With Mark Pope and Will Stein helming the men's basketball and football programs right now for Kentucky, things are arguably in as bright a spot as they have been in a long while. Both coaches are recruiting at a high level next to one another and, unlike the last two, aren't slyly bickering about the university's allegiance to either team. That's always a plus!
But it wasn't always this way in Lexington. In fact, at one point in the (not all that long ago) past, the blue and white had two of the worst coaches in either progam's history employed at the exact same time. From 2007-2009, both Billy Gillispie and Joker Phillips were calling the shots for the Wildcats, to some extent.
That stretch was the short-lived tenure for the former at Rupp Arena, while the latter was still getting his bearings as an offensive coordinator before he'd eventually be given the head coaching gig in the absence of Rich Brooks.
This was not a comfortable period of time for any member of the Big Blue Nation, but I think it's worth looking back on now and again. After all, part of what makes the good times so good is that they weren't always that way... right?
I don't know if that makes any sense, but we're diving in.
A Brutal Stretch of Inconsistency in Lexington
As I'm sure many Kentucky fans well remember, Gillispie was the first to hit the scene in all the wrong ways on the hoops side of things.
His 40-27 overall finish led to his firing after just two seasons. Following up Tubby Smith who, for his arguably faults, won a national title, was never going to be easy. After slipping into the NCAA Tournament in the 2007-08 season (wherein Kentucky lost in the first round to Marquette), the 2008-09 campaign saw the Wildcats go down in the quarterfinals of the NIT.
The NIT. That says it all, and so Kentucky moved on to John Calipari. But at almost the same time, the football program made the Joker Phillips decision.
Another Bad Call for Kentucky Football
After being named as the head coach "in waiting" in 2008, Phillips officially took over as the leading man in January of 2010. Similarly to Gillispie, he was soon thereafrer dismissed in November of 2012.
After three straight seasons below the .500 mark, Phillips' run went up in flames in a 2-10 final season in 2012, including an 0-8 finish in the SEC. On the whole, his record as head coach was a subpar 13-24, and just 4-20 in conference play.
We're on to much bluer pastures now, Cats fans, but it's truly hard to believe that Kentucky Athletics was in such a dire state in most of our lifetimes. Best of luck to the men that coaches here, of course, but sometimes the lights of Lexington are a little too bright.
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