When looking at Kentucky football under Mark Stoops, it’s hard to deny the progress that has been made over the past eleven years.
Stoops took a program that was nothing short of laughable and has since made eight* bowl game appearances and produced a plethora of high-level professionals in the process.
Despite that, after every season, every bowl game, win or lose, there’s always one question that lingers around Lexington: What will it take for Kentucky to get to the next level?
Sure, the Cats are better than they used to be, but every time Georgia rolls into town or the Cats travel down to take on the Crimson Tide, it still feels like there is no hope of an upset.
At the conclusion of every season, when asked what he thinks needs to happen for Kentucky to take the next step, Stoops accredits the Wildcats complacency to one thing: money.
Ever since Stoops responded to questions about Kentucky’s complacency by saying that fans need to “pony up” if they want to compete with higher profile teams, Big Blue Nation has been significantly less patient with the Cat’s seven and eight-win seasons.
The highlight put on the financial discrepancy between Kentucky and other SEC programs made rumors of Stoops becoming Jimbo Fisher’s successor at Texas A&M this past November all the more concerning.
The Aggies are among the most abundant when it comes to NIL capabilities, which, at the time, seemed like an easy solution to one of Stoops’ biggest problems.
When the smoke settled Stoops was still in Lexington, but the implications of his hypothetical departure for the deep NIL pockets of Texas A&M lingered.
With several reports alleging that Stoops’ hiring in College Station was vetoed, he then turned his attention back to the Wildcats to work to earn the elite status that has eluded them for so long.
But with all situations where a team has made long strides and finds itself at a plateau, it leaves one to wonder where the problems reside or if the man at the helm can even fix them.
Make no mistake, Stoops has been a sensational head coach for Kentucky, but if there aren’t signs of ascension to the next level of SEC football, it brings to question if there is someone better suited for the gig.
It’s important to remember that not every coaching change comes because the current coach isn’t good, but sometimes rather because the aspirations of a fan base have surpassed the ability of the current coach.
One can recognize a coach’s accomplishments whilst understanding that he may not be the guy to lead you to the promised land and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Stoops has had the type of career that ends with a statue outside of Kroger Field and whether he leaves Kentucky by his own hand or not, that shouldn’t change.
But regardless of a coach’s history, fans care about the now, and there’s not much glory in ascending above the bottom tier of SEC football.
Kentucky will have plenty of opportunities this season to show it can compete with the upper echelon of collegiate football as it takes on the likes of No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 15 Tennessee and the Cats will also find themselves in a series of matchups against other “middle tier” SEC teams including the likes of Florida, Auburn and South Carolina.
If the results show that Kentucky is right in the middle of, or even perhaps worse than, that middle tier of the conference, history can’t do much to save Stoops any longer.
Kentucky’s capabilities and the immediate importance of such discussions will soon be on display as it all starts August 31 when it takes on Southern Miss in its season opener.
