Kentucky football has had a difficult season, largely due to a struggling offense under Georgia transfer quarterback Brock Vandagriff. It has led to Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops facing some retirement rumors.
The program now sits at 3-6 overall and 1-6 in the SEC and is on the verge of missing a bowl game for the first time since 2015. Despite being in one of his worst seasons with Kentucky football, Stoops gave a blunt response to any retirement questions, via Doug Samuels of Football Scoop.
“Zero percent chance I do that,” said the head coach.
Kentucky football has had a very difficult season
The Wildcats have lost four straight and have not won a game since September 28. That victory came in a shocking upset over then-No. 6 Ole Miss. Kentucky's lackluster offense has been the downfall of this team in 2024. The Wildcats have not scored more than 20 points in a single game this year and have only hit the 20-point mark twice.
Overall, this team is a far cry from the ones Mark Stoops has put on the field in the past. The head coach is in his twelfth year in Lexington and has built a competitive program over the years. This success has helped Stoops become the winningest coach in Kentucky football history and, with the retirement of Nick Saban, the longest-tenured coach in the SEC.
According to Stoops' statement, this era will continue unless the athletic department decides to let go of their popular coach. Still, looking at the rest of their schedule, the Wildcats will likely not make a bowl game this year. After hosting Murray State, Kentucky will travel to Austin to take on the red-hot Texas Longhorns. They will then close their season at home against their in-state rival Louisville.
The last time the Wildcats finished a season ranked was 2021. The wins from that season have been vacated amid an investigation into the Kentucky football program. While Stoops and the football staff were found to have no knowledge of their players receiving “impermissible benefits,” the dark cloud of this case has been hanging over the team this season.
Overall, it will be interesting to see how Stoops and Kentucky football move on from this trying season. The head coach's contract runs through 2031 at an annual base salary of $8.6 million, making Stoops the fifth-highest-paid coach in the SEC. With Kentucky nowhere near the top five of the conference, the athletic department may decide to end a very successful era in its football program's history.
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