Kentucky Wildcats Football: What is to become of Joker Phillips?
By Kyle
Sometimes I get pegged as the eternal optimist and I frequently catch heat for always trying to find the positives in what might otherwise be seen as a traditionally bad Kentucky football program. To this, I plead guilty. But the progression of the 2011 season has gone to such a sour note that I simply cannot continue to blindly believe things are going to get better. I have said before that I am in no way a fan of knee-jerk coaching changes and I hold to that. In the current college football atmosphere, I believe that any coach should be given a minimum of three years to turn a struggling program around, and typically four are deserved as long as even slight progression is shown. There are a few exceptions to this stance though. When a coach makes a bad moral decision that reflects poorly on the university such as domestic violence, drug use, abuse of his players (physical or psychological), or other egregious offenses, he falls outside of the three-year umbrella. When a coach brings NCAA infractions upon his school (whether directly implied or not) that he should have been able to prevent within reason, he falls outside of the three-year umbrella. When a coach shows a lack of the judgment skills required by his position in matters pertaining to off field issues, he falls outside of the three-year umbrella. When a coach displays that he is clearly not in control of his team and disciplinary issues abound, he falls outside of the three-year umbrella. While there are other issues that could arise that would also preclude a coach from the deserved three years, the idea here is that he should be given a chance to build a program his way and have the opportunity for it to grow without the requirement of immediate results to sustain his position as head coach. In a society that expects instant gratification, my thought process might be a little outdated, but most rational folks would agree that it is fair. It should be noted that Joker Phillips has in no way violated any of the above mentioned infractions. There are very few other instances where I feel like dismissing a coach is fair, but they certainly exist and are essentially the focus of today’s post.
I think Joker Phillips is a stand up guy, I really do. He has been faced with plenty of adversity and has overcome a lot of it. But all things considered, it’s important to look at any discussion of a coach’s position from a business standpoint and not let personal feelings dictate decisions. So let’s consider what Joker brings to the program.
– Joker is from the state of Kentucky and he understands the intricacies of the state, the program, and knows what the players are going through. He is more likely to stick around if he is successful than a non-alum and gives Kentucky a great opportunity to build the program long-term.
– Joker has not committed any infractions. Nothing hinders the progress of a growing program like NCAA discipline, and Coach Phillips has run a tight ship in this regard.
– Joker’s players are held accountable. He has never shied away from suspending or dismissing talented players that could not behave off the field. He suspended staring quarterback Mike Hartline last season in a move that a lot of coaches would not have made for a first time offender. Highly regarded recruits like Alex Smith have been dismissed from the team despite their accolades as prep players. He has suspended multiple players for indiscretions and expects all players to hold themselves accountable for their behavior. Joker keeps the program respectable in this regard, which means a lot more in a place like Kentucky where most fans still believe in taking the high road.
– Joker has improved Kentucky’s recruiting classes. Having a class full of two-star rated players with an occasional three-star guy is no longer the norm for Kentucky. Coach Phillips has brought in players with many other BCS school offers and has flipped an Alabama commitment (Daryl Collins), warded off a late push by Florida State for one of his commitments (Alvin Dupree), secured the #1 and #2 rated running backs in the state of Georgia (Josh Clemons and Marcus Caffey) and brought in an Army All-American (Glen Faulkner) in just the 2011 class alone. WhileKentuckyhasn’t had a consensus top 25 class just yet, his collection of talent for the 2012 class is very highly regarded.
– Joker has been able to knock off a top 10 team. Beating South Carolina last season ended a decade long losing streak to the Gamecocks and gave the program a signature win early in his career as the head coach.
– Joker has overseen improvements to the program. The video board and ribbon board improvements were much-needed and came into fruition after his first season at the helm.
– Joker was able to continue the bowl streak in his first season as head coach. Kentucky needed to keep the momentum going after Rich Brooks retired, and Coach Phillips ended the 2011 season with yet another bowl trip.
– Joker has lost several games, but they were to some of the best teams in the country. While the Wildcats have suffered plenty of losses in the last two seasons, many of the losses were to really good teams. In 2010, Kentucky was defeated by Florida (in Gainesville), by eventual national champion Auburn, and lost by ten points or less on the road against Ole Miss,Tennessee, and Mississippi State. This year, Kentucky has dropped games against Florida,South Carolina and current #1 LSU in contests very few thought that they could win in the first place.
While many fans are frustrated right now by Coach Phillips, he has clearly had some moments in his short time as the head coach. In fairness though, it’s important to look at some of the areas that he has struggled too.
-Kentucky finished last season with a losing record. After anticipated losses to Florida, Auburn and Georgia, Kentucky was beaten by a bad Ole Miss team and a struggling Mississippi State team and a down Tennessee team on top of a lackluster performance against Pitt in the BBVA Bowl. Kentucky has to win these types of games to ascend the proverbial ladder in the SEC.
– While recruiting has improved year after year, Joker has failed to get a lot of the best players in the state. In the 2011 class, DaMarcus Smith, DeVante Parker, Jamon Brown, Jon Davis, and Lamar Dawson all decided to pick other schools despiteKentucky’s early involvement with each.
– Still on recruiting, Kentucky has not signed very highly rated players relative to the rest of the SEC. While Alabama, Florida, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, and Georgia rake in top 10 class after top 10 class, Kentucky continually ranks outside of the top 25 despite improvements in overall talent.
– Far too many talented players have left the program. Ryan Mossakowski, Donald Russell, Alex Smith and others have been some of our most highly rated recruits in recent years and have all left Lexington prematurely. While some have left due to lack of opportunity and some have left due to disciplinary reasons, it is tough to compete in the SEC when you can’t keep the most talented kids on campus. Whether it’s the coaches inability to evaluate talent, recruit players that fit their scheme, or find kids without attitude issues, Kentucky cannot hemorrhage four-star players and succeed.
– The Wildcats have updated facilities, but are still way behind other schools. The inability to get a recruiting room done is concerning, and while much of the fault there lies with the administration in the UKAA, the coach is clearly not doing the right things to make it happen.
– The team is not improving. As a whole, the team appeared to get worse as the season progressed last year. While injuries are always a factor, even the healthy players looked more inconsistent as the year went on. This season, the team started out very poorly and outside of the second half against Mississippi State and the Ole Miss game, has not improved.
– The moral on the team seems very low and the players make too many mistakes. The 2011 season thus far can be summed up into two words: “Missed Opportunities.”
– Joker oversaw a loss to a bad Louisville team in Commonwealth Stadium and was humiliated by Vanderbilt in Nashville. On top of the losses, wins against Central Michigan and Western Kentucky were not even slightly impressive.
So where do I stand on the subject of Kentucky retaining Joker Phillips past 2011? I don’t really know. On one hand, he has done all the right things off the field, but on the other, he has put a sub par job putting forth a winning team. I would love to see Joker win and win now, See Kentucky grab the SEC championship, go to a BCS bowl game, and do it all with a true “Kentucky boy” at the helm. Unfortunately for myself and all the other UK fans, it does not appear that this team is headed in that direction. With Vanderbilt’s emergence and Tennessee sure to rebound soon, it is beginning to look like Kentucky is headed for a number of years as the sixth place team in the SEC east, and that’s just not acceptable. And on top of it all, I fear that keeping Joker around for another year or two will just delay the inevitable. I really hope he can get things turned around if he is afforded a third year, but I think that Joker’s career at Kentucky should come down to the Tennessee game. If he can beat the Volunteers in Lexington and end the losing streak, I think he deserves to return for the 2012 season and he deserves to finish the entire 2012 campaign. If he loses to Tennessee and finishes the year with a 4-8 record, things get a little cloudier. While a lot of fans will call for Joker’s head at season’s end, I still think he should be retained for 2013. Then, if Kentucky comes out flat again next year, Joker should be let go and Tee Martin or Rick Minter should be named the interim coach while the administration searches for a replacement.
Thoughts?