Skip to main content
Texas
Join Now

Texas to hire former Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops as special assistant to Steve Sarkisian

by: Evan Vieth03/02/26

Texas has hired former Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops as a special assistant to head coach Steve Sarkisian, according On3’s Chris Low.

[Sign up for Inside Texas for just $1! Get the latest on Texas recruiting and all things Longhorns HERE]

Stoops spent the last 13 seasons as the head coach at Kentucky, winning four bowl games and leading the Wildcats to two 10-win seasons. He is the all-time winningest coach at the University of Kentucky.

247Sports first reported the news.

On November 30, 2025, just one day after losing to rivals Louisville 41-0, the University of Kentucky announced the firing of the long-time head coach after two straight losing seasons. He was quickly replaced by former Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein.

Since then, Stoops’ camp had been quiet, but over four months later, it was revealed that he would be joining Sarkisian’s staff. Kentucky owes Stoops a $37.7 million buyout payable over the next six years. His contract did not have an offset or a duty to mitigate.

Stoops has worked at the Division I level for over 30 years, beginning as a graduate assistant in the early 90s at Iowa, before heading to the high school level for four years. From there, he worked as a defensive backs coach at places like South Florida, Wyoming, Houston, Miami, Arizona and Florida State. He was the defensive coordinator at the latter two stops for a combined nine years before taking the Kentucky job in 2013.

Stoops is the younger brother of former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and former Arizona head coach Mike Stoops.

Stoops joins the program as a special assistant, likely working with the back end of the defense under new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Stoops is one of many new assistants and analysts joining the Longhorns this offseason.

You may also like