A common refrain among those defending Mark Stoops is the fear of the unknown: who could Kentucky hire that would be better? But as the program sinks deeper into a historic slide, another question becomes more relevant: does it matter? Sometimes, the spark of change itself is enough to ignite a struggling team, and recent examples across college football prove it.
The Virginia Tech turnaround
Look no further than Virginia Tech. On September 14, 2025, the school fired head coach Brent Pry after a humiliating 45-26 home loss to Old Dominion. The program looked rudderless and was heading toward a disastrous season. Since making the change, the Hokies are 2-1, with their only loss a competitive seven-point defeat to Wake Forest. The team is playing with renewed energy and looks fundamentally better than the one that was throttled by ODU just weeks ago.
UCLA's stunning upset
On that same day, UCLA parted ways with head coach DeShaun Foster. The Bruins were sitting at 0-3 after being outscored a combined 108-43 in losses to Utah, UNLV, and New Mexico. The administration made the tough call during a bye week to give a new staff a chance. The result? After a narrow three-point loss to Northwestern, the revitalized Bruins pulled off a stunning upset of then-top 10 Penn State. A new voice in the locker room transformed a team that looked hopeless into a giant-killer.
A stale message in Lexington
These examples provide a clear path forward that Kentucky is currently unwilling to consider. It has become painfully obvious that Mark Stoops's message, whatever it may be, is no longer working. The players may be listening, but they are not being inspired to play with the fire and discipline required to compete in the SEC. For years, Kentucky's identity was playing above its talent level; now, the team is consistently underperforming.
The record is what it is. A change is needed to inject new life into a program on life support. But with the massive contracts of Stoops and his staff acting as golden handcuffs, it seems the administration would rather accept the continued decline than make the necessary move.
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion