Heading into Auburn, Mark Stoops should have been on one of the hottest seats in the SEC. But he wasn’t.
And truthfully? He was never going to be.
Mitch Barnhart wasn’t firing Mark Stoops, not before Auburn, not before Florida. And now that he’s beaten two SEC programs that have lost all sense of direction, his job security is essentially locked in.
Florida fired its coach before the Georgia game last week. Auburn fired Hugh Freeze after getting shut down by Kentucky. Both programs are spiraling, and Kentucky took advantage.
Beating two of the worst teams in the league shouldn’t save a coach. But in practice, it probably just did.
Kentucky gets Tennessee Tech next, an undefeated FCS team, but still an FCS team. That win pushes the Wildcats to 5–5, a one-game improvement from last season. For Barnhart, that’s enough to justify another year.
Does it bring back the fan base? Not all of it.
Does it represent progress? Marginally.
Does it ensure Stoops stays if he wants to stay? Absolutely.
A players' coach who beats bad teams
Cutter Boley spoke for the locker room when he was asked about what it is like hearing talk about firing his head coach, “We hate it. We’re taking it on our shoulders… He’s a players’ coach. All the guys want to fight for him.”
The heartbeat he mentioned? It’s beating bad teams, something Stoops has historically done well. The only team Kentucky has beaten with a winning record this year is 5–4 Toledo. Not exactly a resume builder.
But optics don’t matter right now. Stability does for the administration.
Hot-seat meter
- Should be: 8/10
- Actually is: 2/10
Unless Stoops chooses to step away, he’s overwhelmingly likely to return in 2026.
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