By LARRY VAUGHT
Many Kentucky football fans are livid with Vince Marrow for leaving coach Mark Stoops’ staff to become part of coach Jeff Brohm’s staff at Louisville, but Marrow wanted to make sure Friday UK fans understood how much he appreciated them during his 12 years in Lexington.
He went on Louisville radio with Michael Bennett (Just The Cats Radio) Friday morning and shared a story about a UK pep rally before the 2018 Citrus Bowl. He told a story, and he said he had only shared with his brother about that experience.
“I usually don’t get emotional, but I cried because I saw our fanbase very fired up, like 40-50,000 people at a rally, and I said, ‘Man, this is what I wanted these people to experience,” Marrow told Bennett. “And as we started kicking the tail out of a lot of people that were kicking the tail out of us, I was excited for our fan base because I felt a lot of people took shots at them.”
He told Bennett he understood why UK fans were taking shots at him now.
“It doesn’t bother me that they’re taking shots at me now because I understand a little bit. But I always really enjoyed watching them boast and be happy, going to bowl games as we started beating people that we were used to (getting beaten by),” Marrow said.
The former UK recruiting coordinator admitted he was caught “off guard” when news leaked that he was close to joining the Louisville staff before he could tell Stoops, who left a UK Showcase camp Sunday to attend his son’s graduation, before Marrow talked to him.
Marrow told Bennett his relationship with Stoops had not changed or deteriorated like some were suggesting it had.
“I don’t think we fell out at all. I think our relationship was strained over just us not 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,” Marrow said before adding that Stoops and others asked him to stay.
Marrow emphasized several times with Bennett and also on ESPN Radio in Louisville that he “loved” Stoops, his childhood friend.
“I just wish the media would quit trying to push this thing … I said, ‘I love the guy.’ I mean, what else do you want me to say? Just don’t create that narrative. It’s just that I moved on. I was there for 12 years,” Marrow said.
“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.“
Marrow, who had two daughters graduate from the UK, told Bennett he was already anticipating what the Nov. 29th game, when Kentucky plays at Louisville, will be like.
“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,” Marrow said.
“I’ve worked with three friends: Bo Pelini was one, Mark Stoops was one, and Goallowed me to work with another friend (Jeff Brohm) that I admire, and I’m excited to do this.”
Marrow also said one other thing he said often during his time at Kentucky.
“No other coach has done it the way we did it. I loved my 12 years at Kentucky with Mark. I loved the fanbase. They were good people. It was like leaving family. I liked what we did at Kentucky”, Marrow said. “I turned down other jobs. My wife told me that I had to learn sometimes to go for myself own. That’s hard, but I am excited about my new role and what I can do at Louisville.”
11 Responses
Of course he loved his 12 years at Kentucky. They had literally no pressure to win. Most sec teams would have already fired the whole coaching staff. Back to back 7 win seasons that were much worse than the 7 wins says. Then when finally everyone starts giving Kentucky respect in football we go out and lay eggs 3 years in a row. When Stoops ego started getting huge we declined in football. If you remember right after the 2021 season Stoops started saying Kentucky was a football school. Never winning the sec or a championship but still felt like saying we were a football school was the right thing to do. Then he starts making fun of Shane beamer for wearing sunglasses during a video to pump his team up!? Which there was nothing wrong with that Beamer has owned Stoops since the comment and its like South Carolina and Kentucky switched back places. Kentucky was dominating south Carolina for about 5-6 years. It was almost a sure win. We almost beat south Carolina with a backup quarterback in 2022. Like I said when Stoops kept his mouth shut and had that blue collar atmosphere with his team we were doing great. Stoops couldn’t handle winning and it showed. If you would have told me at the end of 2021 that we were going to struggle to make a bowl the next 2 years and then go 4-8 in 2024 I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are!
I like the guy…writing is on the wall.. Enter Jon Sumerall.
Stoops wants to run the ball, always has , always will. He did a bad job of informing the fans that and his staff. He hired who he thought the fans would like at oc and he let the staff recruit players, that don’t fit the all in on the run system. I think it would work, only a couple of teams are doing it. He needs elite run blocking lineman and wide receivers, elite running backs and a mobile qb helps, especially when it’s a down year for rbs
Kentucky was doing great with Gran as OC. They were running over SEC defenses and winning a lot of games. Then the whiney "fan’s" started crying that Ky needed to throw the ball more and Stoops changed his style. Now the "football bennies" whine because the Cats can’t run the ball like they once did. You can’t satisfy a bunch of know it all crybabies.
Exactly, Gran did great and teams hated to play us and their defenses hated to tackle so many times, dbs would sit out our game or get an injury, especially the ones going to the NFL .
I remember when we played Texas A&M we were 5-0 and they were 3-2 I think it was week 6 or week 7 of the year. The year was 2018 and Kentucky was at there peak of the Stoops years. We lost the game in overtime. It was tied 14-14 in regulation and we lost in overtime. The whole stadium was chanting overrated. If Stoops would have won that game that game and we would have moved to 6-0 and would have probably been ranked #6-#7 after the win. Instead we lose and fall from #13 out of the top 15. If Stoops wins that game. I think the Texas A&M fans would have respected him more and he would be the coach at Texas A&M right now probably on the hot seat or fired by now. But that game is what made Texas A&M fans not want Stoops. He took a 5-0 team with all the momentum in the world and lost to a not so good 3-2 Texas A&M team. All the fans were laughing at Stoops because he had 25 chances to win. Its almost like the football gods didn’t want us to win that game. I still say If we would have won that game that would have won the Texas A&M fans over. You know teams always want coaches that beat there team. You can’t beat them then join them. I just think that game changed the dynamics of Kentucky football forever.
Kentucky football fell apart on a fake kick by missouri. We were winning 14-0 completely dominating Missouri on both offense and defense. It was 2023 and we were coming off a loss to georgia. We were 5-1 (1-1) in the sec. We were destroying Missouri and I said we look much better than Missouri. We win this game we move to 6-1 (2-1) probably ranked in the top 12. Missouri faked a punt and we fell for it and they ended up scoring on that play. We would have been up 14-0 with the ball and we were moving the ball with ease. We just couldn’t recover from the momentum shift and ever since that play Kentucky football hasn’t been the same. If we win that game against Missouri in 2023 everything is much different now with Kentucky football.
That fake punt killed UK
Exactly right Terry Wren!
We we’re kicking their a××. Never felt so much excitement and energy in Kroger Field.
Then we got cocktail and tried to rub it in and tried that stupid kick. The stadium was empty at the end of the 3rd quarter.
It’s been down the drain with Stoops and UK FOOTBALL ever since.
Cocky
On Torres podcast, it sounds like position coaches were vetoing Marrow’s recruits from the Midwest, specifically Ohio. He made the point that teams are moving toward the NFL model, and said position coaches aren’t even at the draft