Mark Stoops knows his team has to be tougher and more disciplined next season. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Coming off a 4-8 season, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops didn’t mince words about what lies ahead for his program
“You know how tough it is to coach and survive in this league. I’ve been very proud of the growth and the progress we’ve made. This last year, we hit a little hiccup, and I’m not very proud of that. We’ve got a lot of work to do to get us back on track.” Stoops said on ESPN. “Our team needs to get bigger, needs to get stronger, mentally tougher.”
Stoops, 57, took over at UK in 2013 after coach Joker Phillips went 2-10. Stoops won 10 games in 2018 — something UK had not done since 1977 — and again in 2021.
“Going into my 13th year, what you do realize is the urgency that you know what needs to be done today. There is so much to do. We’re attacking it with our players, there’s weightlifting, there’s the mental toughness, there’s the fourth quarter drills coming up,” Stoops said.
“But also, with our coaches, like, what are we doing right? How can we continue to build on that? Where do we fall short? How do we get that corrected? There’s just a lot to do.”
Stoops said he was not proud of his team’s lack of toughness and discipline last year.
“Those are things we gotta get back to, the foundation, the roots of who we are. Be tough, be physical, be accountable to each other,” Stoops said.
The problem for Stoops is that UK’s 2025 schedule looks even more difficult as the Cats host Texas and Tennessee, playoff teams in 2024, and play at Georgia, another 2024 playoff team. UK hosts Ole Miss and plays at South Carolina, two teams that were close to making the playoffs. The November schedule has games at Auburn, Vanderbilt, and Louisville along with a home game with Florida.
Most of Kentucky’s 2025 opponents figure to start the season in the AP Top 25 and that’s only going to increase the pressure on Stoops.
“Mark Stoops makes a lot of money for a coach who hasn’t had a good season in a while. He’s had, if I remember correctly, three inconsistent years out of four. But the program, to me, looks like it’s spiraling out of control. This is one show that has always been supportive of him, but I really don’t like what we’re seeing.” SEC Network host Paul Finebaum said.
5 Responses
Spiraling out of control last few would be a very accurate and safe statement to make. Coach has done a better job talking it than walking it during that period. Hamdan is probably the weakest link in the coaching chain with the OL coach not trailing by much. My personal feel is that we have seen the best from Stoops and most other teams have upgraded coaching talent over the last few years also. He has to be sitting on a warm seat that will only get hotter if he doesn’t turn things around this season, and it is difficult to see how that will happen.
IMHO, the coaching staff must be the player’s father figures, not their buddies. I’m sick of every decent play being celebrated like they won the game. Play the next play until you win! It’s been too much: me, me, me. It should be us, us us. If a player can’t handle discipline, sit his ass down or kick him off the team. We’re experiencing too many hot heads on the field. We need a team, not a few good players! If players threaten transfer, send their ass packing right then & there. Place a clause in the NIL contract that if a player is kicked off the team, he forfeits any future payments. Also, 1st focus on the in state prospects who have more Kentucky heart. As far as coaching coordinators, they’re getting paid millions, if they can’t make in-game adjustments to win, why are they here?
Get what you mean PalmCat
This year Kentucky acted like they had never had any success at all. The contenders let their game do the talking, the pretenders do it with their own mouth.
He’s been talking about going to work since our first loss last year.