Mitch Barnhart and Mark Stoops. (Vicky Graff Photo)
If Kentucky does not beat Texas Saturday — and the Cats likely will be a two-touchdown underdog — the pressure on UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart to make a coaching change is going to reach a whole new level thanks to Penn State.
The Nittany Lions fired coach James Franklin after his team lost at home to Northwestern Saturday one week after losing at then winless UCLA. Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the nation at one point this season and was touted as a team capable of knocking off Michigan and Ohio State to win the Big Ten.
Instead, Penn State has collapsed and the administration did not waste time making a move even though he has a career mark of 104-45, has won a Big Ten title, had top 10 recruiting classes most years and went to the national championship playoff semifinals last year. However, he had trouble winning the biggest games on his schedule and a $50 million buyout did not scare Penn State as it made a move Sunday.
Franklin’s buyout is maybe $20 million more than it would cost Kentucky to buy out coach Mark Stoops who has not won a SEC title and does not have an overall winning record at UK. The Cats were 4-8 last season and 2-3 this year — and trending as the worst team in the SEC.
Kentucky had been to eight straight bowl games before that ended in 2024 when the offense averaged about 330 yards per game — about the same number the Cats are averaging this year. The Cats are one of the nation’s worst offenses in yards per play and last nationally in completion percentage.
The defense has regressed in a big way. The Cats are giving up 403 yards per game going into Saturday’s game and opponents have completed over 60 percent of their passes against UK.
Would UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart pay the buyout if the Texas game goes very poorly as all but one SEC game has the last two seasons? I doubt it. Just not Barnhart’s style.
Penn State athletics director Patrick Kraft did what needed to be done at a school that values football. Barnhart is letting the UK fanbase revolt. Penn State acted before that happened.
No, it cannot be easy to spend that much money to pay a coach not to work, especially one like Stoops has done to help the UK football program. However, past results don’t buy lifetime goodwill and Barnhart has to know UK fans are going to expect him to show he values football by doing something now to prove that.
12 Responses
Obviously, Kentucky doesn't value football or Stoops would already be gone. Stoops did elevate the program, but that was during the cupcake scheduling days, With a 9 SEC game schedule + 1 ACC game, Stoops will only get 2 cupcakes a year from now on. Adding Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC will make getting another 4 wins to become bowl eligible difficult, if not impossible, with Stoops being our coach. The team is falling apart on both sides of the ball and recruits are beginning to bail out. The only players Kentucky is getting in the portal are kids that didn't cut it elsewhere. I am guessing that Stoops is trying to save face by not being dismissed in mid season. He knows BBN wants him gone. He sees the product he puts on the field on Saturday. Now, he has seen a good coach get the axe in mid season. We will be lucky to win another game this season. A 3 win season following a 4 win season is a big red warning sign for change. If Stoops is defiant enough to make us go through a 2 win season next year, he will destroy his legacy completely. Surely, he has too much self respect to do that. He has made plenty of money, but it is time for him to go. Hopefully, he will announce that at the season's end to give the University the opportunity to jump in the hiring frenzy before all of the good candidates get snatched up. Barnhart should be leaving too, Caliputo will have to make that call.
Like I have stated before, it would not surprise me for Barnhart to retire and leave the Stoops ordeal for the next AD.
Stoops is not going to leave on his own because he wants the money and I truly don't think he cares about the wins and loses because either one just puts more money in his pocket. His contract does not incentivize winning or putting competitive teams on the field. He has a better deal than a meteorologist or a .250 batter.
You can look all the way back to Joker Phillips and see that Ky places very little value on football. Stoops began the rebuilding process and after a lot of years, he began winning and everyone was conned into believing that we were going to the toilet bowl every year, thus the lifetime contract. We sometimes forget that the world does not revolve around UK. The Vanderbilts of the world saw the writing on the wall and INVESTED in football. Now they are contenders.
There will always be a first and a last in the league. But, what counts is being a contender and everyone knows the difference between a contender and a perennial doormat. You don't have to go to a bowl game every year to be a contender but you to have to put fear into the hearts of your competition and win games where your competition takes their eye off the ball just a little bit. Further, you occasionally win the games you are not supposed to win. That's a contender. And when the stars all line up, you go to the top of the heap for a while. That's what college football is all about.
We are currently not a contender.
Bowl games used to be special.
Then many new bowl games made it necessary to even let teams with losing records get invited & play in bowl games. That’s equivalent to participation trophies for kids in pee wee leagues that issue a trophy to everyone for just showing up.
Stoops got in some bowl games because of the increased number of bowls, which records would not have gotten bowl bigs in decades past. It’s nice UK made a run in bowl games, even tho some were at the lowest end of the list.
Now UK is so bad under Stoops that a bowl bid is way out of reach so, UK MIGHT win one more game this season, for a total of 3 wins. That is no guaranteed. The 3rd cupcake in the schedule had been winning by an average of 54-10 after about 4 games I have not checked since then.
Pressure on Barnie? He is immune to pressure because he has been given a blank ticket to do anything he wants with UKAA funds. As long as spineless, economically challenged, just plain stupid or perhaps crooked administrators allow Barnie to run wild without any accountability, then we should expect to see more contracts that are like winning lottery tickets in the future.
Barney & Stoops ate here for quite a few more years since there is zero accountability, Sad, but true.
It amazes me how apathy has taken over the program. I'm fortunate to have visited the other SEC schools over the past 45 years, with Oklahoma being the exception, and seen how passionate their fan bases are.
I've listened to their fans reminding us that we are a basketball school while we discuss Kentucky Football.
I was fortunate to meet Jackie Sherrill on one of those trips, and he graciously allowed me to engage him in conversation. I asked him what Kentucky needs to do to better its football program. Without hesitation, he responded, 'Get an athletic director. '
There's no urgency in improving the program. Apparently, the fans are willing to accept the current happenings and wait until Stoops' contract runs out.
We were told a little over a month ago to be "happy losers."
How's that for apathy?
Send a massage! Boycott Homecoming!
The expectations for Penn St historically, traditionally are much greater than Kentucky. It doesn't mean us as UK fans shouldn't want for better thats for sure. But Barry is right Kentucky doesn't value Football at all.
If things play out as projected for balance of the season, I think there is a chance that Stoops will put Pride over Greed and tender resignation. He still has some ego left and why would he would he want to take a daily beating in the reportage when he knows he is no longer welcome here? He has taken much more from UK than he has given especially the last few years while he has driven this train wreck to the trash bin. I am still in shock that Hamdan still has a job here or anywhere else!
This is his 13th season here. I would take James Franklin over Mark Stoops anyday of the week and he was fired. That's really setting the tone. Franklin hasn't been a world beater but just look at his record 104-45. That's elite. Stoops has a losing record in 13 years. When is the ship going to become right? You have fans still spending time and money going to the games supporting this university and Barnhart don't care. He dont have the balls to fire Stoops like he didn't have the balls to fire Calapari. Cal had to take another job. He didn't get fired or feel any type of heat. Remember the stupid video he put out right before Cal left saying "Cal is our coach we dont want anyone else" the times have past Barnhart its time for fresh legs at athletic director and fresh legs as the football coach. We need to fire $toop$ and all his stupid friends that are coordinators.
If Stoops can get a quick buyout maybe Barney will go after Callahan.
It be best the university cancel the renovations of the stadium and use that money to buyout his contract. That simple
79, that is the most astute comment you have ever made! That is a great idea! Not bad at all, 79.