Kentucky Wildcat Football: Big Blue Rumor Mill

Nov 26, 2011; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Joker Phillips shakes hands with Tennessee Volunteers Derek Dooley at Commonwealth Stadium. Kentucky defeated Tennessee 10-7. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-US PRESSWIRE

Wednesday I wrote about the possibility that Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart could retain Head Coach Joker Phillips after the season. The concept didn’t meet with much favor. It was never meant as the best scenario or even the most likely.  But when a situation like the one Kentucky football faces arises, there are always thousands of theories and scenarios that get floated around.

The rumors always start with a guy someone knows who knows someone connected. These people never have names. Most of them are retreads of something someone read on a message board somewhere. But as someone who actually knows a guy, sometimes there are pockets of good info in there. And sometimes we don’t share names because we don’t want to lose our guy.

It’s almost impossible to sort through all of the rumors and figure out which are good and which are bad. A good rule of thumb is that if sounds too good to be true, it is. Neither John Gruden nor Bill Cowher are walking through that door. Maybe Phillips stays, maybe he goes. John Calipari is not interested in, nor is he qualified to aid in a football coaching search. And no, for goodness sake, he can’t coach the team either.

The truth is, even the most in-the-know people don’t know who will be stalking the sidelines of Commonwealth Stadium next year. Mitch Barnhart isn’t the type of guy who shares his plans, especially not with the public. And frankly he has never seemed to like football-first fans. Like he assumed the job was UK basketball and the rest of the year he could go golfing. Add the fact that his decision likely will not appease the fanbase.

The one thing that has remained consistent is the belief that Phillips will be allowed to finish the season and I think that is very likely, even if the fans want heads to roll right away. The best advice I can give is to sit back and enjoy what promises to be a rollercoaster ride through December.