Maybe Barnhart will give Stoops another raise and contract extension

[Old School]

First, I have no problem at all with the hiring of Stoops. In fact, at the time, it was sort of a coupe. You get the defensive coordinator from one of the hottest teams in the country.

We've seen it before.

Flashy DC from big name program dazzles a gullible AD and talks his way into becoming head coach at a local school, says all the right things to fire up the fans and the hype machine, but just does not have what it takes to manage a program, connect with players, or succeed as a head coach. Subsequent events show his success as a DC was due to overwhelming talent at his prior stop.

John Ray, Kentucky, 1969-1972

Ron Cooper, Louisville, 1997-1999

Mark Stoops, Kentucky, 2013-2016?

Norm Chow, Lane Kiffin, Charlie Weis...a lot of successful coordinators don't have what it takes to run a program.

I hope Stoops is different, but he definitely has some work to do and is behind reasonable expectations at this point.

[Old School]

I think UAB was supposed to be the team to open up with this year. They dropped their program,temporarily, and UK was stuck. I'm not sure they had many other options to schedule a lesser team.

A lot of teams would've changed their plans for a single visit to Lexington and the paycheck that would have come with it.

[Dwight Schrute]

We've seen it before.

Flashy DC from big name program dazzles a gullible AD and talks his way into becoming head coach at a local school, says all the right things to fire up the fans and the hype machine, but just does not have what it takes to manage a program, connect with players, or succeed as a head coach. Subsequent events show his success as a DC was due to overwhelming talent at his prior stop.

John Ray, Kentucky, 1969-1972

Ron Cooper, Louisville, 1997-1999

Mark Stoops, Kentucky, 2013-2016?

Norm Chow, Lane Kiffin, Charlie Weis...a lot of successful coordinators don't have what it takes to run a program.

I hope Stoops is different, but he definitely has some work to do and is behind reasonable expectations at this point.

You're awfully good at complaining. What would your choice have been after the firing of Joker?

[KevinHall]

A lot of teams would've changed their plans for a single visit to Lexington and the paycheck that would have come with it.

That's easy to say but hard to prove. I'm not trying to defend Barnhart. IMO he's on the cusp of being fired and should be if Stoops doesn't improve himself. But when a school suddenly drops their program and that team team is 1st up on your schedule the next season there just aren't too many alternatives. Just horribly bad luck for UK because as we know they need all the cream puffs they can get on their schedule.

[surveyor]

We've seen it before.

Flashy DC from big name program dazzles a gullible AD and talks his way into becoming head coach at a local school, says all the right things to fire up the fans and the hype machine, but just does not have what it takes to manage a program, connect with players, or succeed as a head coach. Subsequent events show his success as a DC was due to overwhelming talent at his prior stop.

John Ray, Kentucky, 1969-1972

Ron Cooper, Louisville, 1997-1999

Mark Stoops, Kentucky, 2013-2016?

Norm Chow, Lane Kiffin, Charlie Weis...a lot of successful coordinators don't have what it takes to run a program.

I hope Stoops is different, but he definitely has some work to do and is behind reasonable expectations at this point.

I would never consider Ron Cooper a "flashy DC from a big name program", lol.

Cooper was a DC at Notre Dame for one season prior to being the HC at Eastern Michigan. I think UofL hired Cooper due to pressure over PJCS construction not having enough minorities to suit Louis Coleman and others, to be honest.
Nothing in Cooper's resume warranted replacing the likes of Schnellenberger. Hell, that was practically an insult to Howard, essentially saying, "Ron Cooper can fill Schnellenberger's shoes".

[KCKUKFan]

You're awfully good at complaining. What would your choice have been after the hiring of Joker?

COUGHbobbypetrinoCOUGH

Hell, even Mike Leach. He wouldn't have turned us into a powerhouse, but if he could win nine games at Washington State, he could get us to a bowl game.

[surveyor]

Leach's 1st 3 seasons were 3-9, 6-7, big slide back to 3-9............ Had that happened here the howls would be deafening.

[Dwight Schrute]

COUGHbobbypetrinoCOUGH

Hell, even Mike Leach. He wouldn't have turned us into a powerhouse, but if he could win nine games at Washington State, he could get us to a bowl game.

Bobby Petrino was never gonna happen. I don't feel like debating whether this is the right or wrong move, but there is a reason no major conference AD with scruples would hire him.

[teamchemistry15]

You're awfully good at complaining. What would your choice have been after the hiring of Joker?

That's the million dollar question. Who was a better alternative at the time and who is a better alternative now? I think Stoops will be successful here and I think a big part of his failures to this point are at DC. I saw his 12-25 record brought up. I don't think it's fair to count his first year because I'm not sure Saban or Billicheck could've won more than three or four with that team. The staff is bringing in the talent to compete and win. I think we just need the right DC because Eliot clearly isn't getting it done.

[surveyor]

Eliot doesn't really have the talent in place yet, either.

Anytime you have a new coach, the priority in recruiting (at the beginning) will be offense. A good offense puts butts in the seats. Eventually, a good defense keeps them there.

[Joneslab]

I think four complete recruiting cycles is enough time to get that talent, though.

There have just been some misses, particularly on the defensive line.

I mean this is a program that has gone toe to toe with some pretty good football teams in the first halves of the last two season. So we've had the requisite talent; it's the depth that's been the major issue.

To take a significant step back defensively doesn't make much sense to me personnel-wise. It may turn out after the season that we didn't take a step back, but judging from last weekend we looked almost shockingly slow at times, and worse than that--confused and ill-prepared.

[surveyor]

I don't think they've taken a significant step back defensively as much as they've stalled.

[Joneslab]

I don't think they've taken a significant step back defensively as much as they've stalled.

We'll have to judge it with a bigger data set than just one game, but I think the coaching staff saw some real problems in the personnel, particularly at linebacker. Some of the quotes that were coming out of camp were pretty alarming.

Then they hit the field and it was worse I'm sure than they expected. Not being able to stop that back-up Southern Miss had was particularly troublesome, and that was something I really haven't seen since the lean years when Stoops first got here.

[catfaninin]

You're awfully good at complaining. What would your choice have been after the hiring of Joker?

This is a great question. I would think most people at the time thought Stoops was a great hire. I was really quite surprised to get someone who was as highly thought of to take the job.But with that hire also came expectations that were way too high, So when those expectations were not met then it became a bad hire. If everything were done in hindsight we all could be genius's

[40bill]

I wonder about talent evaluation along with player development. Leavitt was thought to be a no brainer for the two deep. Hatcher was if anything worse when he left. Elam. Doran Baker. Towels was a guy that likely kept Joker Phillips around one more year.

It just seems an inordinate number of our recruits are beaten out by walk on kids, new freshmen, and transfers that don't even know the system.


Just more concerns.