Kentucky Football: What exactly do the Cats need in Offensive Coordinator

Kentucky football must maintain a good relationship with Big Blue Nation

No matter who gets the job, if job security in the long term is desired, maintaining the support of fans across the Bluegrass is going to be imperative.  Over the course of seasons, past Kentucky has seen its fair share of offensive coordinators scrutinized and torn apart not only by analysts in the media but by their own fanbase.

This past season will potentially go down as one of the most offensively underwhelming seasons in Kentucky football history and a lot of it can be chalked up to play calling.  Coming into the year, Will Levis was highly touted and depicted by many as a potential top 3 pick in the NFL draft.  When most Kentucky fans read these headlines or heard the news, I’m assuming what they pictured was significantly different from the offensive production we ended up viewing this season.

Kentucky fans wanted to see the proverbial reigns handed to Levis as he let it fly in an air raid, NFL-style – viewer-friendly offense.  They wanted to see Levis get it done through the air in a fast-paced, aggressive fashion.  They would have even been content seeing the athletically studded quarterback rack up the rushing yards as he scrambled from the pocket.

However, what we ended up with was a collection of bubble screens, conservative short passes, and overall confusing decisions.  It’s true, Levis spent a lot of the season battling injuries, so it’s possible those factors could have heavily influenced the play-calling and decision-making.  But, fans never seemed happy with the play calling nonetheless.

Kentucky’s future OC will need to win over the fanbase and this will need to be done with thoughtful, successful, and commonsensical play calling.  In order to do this an honest evaluation of the team’s strengths will need to be made going into the season and throughout the season, and the play-calling will need to highlight or emphasize, these strengths.