Connect with us

All Sports

Coaching staff stability hasn’t been there for Stoops at UK

Photo by Keyli Chisesi, Go Big Blue Country

 

There have been plenty of stories and opinions offered on the job Mark Stoops is doing through five years at Kentucky, including one written by yours truly. But if you look at it from a different viewpoint, one could say that he has been fortunate to have the success he has had the last two seasons.

 

Lack of stability has been an issue ever since Stoops took the job in Lexington. One could even say that nothing has gone as planned for the UK head coach, who has replaced a number of staff members in a short amount of time. Some have left for other jobs and some have been sent out because things just weren’t working out.

 

When Stoops arrived in Lexington, he brought D.J. Eliot from Florida State to be his defensive coordinator and Neal Brown left Texas Tech to coach the offense. Brown took the head coaching job at Troy after two seasons at Kentucky and Eliot’s reign was an all systems failure, leading to both parties parting ways after the fourth season.

 

On another note, Stoops thought he had the guy to lead the offense when he hired Shannon Dawson to replace Brown. Dawson looked the part early but the offense sputtered out of control in year three, forcing Stoops’ to make another decision. Enter Eddie Gran, who has been the offensive coordinator for the last two seasons and appears to be the answer moving forward, as the Wildcats have developed a hard-nosed running attack with Benny Snell Jr.

 

The offense appears to be under control but the defense has questions from top to bottom. However, according to Joe Mussatto of SEC Country, current UK defensive coordinator Matt House will return to lead the defense next season. Many will not welcome that news but the truth is this, the one thing Stoops needs is stability on the coaching staff and I’m not so sure the defensive struggles were entirely on House.

 

If you do the math, Stoops has had three offensive coordinators and two defensive coordinators in just five seasons at Kentucky. The top programs in college football have shakeup every season but it’s because coaches are taking better jobs. Outside of Brown’s decision to become head coach at Troy, the coaching shuffle at Kentucky has been a result of not meeting expectations.

 

Some shakeup on the coaching staff should be expected but not until after the early signing period or the Bowl game. Stoops’ has some questions to answer with position coaches, especially after the secondary’s performance this season. Fans will not be happy to hear that House is returning but Kentucky can’t make a habit out of letting coordinators go after just one season. However, I will say this, if Stoops does move on from House in the future, maybe he should take control of the defense.

More in All Sports