Vince Marrow regrets not telling Mark Stoops before Louisville news leaked

Vince Marrow is now a Louisville Cardinal, news that sent shockwaves through the Bluegrass State this week. With the ink now dry on his contract, Marrow said he has one regret: that he didn’t tell Mark Stoops he was leaving before the news leaked.

During an interview with Drew Deener this morning, Marrow said he was at dinner with a friend on Monday evening when the news broke. If you were in the same restaurant, you may have seen him drop an expletive when he checked his phone to see Pete Thamel’s tweet informing the world that he was leaving Kentucky for Louisville.

“I was really caught off guard when that information leaked on Monday. I was actually at dinner with a good friend of mine. So we were just talking. His wife called and said, ‘Hey, you still with Vince?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah.’ She said, ‘Tell him to look at his phone and look on the internet, on social media.’ And so I looked down and I just said, ‘Oh, you know,’ you know the word I said, because people in the restaurant are looking at me. I’m like, what? And then, you know, Matt Jones texted me and was like, ‘Hey, there’s a story out that you’re going to Louisville.’ And I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Because I really didn’t know it was out. We were talking behind the scenes.”

The news got out before Marrow had a chance to tell Mark Stoops he was considering leaving. Marrow said he had planned to talk to Mark at Kentucky’s Sunday Showcase camp, but Stoops had to leave right after to attend his son’s graduation party in Colorado. After the news leaked, the lifelong friends had a “tough” conversation, but it ended on an okay note.

“And so, we talked. You know, it was some talks. It was, but we actually came to the end of that conversation, and he said, ‘You know what, man? I love you. You know you love me. And it’s like, hey, if you want to work with a good guy, maybe it’s like a marriage. Maybe it’s time to go, time to break this up.’ But no, did he want me to leave? No, not at all. But it was a tough conversation.”

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“I don’t think we fell out at all; I think our relationship was strained.”

On his next radio appearance with Michael Bennett, Marrow went deeper into his relationship with Stoops. He referenced the story Matt Jones told on KSR earlier this week about how both men called Jones when the reports were going around that Marrow was going to take a job at Michigan. According to Matt, Marrow wondered if Stoops really wanted him to stay, and Stoops wondered if Marrow really wanted to leave. Matt told DeWayne Peevy, who got the two to have a conversation, which led to Marrow staying put.

“No,” Marrow said when Bennett asked if his relationship with Stoops had changed. “I think if you sit down and you talk to Mark Stoops, he will tell you — one thing I would give Matt credit for. Sometimes me and Mark just needed to sit down and talk. But we’re two guys from Youngstown, Ohio, and we’re both tough blue-collar guys, and it’s just, you know, he’s busy. He’s dealing with all the stuff he’s dealing with. Me, working, trying to get the roster the way it was, and all that.

“I just think we — I don’t think we fell out at all. I think our relationship was strained over just us not probably talking as much as we used to. But that had nothing to do with me leaving the University of Kentucky; I can promise you that.”

In fact, Marrow said that Stoops and other people from Kentucky tried to convince him to stay, but Marrow knew it was time for him to move on.

“Yeah, they did. I mean, do you think Mark Stoops is just gonna let me — that was that was a hard conversation, because I love the guy. I mean, I was with the guy for 12 years, really 13 years, and we knew each other for a long time. Our families know each other.

“I just wish the media would quit trying to push this thing that me and him — you know, somebody tweeted that ‘he didn’t even mention Mark Stoops.’ I said, I love the guy. I mean, what else do you want me to say? You know, but just don’t create that narrative. It’s just that I moved on. I was there for 12 years. I hope people respect what I did there for 12 years. It was a great run, and I’ll always be a fan of them; I just won’t be a fan when they play us. That’s all. I want them to win every game. That is no lie.“

That one game is going to be emotional for both Marrow and Stoops. Marrow said he hasn’t even gone into the Louisville offices yet (that’ll happen next week), but admitted that he’s already thinking about what it will be like when Kentucky comes to town on November 29.

“Is that in the back of my mind? Yes, that’s in the back of my mind. Will that be difficult? Because it’s like family, you’re looking over there, and these are guys — you know, Mark Stoops, I went to war with him for 12 seasons, and that is a relationship — and I want to be clear: that is a relationship that will always be after football. And so, I’ve worked with three friends: Bo Pelini was one, Mark Stoops was one, and God gave me the opportunity to work with another friend that I admire, and I’m excited to do this.”