When it comes to Kentucky Football, the Big Blue Nation is firmly focused on what Will Stein will bring, and is already bringing, to a program in dire need. But oppositely, fans will always take an interest in what their previous coach is up to following a new hire. In the case of Mark Stoops, even as fall football draws near, his coaching fate is oddly unclear.
In spite of reportedly heading to the Lone Star State to join Steve Sarkisian's Texas staff, KSR's Nick Roush just pointed out on X that Stoops didn't show up on the Longhorn's official roster. The recently departed Cats coach may still be on the hunt for a landing spot.
Some Wildcats fans won't be surprised on the surface, due mainly to a reputation that had long ago tanked at Kroger Field. But through a broader lens, Stoops is a respected name in college football, one that was expected to end up on his feet regardless of where he ended up.
Mark Stoops reportedly accepted a gig with Sark at Texas, but he remains absent from the official roster. https://t.co/JQeHVD1Z1X
— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) July 5, 2026
We can't be sure what, if anything, went wrong at Texas - but how does a revered, competitive SEC coach get here in the first place? The answer has everything to do with the changing times of college athletics.
In short, it isn't as simply as "ponying up" any longer.
A Sport Leaving Coaches Behind
These days, this sport is outright leaving coaches in the dust; it's eat or be eaten, pay or be cut loose. Stoops' notorious frustrations with NIL trends and general financial complaints in Lexington made him a target in the nation's most competitive conference.
As other SEC teams survived and advanced, Kentucky quickly began to appear archaic under Coach Stoops. It didn't help that his ever-rotating carousel of offensive coordinators all seemed to struggle under his wing to produce high-level scoring.
In his last season with Kentucky, with both Zach (money spread) Calzada and Cutter Boley struggling to put anything promising together, the clock finally ran out on a dying regime.
Opposites Succeed
Will Stein has already showed opposite tendencies to Stoops in just about every way, and they're paying off for his own budding head coaching career in spades. From embracing NIL rulings and happenings to prioritizing offense on the recruiting trail, Stein revived Kentucky Football simply by doing everything that Stoops wasn't.
And now, at least as far as Kentucky fans eyeing news across the country can tell, Stoops has yet to secure a second chance. For a guy that ultimately brought a ton of unique success to Lexington, we should hope the man finds his way sooner rather than later.
That hope can comfortably exist next to the knowledge that it was absolutely time for Kentucky to move on.
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