Mark Stoops is digging his heels in despite his team having a 2024 to forget.
Kentucky got demolished on Saturday in their annual rivalry game against Louisville, losing 41-14. The bitter defeat put a capper on an ugly 4-8 season for the Wildcats in which they finished 15th out of 16 in the SEC and failed to achieve bowl eligibility for the first time since 2015.
After the loss, the longtime Kentucky head coach Stoops made a definitive statement about his future — that he does not plan on going anywhere.
“Everyone wants to replace me right now,” said Stoops, per Kentucky radio host Matt Jones. “But I am not going anywhere. My butt will be in my office tomorrow. Anyone who wants me to be gone anywhere is wishful thinking. My butt is going to work.
“I am sorry I disappointed folks,” added Stoops. “But I am optimistic we will turn it around.”
Stoops, 57, has held his position since 2013 and helped transform a program that was long an afterthought at the university into a very respectable team. He led them to eight straight bowl berths (including four victories) and was also responsible for two separate 10-win seasons, which Kentucky had not done even once since the 1970s (though one of those seasons was 2021 in which the team had all their wins officially vacated due to impermissible benefits received by players).
But Stoops still has a losing record overall at Kentucky (67-73 with the 2021 season wiped off the ledger) and has often received criticism from fans over the team’s culture and his perceived inability to adjust to the NIL era. What works in Stoops’ favor though is that he is still under contract with Kentucky through 2030 and has a reported buyout clause of over $44 million. But his leash might not be that much longer, especially with another repeat of 2024 combined with a progressive year-by-year lowering of his buyout.
