Mark Stoops’ on-field mistakes have been dissected for years, but Saturday’s 41–0 humiliation at Louisville brought everything back to the surface.
And it’s not just the game-day errors. The deeper issues lie in development, roster building, portal evaluation, and a program culture that has visibly slipped.
Here is the uncomfortable truth: This isn’t a slump. It’s a pattern.
The on-field chaos that follows Kentucky football under Mark Stoops
We can point to the 2017 Florida breakdown where Stoops called a timeout and for whatever reason decided that a Florida receiver didn't need to be covered. We can point to the Ole Miss disaster this year where the ABC broadcast bluntly said, Mistakes like that get you fired.
And then there was Louisville. Punting on 4th-and-2 only to go for it on 4th-and-1 two minutes later? Getting flagged for an illegal shift when trying to get lined up to go for it on the 4th-and-1? These aren't isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a disorganized program that continues to flounder.
The portal money pit
But where Stoops has truly failed is in the modern game: The Transfer Portal.
Kentucky has wasted millions in NIL-backed investments because Stoops misidentifies needs.
- Quarterback: Instead of developing Cutter Boley after last year, Stoops spent over $1 million on Zach Calzada. The result? A viral video of Calzada telling a fan to "get your money up."
- Offensive Line: Over $400,000 spent on a lineman who doesn't play heavy minutes.
- Receivers: A room full of transfers who have sat behind homegrown talent nearly all year including JJ Hester, Troy Stellato, and others.
Stoops can not identify players in the portal, they have whiffed time and time again. Whatever he is doing, or whoever he has evaluating players simply isn't working out.
Culture decay
Last year, an offensive lineman famously left the bench mid-game to go get a hot dog. That moment told you everything you needed to know about the discipline in the locker room.
Throwing more money at Stoops won’t fix this. He has tried every portal strategy, big school backups, JUCOs, projects, and missed on all of them.
Kentucky needs a new head coach, not just a new coordinator. Will it get one? Micah 7:7.