Connecting the Dots Between Kentucky, Mark Stoops, and Virginia Tech

Welcome to Pepe Sylvia SZN. It has arrived a month or two early, thanks to some impatient athletic directors. Five Power Conference coaches have already lost their jobs, firing up the Coaching Carousel earlier than anticipated. On Monday night, we got our first whiff of Mark Stoops‘ name in the mix.

One might assume that smell would be of Mitch Barnhart letting go of the Kentucky head football coach. Not so fast, my friend. Stoops was on an 8-person Hot Board for the Virginia Tech coaching vacancy.

Huh? What in the world is going on here? Let’s connect some dots.

Go Back to Commonwealth Stadium in 1973

Sometimes to move forward, you gotta go back. It was on a hot, sunny September afternoon that Kentucky played its first game in Commonwealth Stadium. As QB Ernie Lewis recalled, one of the play clocks quit working in the middle of the game. Lewis was the star for the Wildcats, scoring two rushing touchdowns, including a 63-yarder, in the 20-15 win.

What does this game have to do with the 2025 college football coaching carousel? The quarterback on the other sideline was Bruce Arians.

Before he won a Super Bowl with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, before he took the Colts to the playoffs with Andrew Luck, and before he turned Big Ben into a Hall of Famer in the Steel City, Arians was a Virginia Tech Hokie. He didn’t light the world on fire during his three years in Blacksburg, but he did rush for a touchdown on that hot Saturday in Commonwealth Stadium.

In desperate need of a coach to revitalize the once proud Virginia Tech program, they’ve taken power away from the AD and put it in the hands of a search committee. It includes former Hokie star Eddie Royal, Bud Foster, a bunch of boosters, and one Bruce Arians.

Why do I continue to mention Arians? When you type in “Bruce Arians agent” on Google, the first link is to CAA, the agency created by Jimmy Sexton, Mark Stoops’ agent. It could mean something. It could mean nothing.

Could Stoops actually end up at Virginia Tech?

First and foremost, it’s important to remember that even though there are numerous vacancies popping up almost every week, none of them will be filled until the season is over. There’s a long way to go in this coaching search.

It’s also wise to remember that as more jobs open, the list of quality Power Conference coaching candidates is not. Some coaches will bypass Virginia Tech or Oklahoma State for a better gig, or sit by idly at their current spot until a better situation becomes available.

As Adam Luckett noted on KSBoard, there’s a chance the Virginia Tech coaching search goes off the rails. Even though it’s unlikely that Mark Stoops and the folks in Blacksburg decide this is the perfect partnership, you never know in this crazy sport. Timing is everything on the Coaching Carousel. For now, we wait.

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