Vince Marrow will remain friends with Mark Stoops but alludes to lack of communication leading to breakup

Everyone knows about the Youngstown bond between Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow. That lifelong friendship was part of the reason everyone was so shocked when Marrow left Kentucky for Louisville this week. However, we are slowly learning that the relationship was a little strained.

KSR has covered how Vince Marrow lost some recruiting power in the Joe Craft Football Training Facility and that ultimately led to the long-time assistant coach looking for other job opportunities. That officially ended when Louisville created a spot for Marrow in their recruiting and personnel department. On Friday, Marrow opened up on the move during his radio car wash with all of the am stations in the Derby City.

In his final interview on Friday with Terry Meiners on 840 WHAS, Marrow discussed in detail his relationship with Stoops when Meiners asked how tough the breakup with Kentucky was. The Big Dog opened up on the unique relationship.

“So this is the misconception because you probably hear stuff. People were saying, like, did me and Mark fallout? No, we would never fallout. We from Youngstown. We’ve been knowing each other for a long time,” Marrow explained. “Do relationships get strained? That happens in marriages when people don’t talk, then years go by, and then it’s like, hey, you want to separate and go the other way.”

What was the No. 1 reason that this relationship needed to go the other way? According to Marrow, there was a recent communication breakdown that ultimately led to the odd timing of this departure.

“Me and him are alike. We very blue collar guys and we kind of like the man who don’t talk to his wife and you just assume, and then the next thing you know, hey, it’s a problem. But if we would have talked, s***, the first 20 days, he would’ve understood why I was feeling this way. And why I wanted to go work with Jeff (Brohm),” Marrow said.

“When I broke it down to him, I was just like, hey, this is changing, this is a great opportunity. I’m going to work for another friend, and I really believe this is the new college football. I just think Jeff really got ahead of this.”

The new role seems to be with Vince Marrow shifting into a front office role in a general manager-type position where he can focus on fundraising and who to recruit. Eddie Gran is in that same role for Kentucky. But it’s clear that the relationship between head coach and recruiting coordinator at Kentucky got strained somewhere along the way and that led to an unexpected split.

What specifically in these 20 days? We might not ever know but something did. That led to a coaching relationship ending. Vince Marrow didn’t even tell Mark Stoops he was leaving until ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported the news. Marrow and Stoops have both gone on record to state that they are in a good place since the news became public but their final conversation as Kentucky employees was not an easy one.

“At first, it was a tough conversation because it was emotional. We two tough guys but we’ve been knowing each other for a long time. We love each other,” said Marrow. “But as we got through it, it was like football is gonna be here whether it’s five years, six years, seven years. Our life as long, long friends will here forever. And that’s how I look at it.”

Kentucky will not have Vince Marrow on the sidelines at Kroger Field for the first time since 2012. Lack of communication could be the main reason why.