Mark Stoops will start his fifth season as the head coach of the Kentucky Football program in 2017. How many wins does he need to get?
Coaching football in the SEC isn’t easy. Just ask Hugh Freeze. Even then, when you finally get a team that can compete, there is a team each and every week trying to knock you down off of your pedestal. Now that Kentucky Football has a legitimate chance to make a lot of noise this season in the SEC East, how many wins does Mark Stoops need to get to stay off the “hot seat”?
Now, before you read further, I think Mark Stoops has done an EXTREMELY great job so far here at Kentucky. Quite frankly, I don’t think he should be on the hot seat anytime soon. Like, four or five more seasons soon. To build a program from basically nothing is no shortage of task. And when you’re playing in the SEC, that makes the challenge that much more daunting.
With what Stoops has done in his time in Lexington, he deserves every chance he can get to stay the coach at Kentucky. A lot of folks think that Stoops has done a better job than anyone else could’ve done. I would agree. Anyone that would come to Kentucky to coach, could not have done anything better than what Stoops has done up to this point. By that, I mean, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, and Jim Harbaugh wouldn’t have walked through that door five years ago. The caliber of coach that is interested in Kentucky usually doesn’t have the credentials or experience that Stoops has.
With that being said, how many wins does Stoops need to get in 2017 to keep the fans from bringing out the “hot seat” rumors? If Kentucky fans are known for anything, it’s being impatient with winning. What does Stoops need to do to keep the fanbase alive?
The hottest fire is always blue
Coaching football at Kentucky is difficult that’s needless to say. There’s not a ton of SEC wins under the belt of Stoops in his four seasons. But, not to his fault. Those weren’t his recruits. He didn’t give those players scholarships. But, he did the best with what he had to
work with. Now, in year five, we get a glimpse of a completely recruited Kentucky squad that Stoops wants on the field. These are his guys through and through.
Also, this is a season in which there isn’t significant turnover on the sidelines with his assistant coaches. The 2017 schedule is very favorable to the Wildcats as well. Now, what’s it going to take to keep the interest of the Kentucky Football faithful?
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In my best estimate, nine wins is the limit in 2017. That includes eight regular season victories, a birth in another high-profile bowl game, and a bowl victory. That feat is very much attainable this season. Complacency is a thing of the past now. Lexington is getting ready to turn blue again in just a few short weeks. “Caturday” is just around the corner and the excitement is already building among the Big Blue Nation. Now we just hope that Stoops can take this team where we all know they can go.