10 reasons why the Kentucky Wildcats Football coaching job is better than we think

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Oct 6, 2012; Lexington, KY, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) runs the ball against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium. Credit: Mark Zerof-US PRESSWIRE

6. FACILITIES
As much as UK fans like to harp about how bad the facilities at Kentucky are, the truth is that they’re actually pretty competitive with other SEC teams. More importantly, the athletic department knows that they’re under the microscope with the fans and I truly believe that improvements to Commonwealth Stadium and a recruiting room are forthcoming. If the new coach is high profile enough, he can probably even demand them.

7. LOCATION
The lack of high school talent produced in Kentucky has been used as a crutch by Wildcat fans for years, and that’s not to say they’re wrong. While the state may not be overflowing with talent, there are football players here. Andre Woodson, Jacob Tamme, and Keenan Burton were all Kentucky boys that formed the nucleus of one of the best graduating classes the Wildcats have ever seen. But there’s more to it than that even. If you look at the big picture, Lexington is not only a beautiful city,  its damn near the center of the eastern United States. A new coach will find that recruiting in talent-rich states like Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama isn’t as hard as they might think because all are within a couple of hours drive from the University, which is located at the intersection of two major interstates. You can recruit north or south of Lexington and find plenty of talent within a reasonable drive.

8. BASKETBALL
Some people are going to hate this, but the reality is that a good basketball program can be a useful tool to a football coach. Recruits can be brought in for basketball games when the football season is over and the staff can focus on recruiting and recruiting alone. It gets the Kentucky “brand” out there too. There are times when I worry that it does hurt the football program, particularly with fan expectations, but at this point those cant get any lower, so it’s a positive for the new coach. Mor than anything, it keeps the spotlight off of the football team while he gets the program built his way.

9. FUNDING
Granted, I’m going out on a limb here, but I believe Kentucky Football will receive a size able bump in funding under a new coach. Partially because of the struggles Joker and his staff had with their meager budget and partially due to the embarrassing national reports of how little UK spends on its most profitable sport. Media outlets from the Kernel (local)to Saturdays Down South (regional) to ESPN (national) have written articles that all come down on UK and point to their lack of a financial commitment to the football team as a primary reason for the team’s struggles. With the athletic department’s dirty little secret uncovered, fans won’t stand for Barnhart continuing to skimp on the cash cow. Barnhart and the rest if the administration have to know that if the football fans stop spending EVERYTHING ELSE will wither. If they want to keep their jobs, they’ll find a way to get it done.

10. FANS
It may seem weird for me to point out Kentucky’s fans as a positive thing at this time. Attendance is nearing an all-time low and the general disinterest in the program is at an alarming high. The reason that the fans make Kentucky a more attractive job, is that they can be a force when you’re winning. Today’s fan is fed up with the product Kentucky is putting out, so the malcontent is more obvious. But remember, those same fans packed the house against LSU and brought down the goalpost after the win. Those same fans will sell-out Commonwealth with an 8-4 season too, and maybe that’s the real point here. A coach considering Arkansas or Auburn has to see the way Houston Nutt was run out of town, after going to the Cotton Bowl. They have to see the way Gene Chizik is on the hot seat only two seasons after a national championship. If the new coach can just average 7 wins over the next four years, Kentucky fans will take that and give him time to build the program his way. Heck, he’ll probably even get a pass on whatever his record is in year one and maybe even year two as well. Kentucky fans don’t expect a national championship any time soon, they just don’t want to be embarrassed every week. Rich Brooks never finished above .500 in the SEC or finished a regular season with more than 7 wins, and a huge part of the UK fan base wants to erect a statue of him at Commonwealth Stadium. A guy that could come in here and go 4-8, 6-6, 7-5, and 8-4 over his first four years would probably receive a 20 year contract extension from the administration.

In conclusion, the UK job is probably a better gig for some coaches than others, but its not a bad job by any means. If the administration really pulls out the stops, they should be able to go toe to toe with anyone else looking to hire a new coach this offseason.