How many wins if Stoops was still here. . .

How many wins had Stoops not been FARRRREDD?

  • 1-2

    Votes: 36 36.4%
  • 3-4

    Votes: 57 57.6%
  • 5-6

    Votes: 3 3.0%
  • 7-8

    Votes: 3 3.0%

  • Total voters
    99

WildcatDJ

All-Conference
May 20, 2007
4,789
1,861
113
I think you can look at any of the games we needed to score more than 20 points to win:

-Bama, LSU, S Carolina all L's because we wouldn't have scored enough
-Oklahoma and A&M battles to the end due to similar style of play...overall talent would've caused us to lose both
-Vandy our first SEC win? Doubt it. Letdown game and their QB would have picked Brad White's defense apart
 

Bluetick2100

All-Conference
Apr 15, 2007
5,769
3,947
113
Stoops and Brooks saved UK from the worst of times. Remember the 0-10-1, 2-9, 3-8 seasons? How about multi 10 win seasons? Ending 31 game losing streaks, or 8 bowl game including an upset win at the Citrus bowl over Penn St. All the experts here said Stoops last season would get 2 wins at best. He exceeded that with one of the hardest schedules in all of NCAA FB. Stoops time in the sun came and went but he raised the expectations of UK FB. Excited for Stein but Brooks and Stoops put UK FB out of the cellar and on the map showing what UK FB could be..
 

BlueBomb

Heisman
Apr 3, 2009
10,890
20,378
103
Stoops and Brooks saved UK from the worst of times. Remember the 0-10-1, 2-9, 3-8 seasons? How about multi 10 win seasons? Ending 31 game losing streaks, or 8 bowl game including an upset win at the Citrus bowl over Penn St. All the experts here said Stoops last season would get 2 wins at best. He exceeded that with one of the hardest schedules in all of NCAA FB. Stoops time in the sun came and went but he raised the expectations of UK FB. Excited for Stein but Brooks and Stoops put UK FB out of the cellar and on the map showing what UK FB could be..
I agree with this. So many coaches can get a team there, but keeping them there long term is a completely different story. That goes for any sport. Cal was a good example. He got us there and kept us there for a while. But then...

As far as I'm concerned, Stoops did a good job. A really good job even. But it was time for him to leave. Just like it was time for Cal to leave.
 

Littlecreek10

Senior
Jul 6, 2025
267
551
93
I agree with this. So many coaches can get a team there, but keeping them there long term is a completely different story. That goes for any sport. Cal was a good example. He got us there and kept us there for a while. But then...

As far as I'm concerned, Stoops did a good job. A really good job even. But it was time for him to leave. Just like it was time for Cal to leave.
The lifetime contracts were their undoing. They had no incentive to work hard or improve. They put it in coast mode.
 

phunterd

All-American
Aug 1, 2006
2,261
5,172
62
Probably 3. We get the two OOC games plus Vandy. Maybe A&M too but that would be our best chance to get to 4 at this point in the season.

But I agree with the above posts - no reason to trash Stoops. He gave us a lot of good memories and seasons. We were nearly as bad as a probation program when he arrived. He did a good job. It was just time to move on.
 

Get_over_it

Junior
Sep 23, 2026
254
384
63
What is the purpose of this stupid thread? I bet my left nut that the OP was slobbering all over Stoops nut sack when he was winning 10 games. Stoops built the foundation, but it was time for UK to move on from him, I appreciate what Stoops started, so to the OP Get Over It.
 

Randy Bob

All-Conference
Jun 14, 2009
7,326
4,143
113
Do not think Stoops would have won any SEC games this year, not sure how many he won at Ky, I think Stein has already had more SEC wins this yr so far than Stoops won in yrs.
 
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Anon696759

Redshirt
Oct 25, 2026
16
10
3
If he got to play Lil Brothers schedule he'd probably finish 10-2. Hes available if youve soured on Brohm .
brian regan what GIF

Shut up b!tch boi
 
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HolySmokes

Junior
Oct 23, 2026
226
280
63
He would win the cupcakes and win one not expected to but nothing else. And the losses would be by thirty or fourty points.

This is what id predict if he hadn't gotten fired. If it was motivated stoops in his best days when he wasn't trying to leave he might squeek out 6 wins and a crap bowl game.
 
Last edited:
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bbnkat02

Heisman
Nov 14, 2017
48,789
73,019
113
The lifetime contracts were their undoing. They had no incentive to work hard or improve. They put it in coast mode.
Which I get but I also don't get. Both of them CLAIMED to be comeptitors.

A real competitor does get comfortable- at least not for log. He's always wanting that next level or next goal.

Both Cal and Stoops just kinda said "Eh, Pony Up" or "Gonna Go Home And Watch Little House"
 

Jack2936

Senior
Nov 15, 2023
452
529
93
What happened to that guy? And what was the other big stoops sunshine pumper?

I cant recall him. Douche thought it should take 20 years to make uk a contender
IDK, but I recall "thehack"(I think?). he and Rembrandt were diehard UK fb fans who lived on the fb board(the lair) and rarely posted on rafters.
 
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UKfan2151

All-American
Oct 1, 2003
14,508
9,690
113
Stoops did a good job here overall. But it became clear in his last couple of years that he was definitely on a downward trend and was unlikely to ever be able to regain momentum. I think the Coen experiment was one of the best and also one of the worst things to happen to Stoops at UK. He was the OC Stoops needed, but he was the OC that Stoops just couldn't keep. And he couldn't find anyone else to come close to Coen's performance. I have often wondered how things would have turned out had he simply kept Gran as his OC.
 

bbnkat02

Heisman
Nov 14, 2017
48,789
73,019
113
Stoops did a good job here overall. But it became clear in his last couple of years that he was definitely on a downward trend and was unlikely to ever be able to regain momentum. I think the Coen experiment was one of the best and also one of the worst things to happen to Stoops at UK. He was the OC Stoops needed, but he was the OC that Stoops just couldn't keep. And he couldn't find anyone else to come close to Coen's performance. I have often wondered how things would have turned out had he simply kept Gran as his OC.
Gotta remember. Coen 1- Great. Coen 2 Electric Boogaloo- Not great.

It wasn't Coen that changed. It was Stoops. One will never convince me he didn't severely hand cuff him the second go round.
 
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UKfan2151

All-American
Oct 1, 2003
14,508
9,690
113
Gotta remember. Coen 1- Great. Coen 2 Electric Boogaloo- Not great.

It wasn't Coen that changed. It was Stoops. One will never convince me he didn't severely hand cuff him the second go round.
I don't think Stoops handcuffed Coen so much as Coen simply didn't have a QB who could execute his offense the way Levis did during his second stint as OC. Coen was and is a top notch OC. But if he has a weakness, it is the fact that he's a very system oriented coach. And to properly run his system, you've got to have players with certain key attributes. Leary would have excelled in a spread system, but he wasn't as well suited to Coen's pro-style scheme. And outside of utilizing some RPO, Coen seemed unable to modify his scheme to fit the talent he had. That is why I think Will Stein is a much better college level coach, because he can adapt to a wide variety of players and isn't held hostage by any given system. Coen is great at what he does....provided he has the players that fit his scheme. But he isn't as adaptable as Stein. And that showed in 2023.
 
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CNJ1966

Senior
Dec 12, 2019
420
755
81
My 2 cents on Stoops…
I pretty much backed him (though I thought he was way overpaid) through 2023, til we found out he wanted to leave. After that, I was done with him. Refused to renew my season tickets. When the players know the coach wants out, your program is done until you get a new coach.
 
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UKfan2151

All-American
Oct 1, 2003
14,508
9,690
113
Yes, the whole Texas A&M saga is a huge part of why Stoops isn't still here. Offensive coordinator woes aside, Stoops just never had the same fire after that situation unfolded. In his mind, he probably thought what he had done at UK warranted him being hired by a higher profile school. And maybe it did. But when the deal fell through, you could just tell that his motivation plummeted. He was never the same coach after that. Still, I respect Stoops and I'm grateful for the good years he gave us. He absolutely elevated our football program. While he may have hit a ceiling on just how high he could elevate the program, he set the stage for Stein to take us to new heights. Rich Brooks, Mark Stoops and Will Stein have all made major contributions to changing UK football culture. If you take out the Joker years, The Brooks/Stoops/Stein era has been the longest period of sustained success UK football has ever experienced. Now Stein is poised to take us to unprecedented levels of success. But this whole thing has been one giant process that has spanned multiple head coaches. Stoops did his part.
 
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HolySmokes

Junior
Oct 23, 2026
226
280
63
Stoops did a good job here overall. But it became clear in his last couple of years that he was definitely on a downward trend and was unlikely to ever be able to regain momentum. I think the Coen experiment was one of the best and also one of the worst things to happen to Stoops at UK. He was the OC Stoops needed, but he was the OC that Stoops just couldn't keep. And he couldn't find anyone else to come close to Coen's performance. I have often wondered how things would have turned out had he simply kept Gran as his OC.
Keeping Gran would have been better than swapping every year. Continuity beats having a new system year to year imo.
 

HolySmokes

Junior
Oct 23, 2026
226
280
63
I don't think Stoops handcuffed Coen so much as Coen simply didn't have a QB who could execute his offense the way Levis did during his second stint as OC. Coen was and is a top notch OC. But if he has a weakness, it is the fact that he's a very system oriented coach. And to properly run his system, you've got to have players with certain key attributes. Leary would have excelled in a spread system, but he wasn't as well suited to Coen's pro-style scheme. And outside of utilizing some RPO, Coen seemed unable to modify his scheme to fit the talent he had. That is why I think Will Stein is a much better college level coach, because he can adapt to a wide variety of players and isn't held hostage by any given system. Coen is great at what he does....provided he has the players that fit his scheme. But he isn't as adaptable as Stein. And that showed in 2023.
Yea was gonna say I just don't think the players were there. Also probably hard for the players that were there to give their all to a coach that wants out.
 
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