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Mark Stoops emphasized he was “very happy” coaching at Kentucky during his final weekly call-in radio show Monday night.
About 48 hours earlier he had posted on social media he was not leaving UK following a dramatic win over Louisville to become the head coach at Texas A&M as some were reporting and many were speculating.
He told Tom Leach he doesn’t “normally discuss things like that” but he wanted to share his side of what had been reported.
“Sometimes people pursue you,” Stoops said. “My concentration was on the Louisville game, as evidenced by the way we played. It was extremely important to end that way. Simply agreed to a conversation that night (with Texas A&M officials).
“Yeah, I was pursued by another opportunity. I am right where I want to be with a great team, a bunch of players, an administration and a bunch of people that are aligned to do the right things and to win. I’m very happy.”
He also corrected speculation that he had flown to College Station to meet with Texas A&M officials Saturday night by telling Leach he celebrated the win over Louisville with friends and several UK assistant coaches.
He told Leach he put his post on social media to put an end to the speculation about him leaving Kentucky.
“Just the wrong information out there that so many people were sending me, calling me, texting me and then sending my friends. I’m not even looking at the social media, so they were sending me what was on there,” Stoops said.
“I was like, ‘That’s 100 percent not accurate. I have to address this.’ I didn’t want my team thinking about it like that or anything. That’s why I sent it out at that point.”
4 Responses
Glad you stayed coach!
Despite his words of being where he wants to be and all, I think Coach Stoops would have been long gone had some of his staff left with him, and the fans at A&M hadn’t given him the cold shoulder as was posted all over the internet. NIL money is for real there at Aggie land ain’t it Coach? Also, the victory over the Cards was a real boost for his image, and saved the season for the Big Blue, it surely did. WHOOPIE!!!! What a game!! The victory over Louisville last Saturday was as big a UK win as I have ever seen; maybe the LSU win in 2007 compares. That said, these coaches on this staff didn’t do a very good job with this football team in 2023 in my opinion. They are way overpaid, and so is Stoops. They need to pick it up in 2024. I also look for some QB’s on this team, down the depth chart, to depart via the portal. Especially if Stoops seeks out another gunslinger from the transfer portal as they did with Levis and Leary.
I think if Mark Stoops would have left, it would have been a disaster for the next year or two. With coaches and players leaving, we very well could be stuck at near the bottom in the SEC. But, I would have supported Mark Stoops if he did get the job.
If he would let the people he hired run the offense, I believe we could have better scoring and would have moved the ball more effectively. But, I am no expert and is just a opinion.
it makes little difference whether Stoops stays or leaves. KY is a perennial lower echelon team in the SEC. When all the stars line up just right, KY will be a 10 win team. But with the economics of the Lexington area, KY just can’t compete with the collectives of Alabama, Texas, A&M, TN, LSU, FL and Georgia.
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