When the news of Mike Norvell restructuring his salary was announced yesterday, Kentucky fans immediately suggested a similar move for Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops. Some even went so far as to suggest that it would help improve his reputation and win back some of the support he lost. Today, a college football expert on the Fansided network listed Stoops as one of five coaches who should consider doing a similar thing to Norvell.
Andrew Boardwine of SaturdayBlitz.com listed Brent Venables of Oklahoma, Mark Stoops of Kentucky, Lincoln Riley at USC, and Hugh Freeze from Auburn as the five coaches who should find ways to rework their deal to help soften the blow and win back fan support. The mention of Stoops continues to heap coal on the fact that Kentucky is in a very backward deal with Stoops. It's very coach-friendly, and he could tank for another season without worrying about his future. The buyout for Kentucky is simply too high at $44 million and will only decrease by a few million at the end of next year.
Stoops could really show he is focused on the future of Kentucky football and he's not sitting around counting his stacks of money. That if he does truly want to win and wants Big Blue Nation to trust him by changing his deal.
"This is where a restructure could be the best path forward. Stoops could agree to renegotiate his deal, whether that means reducing the buyout or deferring a portion of his salary to reinvest in NIL collectives or staff improvements. It’s a move that would show Stoops’ dedication to Kentucky’s future while softening the financial blow if things don’t improve.Andrew Boardwine, SaturdayBlitz.com
For Kentucky, it could be a win-win: keeping a proven coach who’s willing to adapt while creating breathing room for a program in need of fresh momentum."
Will Stoops actually do this? There are zero indications that a discussion is even happening but it would be encouraging if he and Kentucky worked something like this out.