When Kentucky hired Mark Stoops in 2013, he set an incredibly lofty goal for a football team fresh off a 2-10 season: "To play in the SEC Championship game, and to win it." The Big Blue Nation doesn't need to be reminded that Stoops failed to meet that goal. But in leaving that open-ended, Will Stein walks into Lexington with unfinished business on the table.
Stein himself hasn't been shy about the heights that he wants Kentucky Football to reach in the years to come. The national championship conversation has risen time and time again since he was brought in to replace Stoops in December.
The difference between these two coaches, however, could lie in their respective inaugural seasons. Stoops came out after that confident quote and dropped another 2-10 stinker that was set off by a home loss to Western Kentucky. It doesn't get any worse than that.
At least, it hasn't since then. Stein has the opportunity to reset the expectations, and even history, around new head coaches at Kroger Field. Beyond his first season, he'll also have a chance to change the course of Kentucky Football by actually following through on his promises.
Will Stein Can Succeed Where Mark Stoops Couldn't at Kentucky
To be fair, nobody can discount what Coach Stoops went on to accomplish in Lexington. Even if he never achieved his main goal, Stoops still led the Wildcats to historic success. His handful of bowl wins and ten-win seasons elevated the blue and white off of the SEC's bottom floor.
Stoops' 82 wins (counting the vacated 2021 season) is the most of any coach in Kentucky history. Credit where credit is due.
Yet that doesn't change the fact that Kentucky Football still hasn't shattered the ceiling of national relevancy. Give Stoops his flowers, absolutely, but Stein could go down as the best dude to ever do it in Lexington if he can inch past that breaking point.
Stein Has Ample Time to Take Kentucky to the Top of the SEC
That doesn't mean this season, or even next season. So long as Stein steadily improves, his climb to the top of the SEC can take as long as it needs to. With a finally fun offense and a head coach who isn't dodging the goals that he himself set, the BBN should happily endure a rebuilding period.
That still entails Stein doing what Stoops didn't, and while he certainly seems to boast a more promising personality, little else matters than the product he puts on the field.
It's just 27 days now until Kentucky fans get to see what that product looks like. The weird feeling that always comes with a fresh face on the sideline will subside fast with a few quick wins... we all hope.
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