Surrounded by his family, friends, UK dignitaries such as Mitch Barnhart, John Calipari and Rich Brooks and a swarm of media members, new UK head coach Joker Phillips paused.

He looked at his prepared statement again. Silently read through it and started to choke up. He had thanked nearly everyone he knew up until now for getting him prepared to become a head coach. But he hadn’t thanked one man yet and was now struggling for words.

That man, seated about six feet from Phillips, sat quietly next to his wife. Two days earlier, that man stood at the same podium he had stood at so many times and delivered his final news conference announcing his retirement. Now his successor, named two years ago as head-coach-in-waiting seemingly couldn’t bear the thought that Rich Brooks was no longer be around.

At the same time, he made his own stamp quickly.

“Moving forward, I’m making a call to service for all those in this program directly and indirectly” Phillips said. “We will begin what I call Operation Win. This means continuing to strive for excellence in every possible area related to Kentucky football. This is not about Joker Phillips. This is about we.”

It was a touching moment for a man that has bled blue since he could spell “Wildcats.” A former UK player and assistant coach, Phillips was officially given the reigns to the program on Wednesday afternoon.

He made little to no comment about staff changes and same recruiting and the overall goal of the program — a Southeastern Conference title — hadn’t changed. Phillips did say that recruiting needs to continue to improve and that as head coach, he would make sure to dig deeper in places he had the best contacts in.

But while question upon question was asked, Phillips looked more and more like the man he is replacing, with just a little tingle of Joker included. He joked with the media, was serious when necessary and stayed humble.

Which is good for everyone involved. But don’t be fooled, because all is not perfect.

Phillips is seen as the mastermind behind the high octane offenses of the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He is also seen as the problem behind the offensive woes of 2008 and 2009. Phillips will be expected to recruit better and do the things Brooks couldn’t accomplish.

But Phillips has a lot of things going for him that Brooks didn’t. First off, Phillips starts his era with a full allotment of scholarships, no NCAA probation and a firm foundation.

While the ability of Phillips as a head coach are yet to be seen, there is one thing that was shown Wednesday afternoon. The same honesty, respect and overall character that Brooks emulated as head coach aren’t retiring with him.

Maybe Joker Phillips will succeed as a head coach. Maybe he won’t pan out.

But one thing is for sure — he is what the UK football program needs right now.

Whether the fan base realizes it or not.

Kenny Colston is a journalism senior. E-mail [email protected].