There have been a ton of rumors swirling around Kentucky football head coach Mark Stoops about him going to Iowa or Florida State (jobs that aren't even open). There are rumors of boosters paying the huge Kentucky buyout of around $44 million to fire him. Maybe the biggest hope and rumor is that Stoops would simply step down on his own.
Today, during his weekly press conference, he was asked about this and said, "Zero percent chance I do that." Many Wildcats fans will feel frustrated about this, as the hope for Kentucky football has dwindled under Stoops' leadership.
Stoops says there is a 0% chance he leaves on his own after this season.
Kentucky football is currently at 3-6 and 1-6 in the SEC. They will have to win out to go to a bowl game. If they do not get invited to a bowl game this year, it will break Stoops' eight consecutive trips to a bowl, which is a program record. This brings about what is a common Kentucky fan feeling towards Stoops.
The majority of Kentucky fans seem to have a general attitude toward Stoops: "Thanks for all you've done, but you seem incapable of bringing us any further. We need new leadership." Some fans are very opposed to removing Stoops, and some think it should have happened sooner. Some even suggest reducing his huge salary.
He's a top-10 paid coach in college football, but his teams have never performed at that level. This leads to a deeper frustration of having the money to pay a top coach but not having one. There is no realistic way to reduce Stoops's salary, and if he refuses to step down on his own or find another job elsewhere, we are in for another year(s) of Stoops' leadership. There's a very, very slim chance that Kentucky will pay the enormous buyout. They signed that contract, and they will have to live with it.