Kentucky athletics department wasn't aware of Vince Marrow taking Louisville job until Pete Thamel report

On Monday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Kentucky associate head coach Vince Marrow had accepted an offer to become Louisville‘s general manager. Just over 24 hours later, Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones provided further details on Marrow’s exit from the program.

“Source tells me that UK Athletics Leadership did not find out Vince Marrow in talks or leaving for Louisville until the [Pete Thamel] tweet yesterday,” Jones wrote on X. “… I also am told the major UK Football donors were not aware of Marrow’s departure either. Looks like Vince decided to do it without anyone in Lexington being informed.”

Marrow had been Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops‘ right-hand man since Stoops took over the program in 2013. Along with being the Wildcats’ associate head coach, Marrow was the program’s tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator.

Now, he’ll be heading up the front office of Kentucky’s in-state rival. Marrow reportedly signed a three-year deal with Louisville. He was one of the highest-paid tight ends coach in the country at Kentucky. Marrow’s official salary at Louisville has not been reported yet.

Notably, there is a clause in Marrow’s contract that states that he will owe $200,000 per year left on his contract if he decides to leave for another college football coaching position. His new position at Louisville will be behind the scenes, not the field, avoiding that stipulation in his contract altogether.

College football pundits haven’t been shy to express their concern for Kentucky football with Marrow’s exit. On Tuesday, Paul Finebaum spelled out a disastrous future for the Wildcats.

“This is an absolute body blow to Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football program,” Finebaum said. “There you see (CBS Sports’ John) Talty saying, ‘it’s as big a dagger to UK football as possible’. And that was already a football program that was bleeding. The last two years have been abysmal for Mark Stoops.

“This could not have come at a worse time and it is a significant story. Sometimes we talk about changes, assistants. This is the guy that literally ran the football operation there, in terms of personnel… It’s a very big story.”

Kentucky posted a 4-8 record in the 2024 campaign, its worst since Stoops’ debut season at the helm of the program. In comparison, Louisville has won at least nine games in each of head coach Jeff Brohm‘s first two years in the driver’s seat.