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Eli Drinkwitz sends heartfelt message to Mark Stoops after Kentucky firing

Stephen Samraby: Steve Samra11 hours agoSamraSource

Eli Drinkwitz didn’t waste time before paying tribute to a fellow SEC coach who helped make the conference the toughest in the nation. After news broke that Kentucky was parting ways with Mark Stoops, Drinkwitz took to X and posted a message that captured the respect Stoops still commands among his peers. 

“Mark Stoops is a great man and a terrific football coach and leader,” the Missouri leader wrote. “He is well respected by his peers, players, and colleagues! He left Ky Football better than he found it! All the best as you begin a new chapter!”

The sentiment reflects what many across the conference already knew. That Stoops didn’t just win games at Kentucky — he changed the program’s trajectory entirely. 

Over 13 seasons, he guided the Wildcats to unprecedented stability, highlighted by eight straight bowl appearances from 2016 to 2023 and two 10-win seasons that reset the expectations in Lexington. Once considered one of the SEC’s toughest rebuilding jobs, Kentucky under Stoops became competitive and respected. He exits with an 82–80 record, making him the winningest head coach in school history.

The harsh reality of modern college football eventually caught up. The program slid the last two years, failing to reach a bowl and logging just nine total wins. 

Stoops’ final game, a 41–0 shutout loss to a depleted Louisville team, proved to be the breaking point. Kentucky entered needing a win for bowl eligibility and instead delivered its most dispiriting performance of the season. 

For an administration already wrestling with questions about the program’s direction in an increasingly fierce SEC, the moment was decisive. Kentucky moved quickly on his replacement, hiring Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein less than 24 hours after firing Stoops. 

The former Louisville quarterback brings deep ties to the state, as both parents are UK alums, along with a recent résumé loaded with quarterback development after helping elevate Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore in Eugene. Stein now inherits a program searching for fresh direction but still rooted in the foundation Stoops built.

For Drinkwitz and many others around college football, Stoops’ departure strikes a bittersweet note. Coaches know better than anyone how rare it is to take a struggling program and turn it into a steady winner, and how quickly circumstances can unravel. 

As Drinkwitz wrote, Stoops leaves Kentucky better than he found it. What comes next, for both sides, begins now.