Now that Steve Spurrier has resigned from South Carolina, the list has started for his possible replacement and it looks like Kentucky’s Mark Stoops is on the list.
ESPN has listed 6 candidates for the open job in Columbia and here is their reasoning for Stoops:
Kentucky is 4-1 and needs to erase the bad memories of 2014, when it started 5-1, ended with six straight losses and missed a bowl game. Regardless, it’s clear to those in the coaching community that Stoops has brought the Wildcats a long, long way in two-plus seasons. The talent level is up. Fan involvement is up. UK is trending in the right direction.
His assistant hires have been particularly strong, both in terms of recruiting and on-field performance; that is bound to be meaningful in Tanner’s evaluation process.
And don’t mistake the importance of that last name. Stoops’ brother, Bob, is perhaps the most prized assistant Spurrier has ever had, going back to the Florida days. The Oklahoma coach has Spurrier’s ear, and surely Tanner will listen to a suggestion from Spurrier.
More than a few coaches have noted that Mark Stoops likely understands the ceiling at Kentucky. Sometimes an in-division move makes sense; South Carolina will always be the better football job, just as Kentucky will always be the better basketball job.
If Mark Stoops gets the Cats to a bowl game, and he should, then this is absolutely a name to note.
And an aside: Anyone suggesting his brother for South Carolina is dreaming. Bob Stoops has a far better job.
“If he didn’t leave for Florida, he isn’t leaving for South Carolina,” a head coach told me Monday, laughing at the notion. He did add that it was more likely than the “other” USC, just because of the solid AD in Tanner.
If Mark Stoops wasn’t doing a great job in Lexington no one would want him.
This doesn’t mean he is going to leave, but if he continues his success it will be like hearing Cal is going to leave for the NBA.
In other words, it is always a possibility, but I wouldn’t worry too much right now.
