Bombshell report reveals Mark Stoops wanted out after crushing Tennessee loss

Last season, the pressure on Mark Stoops finally boiled over. After a miracle win in Oxford, Kentucky football didn't just lose; it unraveled. A three-game skid left the Wildcats at 3-5, the offense stagnant, and the fanbase's anger bleeding into apathy. The head coach was out of answers.

The meeting that changed nothing

That’s when the unthinkable reportedly happened. In a bombshell report by Alan Cutler, following a lifeless loss at Tennessee, Stoops walked into athletic director Mitch Barnhart’s office with a message nobody could have imagined: he wanted out. Stoops, the longest-tenured coach in program history, was ready to negotiate down his massive buyout and hand Barnhart an escape hatch from what many had called one of the most lopsided contracts in college sports.

It never happened.

Barnhart balked, opting instead to keep Stoops in place. Why? That’s the question that lingers over the program today. Was it money? Stoops asking too much to walk away? Was it fatigue? Barnhart still nursing the wounds of a bruising basketball coaching search after John Calipari bolted to Arkansas? Or was it simply that Barnhart doesn’t believe Kentucky football can be anything more than middle-of-the-pack entertainment, a program that fills seats but won’t ever truly compete in the SEC? Or is it that option in his contract that allows him to step down into an administration role next Summer? You could probably throw a dart and there'd be some truth to all of those.

The Calipari precedent

There’s precedent to consider. Barnhart gave Calipari years of grace despite a streak of March failures that stretched back before COVID. The loss to St. Peter's, failure to reach the second weekend with a returning National Player of the Year, and the loss to Oakland. He even sat down on camera to publicly defend Cal’s greatness and let everyone know he would be back, just weeks before the coach packed his bags for Fayetteville. But it was not just Cal's leaving that was news. He was taking with him another contract many called an anchor. His buyout was a staggering 33 million at the time that he chose to leave. And fans may have booed his return, but he knew the writing was on the wall and he left for the betterment of himself and the program. That lifeline Cal handed Barnhart was the same one Stoops seemed to offer. He was trying to do the right thing and it never happened.

A program adrift

The results since have been damning. Kentucky is 3–4 in its last seven, with wins over Murray State, Toledo, and Eastern Michigan, those teams are a combined 18-34 in the last two years and just 4-10 this year. The rest? A home humiliation at the hands of Louisville, 41–14. A complete meltdown in Columbia as South Carolina rolled 35–14. And now, a looming gauntlet that includes Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, and Auburn. The road ahead isn’t a path to redemption; it’s a cliff edge.

Fans who once defended Stoops now shrug. The anger has bled into apathy, the most dangerous emotion any fanbase can feel. And all of it traces back to that moment last fall when a clean break could have been made.

Criticism of Mark Stoops is fair, his product on the field has regressed badly. His record since 2021 is 20-22 with a confernce record of 7-19. Folks, that is bad. But maybe it’s time to point a sharper lens at Mitch Barnhart. He had an open door, a willing coach, and a chance to reset Kentucky football without the weight of a toxic buyout. Instead, that meeting meant nothing. And nothing has changed.

Now the program is adrift, the fans are tuning out, and the cracks that could have been patched are starting to look like foundations crumbling. The end of year press conference were Stoops stood defiant that he was not going anywhere and telling fans not to panic is now seen in a whole new light. The man himself know the ride was over, he could feel it. The pressure was immense after each crushing loss set the program further and further back. But he stood there and delivered a press conference now that is soaked in irony:

"Everyone wants to replace me right now. But I am not going anywhere. My butt will be in my office tomorrow...I let it get to this point. Now I have to get us out of it."

Mark Stoops 2024

He would close by telling the fans not to panic, that Kentucky would be a better program again. But he wanted out once more just like he did in 2023 when Texas A&M came calling. Vince Marrow, his right hand man for years bolted to Louisville. Perhaps he saw the writing on the wall. The fans are tired, surely Mark Stoops himself is tired of it all too.

The real question then, might not be why Mark Stoops is still here. It’s why Mitch Barnhart wanted him to be.

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