Coaching swap: Could Rich Brooks thrive with Stoops' budget? Could Mark Stoops win with less?

For most of us, the two best coaches in UK football history are either Rich Brooks or Mark Stoops. We all loved Hal Mumme, but the fun rarely translated to big-time wins like the other two have provided. With that in mind, let's compare the tenures with a slant on finances to see how well we think the other could perform with their opposite budget. All stats within this article are from Wikipedia.

Rich Brooks Era

Rich Brooks came in when Kentucky football was a bit like the beater I drove in high school: sputtering and needing repairs. Despite a pretty rough start, he managed to steer the program in the right direction in the last few years.

• 2003: 4–8 (1–7 SEC)
• 2004: 2–9 (1–7 SEC)
• 2005: 3–8 (2–6 SEC)
• 2006: 8–5 (4–4 SEC)
• 2007: 8–5 (3–5 SEC)
• 2008: 7–6 (2–6 SEC)
• 2009: 7–6 (3–5 SEC)

Overall record: 39-47 (16-40 SEC) – Not great, but 4 straight winning records, and .500 in the SEC once. Coupled with the 4 bowl games in a row, things weren't so bad.

Money Talk (Inflation Adjusted)

Brooks made only $1.6 million in his final year in 2009. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $2 million today. That's not terrible, but compare that to Stoops, who makes nearly five times that, coming in at a little over $9 million per year as of this year.

Recruiting Budget and Assistant Coach Salaries

In Brooks’ day, the whole team was underfunded; there were even some rumblings about him wanting more money for the program and being a big reason why he stepped down. Kentucky’s recruiting budget was around $500,000, which, adjusted for inflation, is about $700,000 today. Stoops, on the other hand, gets $2 million annually for recruiting alone​ and private use of the UK plane (not a bad perk). And we are getting much better players today than we did back then, but are the results much different?

Mark Stoops Era

Mark Stoops came in after Joker Phillips, whose tenure was marred by poor attendance and blowout losses. The program was not in a good spot, much like when Rich Brooks took over. He instilled a lot of hope in UK football, and for some, he is the only coach they have ever known, being at the help now for 12 years. Here is his record:

• 2013: 2–10 (0–8 SEC)
• 2014: 5–7 (2–6 SEC)
• 2015: 5–7 (2–6 SEC)
• 2016: 7–6 (4–4 SEC)
• 2017: 7–6 (4–4 SEC)
• 2018: 10–3 (5–3 SEC)
• 2019: 8–5 (3–5 SEC)
• 2020: 5–6 (4–6 SEC)*Pandemic
• 2021: 10–3 (5–3 SEC) *Wins Vacated
• 2022: 7–6 (3–5 SEC)
• 2023: 7–6 (3–5 SEC)

Overall record (as of 2023): 69–73 (29-63 SEC). Stoops is Kentucky’s all-time winningest coach and owns the most losses as well, sitting under .500 after 12 years. 2-12 in the last 14 home SEC games and struggling mightily to get back to 2021 levels of success (which was later vacated). 8 straight bowls, though technically, the vacated 2021 season breaks that streak up.

Stoops' Salary Breakdown

Let’s talk about that $9.01 million Stoops makes. That’s a big chunk of change for a guy with a losing record after 12 years at the same place. Still, nearly 5 times what Rich Brooks was making and only produced 1 season better than Rich did with less.

Recruiting and Assistants: Stoops Edition

Recruiting: Stoops’ $2 million recruiting budget is nearly 4 times that of Brooks. You can absolutely tell by the caliber of recruits Kentucky’s been getting. Do you think Brooks had the type of money to go toe to toe and nab Barion Brown out of Tennessee? No way.
Assistants: Here is where things get even more interesting when looking at the numbers. Stoops' assistant coaches make a combined $6.5 million, yep, over $6 million (Brad White, Bush Hamdan, and Vince Marrow are each over 1 million). Compare that to Brooks’ assistant budget of just under $2 million (adjusted for inflation), and you start to wonder if the money we are spending is bringing in enough of a return.

What do you think?

• Would Stoops be able to duplicate the LSU shocker and Stevie getting loose?
• Would Brooks, with the money and facility upgrades, be able to lead us to more than just a Citrus Bowl win in 12 years?