@CoachRyanKY
(LEXINGTON)- It is impossible to find any joy after the 41-14 throttling at the hands of our bitter rivals. It is almost equally impossible to find any joy when you know you are in for another year of disappointment. Mark Stoops seems to believe that he will be back on the Kentucky sideline next season. The mere thought of it makes my stomach ache more than if I ate fifteen of the Kroger Field hot dogs.
I’ve had to endure this season, so here are some of my final thoughts:
Mark Stoops has become a name synonymous with Kentucky football on the national scale. His tenure has resulted in Kentucky emerging from bottom-feeders of the Southeastern Conference to a mid-tier program. Sure it’s respectable, but as another lackluster season filled with disappointment winds to a close, the mere prospect of Mark Stoops returning to the sidelines for the blue and white next year inspires exetential dread on my end, and many fans are in the same boat. This is a story of stagnation, a program that is rapid decline, and excuses. I am tired of hearing the excuses, it is time that I, the fan, am heard.
When Stoops was hired, the program was in dire need of a revitalization after the disaster that was the Joker Phillips era. It took time, but he delivered. A new facility, a remodeled stadium, and tangible results on the field (bowl wins, major upsets, national respect, etc.) followed. Kentucky was a model for how a modern football program should run. Remember generational stars Benny Snell and Josh Allen? They took fans on a magical ride resulting in a Citrus Bowl victory on New Year’s Day. Then you have the Wan’Dale Robinson and Will Levis team, torching defenses and winning another Citrus Bowl in an exciting fashion under the national spotlight. Kentucky had swagger, Kentucky was the “cool” program.
Since then, Kentucky has regressed back to mediocrity (at best), finishing with the same 7-5 records from predictable play-calling that lacks any creativity or aggression. “I don’t call the plays,” Stoops has told media time and time again. The results are in Mark, that is a flat out lie. You may not directly call them, but you certainly make your voice heard over the headset. (You’ve admitted it when things are going well.)
Now, let’s talk about breaking through the glass ceiling of the SEC. Stoops’ teams have made an annual tradition out of showing the inability to give premier SEC programs their best effort on a week-to-week basis. Kentucky is ROUTINELY outclassed by the likes of Georgia, Tennessee, and now even South Carolina. While the occasional upset is fun, I am sure it would be more fun to be dominant. I wouldn’t know though, I am a Kentucky football fan.
I am done with the Three-Star saviors as well. Stoops and Marrow are not going to convince me that some three-star from Northeast Ohio is going to be the next savior of Kentucky football. Newsflash, most of them have not worked out. When they do? You get Lynn Bowden, who had his off the field issues that were overlooked by the Coaching Staff for the sake of “wins.” I love Lynn, but he shouldn’t have gotten the special treatment that he did. That is an absolute culture killer. Win as a team, lose as a team, pretty easy concept Mark.
Lastly, the excuses have run thin. A Stoops press conference has become a snarky-toned, coach-speaking, excuse “fest”. Mark Stoops makes over $9 million dollars a year, making him one of the top-ten highest paid coaches in the NCAA. Instead of looking in the mirror, he will blame the lack of success on one of the following (if not all): Lack of NIL, the SEC is good, or bad breaks. It has become predictable, and yes, stale. IF, and that is a big IF, Mark Stoops returns to Lexington next season; a cleaned house should follow. That is the only hope that I will have.
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