Alabama offensive line coach Eric Wolford is returning to Kentucky

The coaching carousel will not stop spinning. A bombshell was dropped late on Thursday afternoon. Turns out that Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is making an offensive coaching change this offseason and it will be a Youngstown reunion.

Football Scoop’s John Brice is reporting that Eric Wolford is returning to Lexington to become Kentucky’s offensive line coach again. Sources told Brice that the deal between Stoops and Wolford was reached on Thursday afternoon.

The 52-year-old Ohio native became the Youngstown State head coach in 2010 and spent five years in the FCS. After spending some time in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers working under Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly, Wolford landed at South Carolina in 2017 to work for Will Muschamp. The offensive line coach would spend four years in Columbia before being hired by Stoops to replace long-time offensive line coach John Schlarman in Lexington. Wolford coached a strong offensive line in 2021 that saw Luke Fortner and Darian Kinnard each become draft picks off a UK offense that ranked No. 5 in success rate, No. 15 in points per drive, and No. 21 in yards per play. But his stint at Kentucky would not last long.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban came calling and Eric Wolford surprisingly left Lexington after just one season with the Wildcats. The offensive line coach would spend two seasons in Tuscaloosa working with Bill O’Brien and Tommy Rees. Wolford will bring a strong recruiting track record to Lexington and potentially bolster an offensive line room that has had issues landing high school prospects in recent seasons.

A surprising Youngstown homecoming has arrived. What does this mean for current offensive line coach Zach Yenser? That is to be determined. After two seasons with the program, Yenser signed a one-year extension with the program in November. Kentucky could have to eat that contract to make room for Wolford on staff.