CC: Mark Stoops
The man is winning at Kentucky. The man is recruiting well at Kentucky. The man is currently quite possibly leading for one Damien Harris--RB 2015--again at Kentucky. Why is no one talking about him as a possible coach? Risky--maybe. Less risky than Bob Stitt? Yes.
October 9th, 2014 at 12:54 PM ^
My impression of this Michigan team is that they don't seem very motivated for whatever reason, despite all the hand clapping and pats on the back. Maybe the players have now figured out that Hoke really doesn't have a clue how to get the team winning. So, simply trying hard isn't the answer by itself.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:22 PM ^
I don't know what motivates this team either. They often seem moribund. The sideline was rocking when Willy Henry Jr. had his pick six and then during Utah's next drive they seemed helpless. After the pick six my Dad turned to me said "The defense is smelling blood in the water now. We're back" Ever since that comment the team has been anything but back.
October 9th, 2014 at 12:32 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 12:35 PM ^
What about Bryan Stoops; the famous magician? He can probably coach as well as Hoke AND pull a rabbit out of his ass during the halftime show.
October 9th, 2014 at 12:51 PM ^
This might not mean a thing. Take it fwiw.
Edit: The whole thing looked sloppy so I redid it. But basically, you're not the only person who feels like he may get a shot.
An NFL personnel guy told me recently he'd heard Mark Stoops might be the guy who gets the Michigan gig. Resume just got a boost.
— Heath Cline (@heathradio) October 5, 2014
@EdCahill He's made bad UK team competitive in 2 yrs. Helped build FSU. Great Ohio recruiting. Lot of reasons he'd be a potential UM choice.
— Heath Cline (@heathradio) October 5, 2014
@EdCahill He's made bad UK team competitive in 2 yrs. Helped build FSU. Great Ohio recruiting. Lot of reasons he'd be a potential UM choice.
— Heath Cline (@heathradio) October 5, 2014
October 9th, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 2:02 PM ^
The SEC East is not all that weak - still tougher than any division outside of that conference. Georgia is very good and Mizzou and SC are borderline top-25 teams, even though SC has faltered a bit. Outside of Vandy, there isn't an easy win there, and unfortunately for UK they got Florida before they started falling apart.
That said, I don't disagree with your overall point. If he can contend there, he looks like a solid candidate at least.
October 9th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^
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October 9th, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^
Kentucky is the Indiana of the SEC. I like him. He recruits well and has ties to the midwest. It goes with the whole SEC coach to the big ten thing recently of Meyer and Franklin.
October 9th, 2014 at 2:45 PM ^
and wiscy thinks this is a 2 way street
October 9th, 2014 at 4:20 PM ^
your meaning, I think the "Indiana of the (insert conference)" is now Purdue.
October 9th, 2014 at 12:56 PM ^
MArk Stoops is great. He's invigorated a moribound UK (not KU) football program that was dying on the vine under Joker Phillips. BUT, he has a whopping 6 lifetime wins and will likely finish this season with maybe 2 more. Michigan doesn't need to take a risk on someone who may turn out to be a good coach. Yes, Stoops was raised in OH, yes he went to Cardinal Mooney, yes he has recruited the midwest well. But he had nowhere to go but up at UK and it remains to be seen if he can even attain middle of the pack status in the SEC East.
October 9th, 2014 at 10:37 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^
I LIKE IT
October 9th, 2014 at 1:18 PM ^
Doing well elsewhere doesn't = doing well @ Michigan where the politically charged culture and arrogance will doom any coach. It is my belief many coaches will think long and hard about coming to Ann Arbor to coach if serious changes aren't made. The problem is those changes aren't easily made.
October 9th, 2014 at 1:22 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 2:04 PM ^
I know it seems too early for him BUT I think heshould be a serious candidate. Let me first put out a disclaimer that I have a connection to Coach Stoops through being from his hometown and friends who are related, so call me biased if you must.
That being said, I've been following Kentucky very closely (including attending one of their games) this year due to Michigan's great season so far. So far he's done a great job at a basketball school and in the toughest conference in college football.
He has a high motor and is a great recruiter, but beyond that I can tell you that in YEAR 2 at a school that has had 4 wins over the past couple years combined, he has UK looking remarkedly better than the current Michigan Team. He uses several different formations on offense, isn't afraid to mix it up, and has a VERY aggressive defense.
His coaching resume is solid along with the obvious coaching pedigree. He was DB coach for some of the great Miami teams and he was the man responsible for building Florida State's national championship defense last year. He has midwest ties, florida ties, and SEC ties.
In summary, if the Michigan coaching job came open NEXT December, I believe Coach Stoops would be considered a top 5 candidate for the job. This year may be a different story but I think it would be smart for UM to at least consider him.
October 9th, 2014 at 2:11 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 2:15 PM ^
Obviously he going to say that. He would be out of his mind if he said, "thanks to this big win, I plan on taking a better job as soon as the season ends." Not only would that submarine all of his recruiting efforts and piss off the fans if he chose to stay, but it would likely make him look like an asshole making other teams less likely to approach him.
So I put absolutely no weight in comments like those.
October 9th, 2014 at 8:16 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 2:36 PM ^
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October 9th, 2014 at 2:48 PM ^
People scoff at beating Vanderbilt and a down South Carolina like it's nothing, but to Kentucky - those are MASSIVE achievements. Go look at how ridiculously bad that team was in 2012. Lost to Western Kentucky, lost to Vandy by 40, Florida by 38, Arkansas 42. And yeah they still lost to Florida this year, in overtime after a semi-controversial call, which is still huge improvement over where they would have been sans-Stoops.
Sure the dude is risky, but how he's not considered just as highly or higher than some of the other guys Brian listed makes no sense. Very successful DC at the highest college level, very god recruiter, and has turned one of the worst power conference teams into something respectable. That warrants a look as much as anyone.
October 9th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^
I agree I'm surprised he wasn't mentioned. If guys at D2 schools or D1 coordinators are mentioned, why not this guy? He's a HC in a major conference, and he has big time Midwest ties (and a name that carries a lot of weight because of his family).
I'm not saying he needs to be the top candidate, but he needs to be at least in consideration, provided he doesn't bomb the rest of the season.
October 10th, 2014 at 1:35 AM ^
And he was a DC at FSU for two years. Same as his brother at Florida, before he got the Oklahoma job. If we don't land Harbaugh or Mullen, I'm all for hiring Stoops.
October 9th, 2014 at 3:33 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 6:32 PM ^
Letting RR go is almost more of a no brainer than letting BH go now is. He lost 52-14 to Mississippi State in his final game. He beat Oregon at Arizona but that was at Arizona and not Michigan. He might have been better with Casteel but he didn't have Casteel and wouldn't have had Casteel in 2011. We would have had Gerg. No fucking way we win 11 games with that defense. It's time we let it go.
October 9th, 2014 at 10:14 PM ^
Kentucky is starting to look like an impressive turnaround, but as noted above they really haven't beaten anyone yet. Certainly someone to keep an eye on though.
Counter theory: the SEC is down this year and all of these ok SEC coaches and programs are looking better than they really are. LSU is down. A&M can't play D. Alabama might be down. South Carolina looks down. Maybe it's a perfect storm for Ole Miss, MSU, and Kentucky to have 'break out' seasons...
October 10th, 2014 at 1:54 AM ^
Counter to the counter: LSU might finish last in their division... And they still beat Wisconsin
October 9th, 2014 at 11:02 PM ^