Brad White Discusses Future as one of Seven Kentucky Assistants on Expired Contracts

Kentucky lost to Louisville, extinguishing any hopes of extending the season for one more game. That means 25 Kentucky Wildcats played in their final game. It also could be the last game for much of Mark Stoops‘ coaching staff.

Seven of the ten assistant coaches are in the final year of their contracts with the school. Only offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, wide receivers coach L’Damian Washington, and offensive line coach Eric Wolford have deals through the 2026 season.

The entire defensive staff is up for renewal, or on the chopping block, depending on how you look at it. Mark Stoops said those matters will be sorted out in the next week. This includes Brad White.

The Kentucky defensive coordinator is the second-longest tenured member of the Kentucky football coaching staff. Safeties coach Frank Buffano spent seven seasons as the director of football operations before he received a promotion in 2020.

Stoops hired White from the Indianapolis Colts to coach Kentucky’s outside linebackers in 2018. After Josh Allen’s record-breaking season, he was promoted to defensive coordinator. Seven seasons as a coordinator at one school feels like an eternity in this transient profession, leading folks to wonder what’s in store for White’s future.

“I’ve just been thinking about this season. That’s all I care about. And, you know, haven’t really thought about anything other than trying to win this football game,” White said after the 41-0 loss to Louisville.

“We’ll all spend tomorrow trying to figure out what went wrong in this football game. All those things get handled at the end of the season anyway.”

Kentucky had four Top 25 defenses during White’s first five years. That’s slipped in recent seasons. Entering the Louisville game, Kentucky ranked No. 73 in scoring defense, No. 66 in total defense, and No. 71 in red zone defense.

This group dealt with a significant amount of injuries down the stretch, particularly in the secondary, yet couldn’t stop a nose-bleed in two must-win games to close out the season. It’s hard to find optimism, but White searched for something to build on in his postgame remarks.

“You got to dig in and look at what you did well during the season. Obviously, there were games that the guys played really, really well. And a lot of young players down the stretch here have gotten a lot of significant reps, and the hope is that experience will carry you through in the future,” said White.