After 22 seasons as an assistant coach and stops at five different colleges, Franklin, Kentucky native Joker Phillips finally gets to live his dream, head coach for his alma mater, the University of Kentucky. Joker is entering his first year as head coach after a successful regime under Rich Brooks and the Big Blue Nation is excited to see what he can do when he has complete reigns of the squad. This got me to thinking about how other Kentucky football head coaches had fared in their first year at the school. So I decided to look at the past 10 first-year head coaches at the school, dating all the way back to Paul “Bear” Bryant. Here’s what I found:
Rich Brooks, 2003 4-8 Record
1-7 SEC Record (Tied 5th SEC East)
3-1 Non-Conference Record
3-4 Home Record
1-4 Road Record
0-3 vs. Ranked Teams
4-5 vs. Unranked Teams
Lost to both Florida and Tennessee
Guy Morriss, 2001
2-9 Record
1-7 SEC Record (5th SEC East)
1-2 Non-Conference Record
1-5 Home Record
1-4 Road Record
0-4 vs. Ranked Teams
2-5 vs. Unranked Teams
Lost to both Florida and Tennessee
Hal Mumme, 1997
5-6 Record
2-6 SEC Record (5th SEC East)
3-0 Non-Conference Record
3-3 Home Record
2-3 Road Record
1-4 vs. Ranked Teams (Defeated #20 Alabama 40-34 in overtime)
4-2 vs. Unranked Teams
Lost to both Florida and Tennessee
Bill Curry, 1990
4-7 Record
3-4 SEC Record (5th SEC)
1-3 Non-Conference Record
4-2 Home Record
0-5 Road Record
0-2 vs. Ranked Teams
4-5 vs. Unranked Teams
Lost to both Florida and Tennessee
Jerry Claiborne, 1982
0-10-1 Record
0-6 SEC Record (Tied 8th SEC)
0-4-1 Non-Conference Record
0-6 Home Record
0-4-1 Road Record
0-2 vs. Ranked Teams
0-8-1 vs. Unranked Teams
Lost to both Florida and Tennessee
Fran Curci, 1973
5-6 Record
3-4 SEC Record (Tied 5th SEC)
2-2 Non-Conference Record
2-3 Home Record
3-3 Road Record
1-2 vs. Ranked Teams (Defeated #14 Tulane 34-7)
4-4 vs. Unranked Teams
Lost to both Florida and Tennessee
John Ray, 1969
2-8 Record
1-6 SEC Record (9th SEC)
1-2 Non-Conference Record
1-4 Home Record
1-4 Road Record
1-5 vs. Ranked Teams (Defeated #8 Ole Miss 10-9)
1-3 vs. Unranked Teams
Lost to both Florida and Tennessee
Charlie Bradshaw, 1962
3-5-2 Record
2-3-1 SEC Record (Tied 7th SEC)
1-2-1 Non-Conference Record
1-3-1 Home Record
2-2-1 Road Record
0-2 vs. Ranked Teams
3-3-2 vs. Unranked Teams
Defeated Tennessee, didn’t play Florida
Blanton Collier, 1954
7-3 Record5-2 SEC Record (Tied 3rd SEC)
2-1 Non-Conference Record
5-1 Home Record
2-2 Road Record
1-2 vs. Ranked Teams (Defeated #15 Georgia Tech 13-6)
6-1 vs. Unranked Teams
Defeated Tennessee, didn’t play Florida
Paul “Bear” Bryant, 1946
7-3 Record
2-3 SEC Record (8th SEC)
5-0 Non-Conference Record
5-0 Home Record
2-3 Road Record
0-3 vs. Ranked Teams
7-0 vs. Unranked Teams
Lost to Tennessee didn’t play Florida
You see what they have done individually, let’s see what they have done as a whole:
Combined First-Year Head Coach Records
39-65-3 Record (.379)
20-48-1 SEC Record (.297)
19-17-2 Non-Conference Record (.526)
25-31-1 Home Record (.447)
14-34-2 Road Record (.300)
4-29 vs. Ranked Teams (.121)
35-36-3 vs. Unranked Teams (.493)
0-8 vs. Florida (.000)
2-8 vs. Tennessee (.200)
Coaches with a winning record: Blanton Collier, Paul “Bear” Bryant
Coaches with a winning SEC record: Blanton Collier
Coaches with a winning non-conference record: Rich Brooks, Hal Mumme, Blanton Collier, Paul “Bear” Bryant
Coaches with a winning home record: Bill Curry, Blanton Collier, Paul “Bear” Bryant
Coaches who defeated a ranked team: Hal Mumme, Fran Curci, John Ray, Blanton Collier
Coaches with a winning record vs. unranked teams: Hal Mumme, Blanton Collier, Paul “Bear” Bryant
Coaches who defeated Tennessee: Charlie Bradshaw, Blanton Collier
So, as you can see, past first-year head coaches at Kentucky haven’t had too much success. Hopefully Joker can change that perception this coming season.
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