Kentucky Wildcats Football: Mitch Barnhart’s Seat Should Feel Some Heat

It’s no secret that Joker Phillips seat as Head Coach at the University of Kentucky is hotter than the Fourth of July, and as one of my colleagues so aptly pointed out, the Administration has “contributed as well.” Which begs the question: Why settle?

Why settle being only a basketball school when you have fans willing to drop their hard earned money on football too? I understand that attendance has been down the entire season and considering the product being put on the field and the facilities they’re playing in, it’s at least understandable. But given that many people are fans of the game of football, never mind the Kentucky Wildcats, they would love to pack the stadium but I am guessing their mind set is something along the lines of “why help someone when they won’t help themselves?”

That’s the question I have anyway. Perhaps a more pointed question is: When will Mitch Barnhart care about football?

Unfortunately the answer is that I don’t think he ever will.

We sat through the lean years of Rich Brooks, calling for Mitch to fire Rich but Barnhart stood his ground and Brooks brought Kentucky back to respectability again. Bravo to you Mitch.

Brooks designates Joker as the Coach-in-Waiting and the wheels fell off.

Deja Vu? Seems like it because Barnhart has repeatedly said that Joker will remain the Head Coach for the entire 2012 season so at first glance we see similarities between Brooks and Joker. Unfortunately for us, there are no similarities. We’re making them up. The similarities between Joker and Rich end at both have been the Head Coach at UK and both suffered through losing seasons to start their tenures.

Can anyone explain to me the difference between the two coaches?

Experience. Rich Brooks had experience. Joker did not.

Now here we are with Barnhart doing the same thing with Joker he did with Brooks and that is support him in hopes that he will get the program turned around. I’m not certain that Mitch thinks Joker can but is following a pattern that worked once before.

Perhaps the most disheartening aspect of Mitch Barnhart’s refusal to push for stadium renovations or grow a pair and consider changes to the football program, is that he is playing with house money now. What’s worse is he knows it.