He could have left Tulane for a better gig after last season, He was on North Carolina's short list. His Tulane team is fringe top 25 right now. They beat a Big 10 school pretty handily already. There have been several of the football prognosticators that have said he could be the "next big name" in coaching. When he was here, the recruits he brought in were higher rated than the ones Marrow was landing. He's highly energetic and very animated on the sidelines. If Stoops is canned or leaves on his own after this season, we could certainly do a lot worse than Sumrall. I'm all for giving him a shot, and I think he'd crawl his way here to coach if we asked. I feel like he's likely #1 on Barnhart's list anyway. If you're looking for someone you hope will be loyal if successful, Sumrall has to be considered. Neal Brown could come in as his OC.
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"It don't make much sense that common sense don't make no sense no more" John Prine -
Nope, they couldn’t go 11-1 playing in D2 is what I believe. They bring in Sumrall it will ruin his career. UK is a death sentence for head coachesYou don't think Kentucky could be, at least, 11-1 with this schedule.
Tulane will be ranked in the Top 25 this year. That is their schedule. They play one team that's good - Ole Miss.
Then they run the table of Cup Cake City.
If Kentucky had that schedule, good lord! lol
I'm not even going to look at Troy. I can only imagine the little sisters of the poor schedule that they play at Troy.Comment
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This isn't about Stoops. Not really certain how he enters this convo. Not a huge fan of Stoops even though I feel he's done about as well as a coach can be reasonably expected to do at Kentucky. He's let us down a few times. Last year was an unmitigated, inexcusable disaster.
"I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you."
Genghis KhanComment
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Look.
I hope they hire Sumrall AND he wins a couple of National Title and builds a lasting program.
What I don't hope is that he comes in here and gets "Kentucky'd" and derails his career. That is the likelier outcome."I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you."
Genghis KhanComment
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So when playoffs go to 16 teams we could see up to 7 SEC schools make the playoffs probably more like 5 to 6 each year and the same for the BIG 10. Could a coach get UK into the top 5 of the SEC, yes, not on a yearly basis. But every x amount of years 4 to 6 lets say. If UK could have 66% decent to really good years and 33% bad years then the fan base would be happy. Does not mean winning each year. We can have a good year and be 5 and 7. If play is good and you face Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Louisville, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Florida, Vandy and Miss State in that year, heck you might lose all of those games, you upend a couple of good teams year by putting a L on say 2 of those teams and win 2 easy games then you only have 4 wins. To keep fans you have to play good, fun, well coached football. That is all UK fans would need in a down year. In an up year you might be Florida, USC, Arkansas, Miss State, Tennessee, Texas AM, Oklahoma, Mizzou and Ole Miss in SEC and Louisville or maybe Indiana as the power 4 other team and you can beat 8 of those team as some have down years or are young teams and such. That would be enough to get in the playoffs possibly that year as a top 5 SEC team.
JS coaching style so far has been a good to watch brand of football. That is all this football fan would need. Along with good years in basketball. I would take that over what we have now, which we can win games but they are slow, ugly, boring games. I am tired of all those attributes of a Coach Mark Stoops team.Proverbs 25:24Comment
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But it's all relative at that level also. Those conferences recruit from a different pool of players than the SEC, and NOW they get poached by P4 schools through the portal. They also don't have the NIL resources of a P4 school. So it's comparing apples and oranges to say things like he's winning by beating up on lesser schools or that UK could go 11-1 with his schedule. He's winning with the parts and pieces he gets coaching at that level against teams with similar resources and a similar recruiting pool, which means he's stood out in a league where all things are mostly equal among the programs. How that would translate to the SEC, who knows. All I know is he's pretty highly regarded so far and on his way to bigger and better opportunities. So why not UK. He deserves a shot. Who else do we go after. I'm not a fan of the defeatist attitude. UK didn't ruin Stoops, Stoops ruined Stoops. he had this program competing at a pretty high level for several years despite the resources. The turn the program has taken is on him for not being able to sustain or capitalize on those winning years."It don't make much sense that common sense don't make no sense no more" John PrineComment
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Lets see how Tulane does against Ole Miss in a couple of weeks and compare it to how we fare against them tomorrow.You don't think Kentucky could be, at least, 11-1 with this schedule.
Tulane will be ranked in the Top 25 this year. That is their schedule. They play one team that's good - Ole Miss.
Then they run the table of Cup Cake City.
If Kentucky had that schedule, good lord! lol
I'm not even going to look at Troy. I can only imagine the little sisters of the poor schedule that they play at Troy."It don't make much sense that common sense don't make no sense no more" John PrineComment
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A few thoughts:- The 3 years prior to Sumrall's arrival at Troy, they went 5-7, 5-6, 5-6. Sumrall comes in and they go 12-2 and 11-3. He leaves and the next year they go 4-8.
- Willie Fritz had 2 really good years at Tulane prior to Sumrall's arrival and he's been able to sustain that success.
- In all 5 seasons as a head coach, his team has played for the conference championship.
- Hiring coaches is a total crapshoot. Sometimes hiring hot shot coordinators from inside the SEC works (Kirby Smart) and sometimes it doesn't (Will Muschamp). Sometimes hiring a coach from a G5 school works (Josh Heupel) and sometimes it doesn't (Scott Frost). Sometimes hiring an assistant coach from another conference works (Shane Beamer) and sometimes it doesn't (Brent Venables).
It's fair to ask if he would succeed here, because nothing is guaranteed and no one truly knows. But when you are looking at candidates for the next head coach, he has to be at the top. Not only does he have the ability to win, but he has the ability to connect with alumni and donors in a way that no other UK football coach ever has.Comment
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I think he'll go this year.
And Kentucky can't afford to fire Stoops thanks to Mr. Lifetime Contract/Buy Out Clause.
I think Kentucky misses out on him and he succeeds at some other school putting him out of contention for this job.
And THAT is Kentucky Football in a nutshell."I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you."
Genghis KhanComment
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Yes, being hired at Kentucky is more likely to derail his career than enhance it. It's nearly impossible to win big at Kentucky IN THE SEC with greater challenges in recruiting that results in inferior talent, less talent and less funding and less everything else.
Yes, he could go to another program at another school and do better IN THE SEC and outside of the SEC and have much greater success than at UK.
Kentucky is not the program that is going to take an ambitious football coach to the ultimate goal. Not at this time with these resources in this conference.
Why is that so difficult to comprehend?
If that upsets you, I can't do anything about that. This is the reality of Kentucky Football and the SEC. It's been the reality of Kentucky Football for SEVENTY PLUS YEARS.Last edited by blueheretic; 09-06-2025, 07:05 PM."I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you."
Genghis KhanComment
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