With the SEC football season just a few months away, here’s a look at how the conference’s coaches rank in 2016.
Bio: Mark Stoops spent several years as a defensive assistant for several major college football programs before accepting the head coaching position at Kentucky in November 2012. Through three seasons, Stoops has complied a 12-24 (4-20 SEC) overall record, including back-to-back 5-7 (2-6) finishes in 2014 and 2015. Kentucky has improved its standing in the SEC East in each of the past three seasons with a seventh place finish in 2013, sixth in 2014 and fourth in 2015.
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
|---|---|
| 1990–1991 | Iowa (GA) |
| 1992–1995 | Nordonia (OH) HS (DB) |
| 1996 | USF (DB) |
| 1997–1999 | Wyoming (DB) |
| 2000 | Houston (Co-DC/S) |
| 2001–2003 | Miami (FL) (DB) |
| 2004–2009 | Arizona (DC/DB) |
| 2010–2012 | Florida State (DC/DB) |
| 2013–present | Kentucky |
Reason For Ranking: In most cases, Stoops wouldn’t have survived last season after failing to make a bowl game for the second consecutive season, despite a 4-1 start. However, Kentucky is a better program than the one Stoops inherited in 2013, although not by much.
Still, the Wildcats have gone 1-11 combined in their final six games of the past two seasons. Money also played a factor in Kentucky’s decision to retain Stoops this offseason. The Wildcats will owe Stoops $15.5 million if he’s fired without cause before Dec. 1, 2017, according to Mark Story of the Herald-Leader. Kentucky will still need to pay Stoops #12 million if it chooses to fire him after this season.
So really, the program is stuck with Stoops because it jumped the gun and game him a second extension after posting a 5-2 record through his first seven games in 2014, which was followed by a five-game losing streak to end the season. At this point, Stoops doesn’t look like an SEC coach so his ranking behind every coach in the conference not named Will Muschamp is valid.
2016 Schedule:
| Date | Opponent | |||
| Saturday Sep. 3 |
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Southern Miss Golden Eagles Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY |
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| Saturday Sep. 10 |
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at Florida Gators Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL |
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| Saturday Sep. 17 |
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New Mexico State Aggies Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY |
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| Saturday Sep. 24 |
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South Carolina Gamecocks Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY |
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| Saturday Oct. 1 |
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at Alabama Crimson Tide Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL |
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| Saturday Oct. 8 |
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Vanderbilt Commodores Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY |
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| Saturday Oct. 15 |
— | OFF | ||
| Saturday Oct. 22 |
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Mississippi State Bulldogs Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY |
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| Saturday Oct. 29 |
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at Missouri Tigers Faurot Field, Columbia, MO |
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| Saturday Nov. 5 |
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Georgia Bulldogs Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY |
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| Saturday Nov. 12 |
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at Tennessee Volunteers Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN |
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| Saturday Nov. 19 |
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Austin Peay Governors Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY |
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| Saturday Nov. 26 |
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at Louisville Cardinals Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY |
2016 Outlook: Stoops was fortunate to keep optimism on his side with strong starts during the past two seasons. Unfortunately, he won’t have that luxury with games at Florida (Sept. 10) and Alabama (Oct. 1) during his first four weeks of the season
Kentucky does, however, have three favorable home matchups early against Southern Miss (Sept. 3), New Mexico State (Sept. 17) and South Carolina (Sept. 24), but faces another tough stretch of games to end its season — aside from a home matchup against Austin Peay (Nov. 19). The Wildcats aren’t expected to make much noise in the SEC East and Stoops should face the hot seat even with his buyout favoring job security.
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