of energy and effort at times, and casual attitudes by some players which are signs of a deeper cultural problem. Recruiting classes the last couple of years have been top 25ish and we just landed the 8th ranked portal class, all of which was under VM. That poses the question was VM part of the cultural problem? unless you are inside the program that probably isn't knowable. You can speculate as some have. Vince was too buddy buddy with a lot of the players? Who knows but I do think Stoops wanted to give Gran more control over who to go after and I"m thinking he probably wanted Bush more involved in recruiting that side of the ball after the disastrous offense we witnessed last season. As for TE recruiting, our offense has never feature the TE, it has been essential a blocking position with a few exceptions. Guys like Katus and Anderson have done their job most of the time. Rodriquez is lighting it up right now in practice and he was a VM recruit.

Bottom line VM did a lot of good things over the course of time he was here, but when you put up a 4 win season with a roster that was a lot more talented than that , then you have to make changes - although it was essentially a mutual departure. I wish he had gone somewhere other than UofL but it is what it is. Time to turn the page, a new year starts in two weeks. Let's hope the changes and upgrades Stoops made will get things back on track.

 

[vhcat1970]

7-5/8-4. Good deal.

 

[gg4uk]

I didn’t mean to insinuate that the TE’s were a problem. My point is that the TE coach can’t out rank the OC in the hierarchy of coaches. Was told by Rich (not Brooks) that at times he can voice his displeasure with plays/schemes and game plan. This can have a negative impact on the unit.

 

[Bluetick2100]

Welcome back gg

I don't think Kentucky's underperformance the last couple of years was due to a lack of talent, rather what I've seen on the field points to a lack of energy and effort at times, and casual attitudes by some players which are signs of a deeper cultural problem. Recruiting classes the last couple of years have been top 25ish and we just landed the 8th ranked portal class, all of which was under VM. That poses the question was VM part of the cultural problem? unless you are inside the program that probably isn't knowable. You can speculate as some have. Vince was too buddy buddy with a lot of the players? Who knows but I do think Stoops wanted to give Gran more control over who to go after and I"m thinking he probably wanted Bush more involved in recruiting that side of the ball after the disastrous offense we witnessed last season. As for TE recruiting, our offense has never feature the TE, it has been essential a blocking position with a few exceptions. Guys like Katus and Anderson have done their job most of the time. Rodriquez is lighting it up right now in practice and he was a VM recruit.

Bottom line VM did a lot of good things over the course of time he was here, but when you put up a 4 win season with a roster that was a lot more talented than that , then you have to make changes - although it was essentially a mutual departure. I wish he had gone somewhere other than UofL but it is what it is. Time to turn the page, a new year starts in two weeks. Let's hope the changes and upgrades Stoops made will get things back on track.

I'm sure a lot of things went on that none of us know anything about.
However, Stoops losing his mother had to be a major distraction in some form or another.

 

[3 Putts]

I’m just hoping the locker room issues left with Marrow, that in itself can go a long way.

 

[Anon1751658263]

Nothing is ever head guy's fault.
Always a scapegoat to blame once they leave.
Whether it's a coach or player(s).

 

[Anon1755209580]

The problem is the loser head coach. Until some of you all accept that, things won't improve.

 

[Ted Snodgrass]

A huge part of the problem, we cut a lot (literally A LOT!!!) of dead weight!!

 

[Ted Snodgrass]

Happy Saturday folks. Don’t close the book on the 25’ season before it starts. I don’t post on here like I did 20 years ago but the negativity around this team triggered me to step back in here.

I believe Vince was 100% part of the problem the last two seasons.

Why would Stoops demote one of his best friend?

Once NIL became a thing Vince lost his ability to recruit and a high level. (Read into that what you want)

The bigger problem was that the Tight Ends coach CAN’T out rank your entire offensive staff. Having the Associate Head Coach in the Offensive meetings with the players HE recruited became a big problem. Especially when those players were not that good. This ultimately created a divide in the locker room.

A former OC has stated this very issue.

Overall On paper Kentucky’s top 44 players (2 deep both sides of the ball) have better talent than UL, USC, Auburn, Vandy and of Toledo, EMU and Tenn Tech. Possibly better that Ole Miss also. I’ve not done their roster yet but i feel pretty comfortable saying they are not nearly as talented as they were in 24’

Ole Miss is not even close to being the same team they were in recent years. Teams do not replace that many NFL players especially Ole Miss. Austin Simmons is a very young player that will not fill Jackson Dart’s shoes for a couple years. Dart was Ole Miss most productive QB in history. Couple that with losing 4 other talented players the offense is not going to be what we perceived it to be especially on the road the 2nd week of the season.

Enjoy this team folks. I believe the product we see will be much better than what we’ve had the last couple years.

Better watch it, the doom and gloomers will accuse you of trolling/being a UL fan. I venture to say we might not have better overall talent than Tenn., but the gap is not huge and we're better at many positions with what they lost. 8-4 at worst. . . 10-2 if all breaks go our way.

 

[OGtruebluewildcat]

Would agree that having a TE coach, who is primarily a recruiter, have such a large influence on the offense and most likely program overall isn’t great organizational structure.

Would like to expand upon that by adding Gran to the list. Great RB coach. Too much say in things.

In this modern era of football, to have an RB and TE coach running the offense and being the right hand men of the HC thus having a hefty role in things has most likely lead to a lot of the issues, inconsistency, and turnover on O.

Pair that with the HC being a defensive guy and all the issues compound. We got a DC, RB, and TE coach who all came up in an era of football long gone…running things.

No wonder we can’t keep an OC, attract or develop QBs and WRs.

I’m not saying DCs can’t be HCs or that ground game isn’t important.

Im saying the most important position in sports is QB, that the O has to be built and run based on that. Also, in the modern game you are not going to keep pace without a reliable passing game.

Especially lower middle class programs like UK.

Kirby, Saban…the other handful of coaches/programs who can fill out D and RB 3 deeps with pro talent can play that game.

Mark Stoops at UK cannot. Him and EG can do that at FSU when Jimbo is recruiting and coaching O.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

UK has had so many problems it's probably not a completely unfair statement to say Vince was one of them.

It remains to be seen if the problems resolve themselves to a better record n 2025.

 

[KookyKats]

Let’s play ball.

if we beat the shít out of Toledo… then, we can reassess. stoops lost a lot (if not all) of his goodwill & street cred with his dalliance with aTm. I think the opener will be tough.

As of now, stoops is a dead man walking…I have not in my lifetime, seen a coach take a program to heights, then dregs - back to prominence. EVER. So the cards are stacked against him…

no more chit chat. Prove it.

 

[UK Cats Rock]

Happy Saturday folks. Don’t close the book on the 25’ season before it starts. I don’t post on here like I did 20 years ago but the negativity around this team triggered me to step back in here.

I believe Vince was 100% part of the problem the last two seasons.

Why would Stoops demote one of his best friend?

Once NIL became a thing Vince lost his ability to recruit and a high level. (Read into that what you want)

The bigger problem was that the Tight Ends coach CAN’T out rank your entire offensive staff. Having the Associate Head Coach in the Offensive meetings with the players HE recruited became a big problem. Especially when those players were not that good. This ultimately created a divide in the locker room.

A former OC has stated this very issue.

Overall On paper Kentucky’s top 44 players (2 deep both sides of the ball) have better talent than UL, USC, Auburn, Vandy and of Toledo, EMU and Tenn Tech. Possibly better that Ole Miss also. I’ve not done their roster yet but i feel pretty comfortable saying they are not nearly as talented as they were in 24’

Ole Miss is not even close to being the same team they were in recent years. Teams do not replace that many NFL players especially Ole Miss. Austin Simmons is a very young player that will not fill Jackson Dart’s shoes for a couple years. Dart was Ole Miss most productive QB in history. Couple that with losing 4 other talented players the offense is not going to be what we perceived it to be especially on the road the 2nd week of the season.

Enjoy this team folks. I believe the product we see will be much better than what we’ve had the last couple years.

Man, so good to see you back! Keep bringing the posts!

 

[entropy13]

7-5/8-4. Good deal.

With this schedule, any sane UK fan would take either of those results in a Louisville minute!

(One Louisville minute = 15 seconds)

 

[crashtestdummy_rivals61973]

Will CMS introduce some discipline this year.
Imo...holding players accountable for stupid penalties and overall poor on field behavior has been lacking.
This is on the head coach, and honestly an easy fix......
Good luck Cats, and best wishes for a fine college football season....

 

[bigblueinsanity (the real)]

I definitely agree marrow was responsible for the diva culture that developed the last few years. I think stoops made a decision after last season that was ending, and i think that's when vince started working on his move.

He basically quit on the job when you look at how many OH recruits we got. Coincidentally, it seemed our targets all ended at UL. Weird since that was months before he resigned and accepted his new position.

 

[K_TIME]

Happy Saturday folks. Don’t close the book on the 25’ season before it starts. I don’t post on here like I did 20 years ago but the negativity around this team triggered me to step back in here.

I believe Vince was 100% part of the problem the last two seasons.

Why would Stoops demote one of his best friend?

Once NIL became a thing Vince lost his ability to recruit and a high level. (Read into that what you want)

The bigger problem was that the Tight Ends coach CAN’T out rank your entire offensive staff. Having the Associate Head Coach in the Offensive meetings with the players HE recruited became a big problem. Especially when those players were not that good. This ultimately created a divide in the locker room.

A former OC has stated this very issue.

Overall On paper Kentucky’s top 44 players (2 deep both sides of the ball) have better talent than UL, USC, Auburn, Vandy and of Toledo, EMU and Tenn Tech. Possibly better that Ole Miss also. I’ve not done their roster yet but i feel pretty comfortable saying they are not nearly as talented as they were in 24’

Ole Miss is not even close to being the same team they were in recent years. Teams do not replace that many NFL players especially Ole Miss. Austin Simmons is a very young player that will not fill Jackson Dart’s shoes for a couple years. Dart was Ole Miss most productive QB in history. Couple that with losing 4 other talented players the offense is not going to be what we perceived it to be especially on the road the 2nd week of the season.

Enjoy this team folks. I believe the product we see will be much better than what we’ve had the last couple years.

Man where to start

1. Under Vince we were able to get Levis, Wandale, Tayshawn Manning, Keidron Smith, Tayvion Robinson, Devin Leary, Ray Davis, Keyshawn Silver, Zion Childress, Marques Cox, Brock Vandagriff, Dumas Johnson, Jamori Maclin, Jalen Farmer, DJ Waller, JQ Hardaway, Calzada, Dowdell, McGowen, Shiyaz Pete, Braun, Wollschbarger, Kendrick Law, ....essentially the entire DLine for for this year, etc....

There are some NFL dudes in that bunch and a ton of starters that led teams (even if those teams underachieved the last 3 year).

If NIL is about $$$$ and your ability to identify players that fit your system (and at your price).....I would argue Vince was always a HS recruiter and maybe he's not a NIL college ace. But if NIL boils down to who has the most money....is that really a Vince thing or just a UK is lower in SEC order thing?

Outside of a few OLine...I cna't name a RB, QB or defensive players that a negative word was said about them in the process. Everyone wanted Vandagriff, Leary, Ray Davis, Silver, etc...

2. When Vince was making a ton of money in 2021....his pay compared to Coen and White was never an issue. To be blunt, UK Oline play has deteriorated every year since Schlarman.....and the inability to keep Coen has been a massive problem. Scangerello and Bush have not been good....we'll get to see another year of Bush. But rotating in Wimsatt and Brock which was a bad move....that was all Bush. I get the TE room isn't really well coached and that is on Vince....but the TE are a small part of what is wrong with an offense that scored 20pts a game and finished 113 in NCAA in scoring.

When Barion was not able to run his routes correct or hard enough to get off coverage....was that on Vince? (I hope not). When the prima donna WR room was absent from practice, not paying attention or hte Oline was at concession stand during a game...was that on Vince?

The only good part of losing Vince...was we replaced his good salary with a bottom cellar dweller salary and will save money when we need to payout Stoops.

 

[Buckwheat Otay Is Dead]

I didn’t mean to insinuate that the TE’s were a problem. My point is that the TE coach can’t out rank the OC in the hierarchy of coaches. Was told by Rich (not Brooks) that at times he can voice his displeasure with plays/schemes and game plan. This can have a negative impact on the unit.

If you have an offense with a great hands tight end you have no QB that can get them the ball then they become a liabilitym. .

 

[notFromhere]

I'm sure a lot of things went on that none of us know anything about.
However, Stoops losing his mother had to be a major distraction in some form or another.

... and wife

 

[o_satcheluk]

The problem is the loser head coach. Until some of you all accept that, things won't improve.

The most successful HC UK has ever had and he's a loser. Are you a parody account?

 

[notFromhere]

I’m just hoping the locker room issues left with Marrow, that in itself can go a long way.

Same.

If not it all still falls on Stoops shoulders, because he handled the situations poorly for whatever reason. While a friendship can strengthen many things, it can also bury you when the situation changes.

I don't think Marrow had any idea how to deal with the highly ranked people he recruited to skill positions and their attitudes. He coddled them and Stoops allowed it for too long.

My buddy thinks our floor is 4 wins because we set a new floor last season. If the wheels come off or we have a few key injuries, we could be right back where we were last year. He also thinks we have the potential to win a lot of games if we go back to what worked in 2018 and use the running game. He has no confidence however in Hamdans ability to call such a gameplan. He's never done it before, and failed miserably at it last year.

Changing the offense was a bad idea. Going away from the running game was a bad idea. Not using the QB run game was a bad idea. Not recruiting dual threat QBs for a few years was a bad idea.

THERES A REASON OUR BEST YEARS FEATURED A QB that was a threat to pick up yards on the ground even if you knew he was a threat.

Wilson, Johnson, Levis, Bowden

Don't see how we have the success we have had without that aspect of the running game and offense as a whole.

 

[Anon1755209580]

The most successful HC UK has ever had and he's a loser. Are you a parody account?

With the most resources ever, the highest pay for a HC ever, the highest paid assistants ever and the longest tenure. Yet, in all that time, what do we really have to show for it? Any conference titles? Any playoff appearances? Any NY6 bowls? Winning record?

Currently, Mark Stoops is 67-73 overall and 28-62 in conference.

Just because he has a better record than others doesn't mean he has been successful or isn't a loser.

 

[notFromhere]

Let’s play ball.

if we beat the shít out of Toledo… then, we can reassess.

I don't think we will. I think it will be a tight game and the doom & gloom will throw the season out the window. We will be massive underdogs the rest of the season, and that's right where we need to be. We don't do as well without that chip on our shoulder historically and recently.

stoops lost a lot (if not all) of his goodwill & street cred with his dalliance with aTm.

?

He had none among the LOD, so he didn't lose any there.

He had little with the basketball first and only crowd because they had no clue anyway.

They both wanted him to leave, so that makes even less sense.

Anyone that expects a football coach at UK to not look at other jobs where they can upgrade in some capacity is beyond naive at this point. AtM had the money to increase player payroll and EVERYONE saw last year what MONEY CAN BUY. The lack of fan support for the staff before during and after 2 separate 10 win seasons tells everyone this program is not ready for greater success. It's still just a stepping stone job.

I think the opener will be tough.

Agreed.

As of now, stoops is a dead man walking…I have not in my lifetime, seen a coach take a program to heights, then dregs - back to prominence. EVER. So the cards are stacked against him…

You've watched too little football then.

Bill Snyder, Bobby Bowden, Frank Beamer, John Robinson... imo all of these guys had their struggles and bounced back, but only with the support of their program and fans.

no more chit chat. Prove it.

100 ******* %

 

[notFromhere]

The most successful HC UK has ever had and he's a loser. Are you a parody account?

The majority of this fanbase knows losing better than most any other fanbase, and has ZERO idea what winning is, so you can expect them to say stupid things. They said stupid things before during and after we won 10 games in 2 different seasons. Expect more of the same.

They would abuse the hottest and most considerate woman they've ever dated, call her a loser as she walked out the door, and wonder why she'd leave. If we were to win 10 games again this year they will double down and become even more unbearable. Write.it.down.

 

[notFromhere]

Jim Mora was a coach that after he got divorced could never quite get it back together as a coach. Did great at UCLA? or USC... can't remember, and then he got divorced. It just sucked any success right out of him. I hope that's not Stoops' trajectory

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

The problem is the loser head coach. Until some of you all accept that, things won't improve.

He has won here at a much better rate than anyone had in many decades. The loser isn't the coach it is the school. He has gone a long way towards changing our fate but has been attacked by many of his teams so called "fans" nearly his entire tenure here.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

Better watch it, the doom and gloomers will accuse you of trolling/being a UL fan. I venture to say we might not have better overall talent than Tenn., but the gap is not huge and we're better at many positions with what they lost. 8-4 at worst. . . 10-2 if all breaks go our way.

We will have bunch of "fans" mighty upset if we win 8 to 10 and their chance of getting rid of our coach is set back years.

 

[rick64]

As I said in another post Stoops is being paid top 10 money for much less than top 10 results.

Some of the same problems such as clock management, situational football and lack of discipline are still a problem. The one constant factor is the HC.

 

[o_satcheluk]

With the most resources ever, the highest pay for a HC ever, the highest paid assistants ever and the longest tenure. Yet, in all that time, what do we really have to show for it? Any conference titles? Any playoff appearances? Any NY6 bowls? Winning record?

Currently, Mark Stoops is 67-73 overall and 28-62 in conference.

Just because he has a better record than others doesn't mean he has been successful or isn't a loser.

Mark Stoops' career record as head football coach at the University of Kentucky (UK) from 2013 to the present (as of August 19, 2025) is 77-73 overall, with a winning percentage of .513, and 36-62 in Southeastern Conference (SEC) play.

If that's you standard you're going to be miserable just like most of the other SEC fans who don't root for Bama or UGA. Unreasonable expectations lead to consistent disappointment. NY6 bowls are the only reasonable possibility and you can see how infrequently all but the elite teams make it. Only someone ignoring the facts would argue Stoops hasn't had good to great results here. You remind me of Don Quixote. Keep jousting those windmills and maybe one day you'll get one.

4 teams won the SEC Championship:

• Alabama (6 titles: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023)
• Georgia (3 titles: 2017, 2022, 2024)
• Auburn (1 title: 2013)
• LSU (1 title: 2019)

3 teams won National Championships:

• Alabama (3 titles: 2015, 2017, 2020)
• Georgia (2 titles: 2021, 2022)
• LSU (1 title: 2019)

10 teams played in NY6/BCS bowls:

• Alabama (2013–2016, 2017–2018, 2020–2023)
• Auburn (2013, 2016, 2017)
• Florida (2018, 2019)
• Georgia (2017–2020, 2022–2023)
• LSU (2018, 2019)
• Mississippi State (2014)
• Missouri (2023)
• Ole Miss (2014, 2015, 2021, 2023)
• Tennessee (2022)
• Texas (2024)

 

[o_satcheluk]

The majority of this fanbase knows losing better than most any other fanbase, and has ZERO idea what winning is, so you can't expect them to say stupid things. They said stupid things before during and after we won 10 games in 2 different seasons. Expect more of the same.

They would abuse the hottest and most considerate woman they've ever dated, call her a loser as she walked out the door, and wonder why she'd leave. If we were to win 10 games again this year they will double down and become even more unbearable. Write.it.down.

Well said. Sounds like something an adult toddler might do, no?

 

[Anon1755209580]

Mark Stoops' career record as head football coach at the University of Kentucky (UK) from 2013 to the present (as of August 19, 2025) is 77-73 overall, with a winning percentage of .513, and 36-62 in Southeastern Conference (SEC) play.

If that's you standard you're going to be miserable just like most of the other SEC fans who don't root for Bama or UGA. Unreasonable expectations lead to consistent disappointment. NY6 bowls are the only reasonable possibility and you can see how infrequently all but the elite teams make it. Only someone ignoring the facts would argue Stoops hasn't had good to great results here. You remind me of Don Quixote. Keep jousting those windmills and maybe one day you'll get one.

4 teams won the SEC Championship:

• Alabama (6 titles: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023)
• Georgia (3 titles: 2017, 2022, 2024)
• Auburn (1 title: 2013)
• LSU (1 title: 2019)

3 teams won National Championships:

• Alabama (3 titles: 2015, 2017, 2020)
• Georgia (2 titles: 2021, 2022)
• LSU (1 title: 2019)

10 teams played in NY6/BCS bowls:

• Alabama (2013–2016, 2017–2018, 2020–2023)
• Auburn (2013, 2016, 2017)
• Florida (2018, 2019)
• Georgia (2017–2020, 2022–2023)
• LSU (2018, 2019)
• Mississippi State (2014)
• Missouri (2023)
• Ole Miss (2014, 2015, 2021, 2023)
• Tennessee (2022)
• Texas (2024)

LMAO, you can't count vacated wins, moron. You play ineligible players, you lose those wins.

His actual record is 67 - 73 overall and 28 - 62.

It's not at all. IU was just in the playoffs for God's sake. It's certainly doable with a good coach.

Lol, so most of the conference has played in NY6 bowls under Stoops, but of course not UK. Hell, currently we are expected to get 4 wins, which is 2 away from a bowl, after missing it last year.

How many teams made the SEC Championship game, why can't UK?

Your entire argument is that he is good because we have won meaningless bowls games or beat cupcakes and down SEC programs, and since he had been here the longest, he has the most wins. Whoopty freaking do.

Nah, I actually had a ton of fun in the rich brooks years. Competing against top teams in the country and actually winning a couple was aawesome. Under Stoops we don't even compete in those games.

If being a waste of a program, not competing well against good teams, no discipline, lack of clock management, lack of leadership, regression and being at the bottom of the SEC are good for you, that's your prerogative, but just remember it's fans like you that are preventing us from ever being better.

 

[John Henry]

I wager we can all agree Vince Marrow was the most overpaid recruiter/tight end coach in college football.

Our problem is not paying coaches, it is paying mediocre coaches, championship salaries. We are not getting what we are paying for.

 

[notFromhere]

He has won here at a much better rate than anyone had in many decades. The loser isn't the coach it is the school. He has gone a long way towards changing our fate but has been attacked by many of his teams so called "fans" nearly his entire tenure here.

It doesn't matter to them. It's a simple thing that they don't want to see or say out loud. UK IS NOT a destination program, and any chance of it becoming one is nuked by the LOD in the fanbase.

EVERYONE KNOWS when they look at a guy who is slovenly, drives a crappy car, and hasn't achieved anything to this point in life BETTER HAVE a little MONEY if he wants a decent girlfriend. No chance he's getting an NFL trophy wife without LOADS AND LOADS of MONEY, SUCCESS, AND IS GOOD LOOKING.

UK is just slightly ahead of that guy. The vocal football fanbase is UGLY towards the coach and the football program. There is ZERO history of any relevance outside what this staff has put together. The recruiting base of this state, the primary vehicle for success, is among the smallest in the country.

We BETTER pay our coach a crap-ton of money. We have no other option. But even making them the highest paid coach in the country doesn't change the other factors, as we have clearly seen.

1. We've still got an ugly NAG of a fanbase that ******* incessantly through 2 10 win seasons, reversing a streak against UF AND UL, and 8 straight bowl games.
2. We still share the Mini Cooper of recruiting bases with UL.
3. We still don't have the history of nearly anyone else in our conference.
4. We don't have the deep pockets of anyone else in our conference, and we're really not near the top 30 in football revenue, NIL, and football budget put together.

Only someone in a drunken stupor would argue that we are not outside of that group, and that we shouldn't try to make up for what we can by at least paying our coaches well. The argument could easily be made that we need to pay our coach 25% more than Bama because the job is that much more difficult.

Throwing money at it, and having a diehard football fanbase, doesn't guarantee a title or success, though, or A&M and plenty of other schools would've had one in the last 10 years. You cant buy tradition or class.

 

[notFromhere]

Mark Stoops' career record as head football coach at the University of Kentucky (UK) from 2013 to the present (as of August 19, 2025) is 77-73 overall, with a winning percentage of .513, and 36-62 in Southeastern Conference (SEC) play.

If that's you standard you're going to be miserable just like most of the other SEC fans who don't root for Bama or UGA. Unreasonable expectations lead to consistent disappointment. NY6 bowls are the only reasonable possibility and you can see how infrequently all but the elite teams make it. Only someone ignoring the facts would argue Stoops hasn't had good to great results here. You remind me of Don Quixote. Keep jousting those windmills and maybe one day you'll get one.

4 teams won the SEC Championship:

• Alabama (6 titles: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023)
• Georgia (3 titles: 2017, 2022, 2024)
• Auburn (1 title: 2013)
• LSU (1 title: 2019)

3 teams won National Championships:

• Alabama (3 titles: 2015, 2017, 2020)
• Georgia (2 titles: 2021, 2022)
• LSU (1 title: 2019)

10 teams played in NY6/BCS bowls:

• Alabama (2013–2016, 2017–2018, 2020–2023)
• Auburn (2013, 2016, 2017)
• Florida (2018, 2019)
• Georgia (2017–2020, 2022–2023)
• LSU (2018, 2019)
• Mississippi State (2014)
• Missouri (2023)
• Ole Miss (2014, 2015, 2021, 2023)
• Tennessee (2022)
• Texas (2024)

Wait for it.... cope about to drop from the LOD... they'll bring up the CRod vacated wins as soon as they take some time off of RR. Same folks that would scream bloody murder to count games to keep us ahead of UNC in basketball, if we lost wins for the same reason.

They are sick and sad, miserable people when it comes to UK Football. To be fair, many are Cincy fans also, so they have 2x the misery in the sport.

 

[notFromhere]

Every year only 2 teams make the SEC Championship game. Every year, we finished between 7th and 12th in recruiting IN CONFERENCE alone. Which has still been much better than any time before that, but isn't going to get better until we have the money to outspend the rest of the country for at least 11, 5 star recruits every few years.

 

[Shydog]

Every year only 2 teams make the SEC Championship game. Every year, we finished between 7th and 12th in recruiting IN CONFERENCE alone. Which has still been much better than any time before that, but isn't going to get better until we have the money to outspend the rest of the country for at least 11, 5 star recruits every few years.

Buddy I agree with a lot of what you say and I really do appreciate your posts but let me ask, is our fan base all that much different than the others in the SEC. How many teams are there in the conference that have fan bases that enthusiastically support their coach? Not many I don't think! It's the year 2025 and things are just the way they are I guess.
The internet age is upon us and people have become so entitled and unappreciative of what they have and it's sad. I am an old man and have seen lots of changes, some good, many or maybe even most not so good. I don't see it swinging back the other direction anytime soon but normally I try to be optimistic so I am just gonna hope and pray that my grandchildren will have a life as good as the one I have had. Keep trying to change things for the better, maybe you will influence a few but I wouldn't be expecting to change college football fan bases in a day, not gonna happen!
So keep up the hope and GO CATS!

 

[o_satcheluk]

Wait for it.... cope about to drop from the LOD... they'll bring up the CRod vacated wins as soon as they take some time off of RR. Same folks that would scream bloody murder to count games to keep us ahead of UNC in basketball, if we lost wins for the same reason.

They are sick and sad, miserable people when it comes to UK Football. To be fair, many are Cincy fans also, so they have 2x the misery in the sport.

Yup. It's disingenuous for someone to quote Stoops' win total when making an argument that he can't coach. It would be reasonable if he had cheated, but the whole issue is idiotic. When I played at UK, we did the same thing and my coach is in three different hall of fames.

 

[o_satcheluk]

Same.

If not it all still falls on Stoops shoulders, because he handled the situations poorly for whatever reason. While a friendship can strengthen many things, it can also bury you when the situation changes.

I don't think Marrow had any idea how to deal with the highly ranked people he recruited to skill positions and their attitudes. He coddled them and Stoops allowed it for too long.

My buddy thinks our floor is 4 wins because we set a new floor last season. If the wheels come off or we have a few key injuries, we could be right back where we were last year. He also thinks we have the potential to win a lot of games if we go back to what worked in 2018 and use the running game. He has no confidence however in Hamdans ability to call such a gameplan. He's never done it before, and failed miserably at it last year.

Changing the offense was a bad idea. Going away from the running game was a bad idea. Not using the QB run game was a bad idea. Not recruiting dual threat QBs for a few years was a bad idea.

THERES A REASON OUR BEST YEARS FEATURED A QB that was a threat to pick up yards on the ground even if you knew he was a threat.

Wilson, Johnson, Levis, Bowden

Don't see how we have the success we have had without that aspect of the running game and offense as a whole.

One could argue that Stoops changed his offensive philosophy due to pressure from fans who wanted more passing. He tried it, and it didn't work out for a myriad of reasons, and now those same fans are roasting him for the slippage. He certainly bears some responsibility, but the lack of perspective in wanting him fired is astonishing. sadly, what they don't realize is that they are likely making it more difficult to get an exceptional next coach.