@CoachRyanKY LEXINGTON- Mark Stoops is entering his thirteenth season as the Head Coach for Kentucky’s Football Program, the longest tenure in school history (ouch). His once program-defining stability, well- - stable by Kentucky standards, and player development made him basically a Demi-God in Lexington. However, sitting here in the Lord’s year of 2025, there is little-to-nothing to look forward to when the Cats take the gridiron for their home opener in about a months. We’ve seen the slogans through the years. “We’re just getting started, bro” -or- “Why Not Us?”. We’ve heard all of the Coach speak for the last thirteen off-seasons about being doubted, disrespected, and about how Kentucky is going to “shock the world”. However, with the exception of a mere couple of years, the appetite for Kentucky football we all have was filled with the equivalent of a chain fast-casual dining restaurant. There is one harsh truth that Stoops will have to reckon with. “Motivation” doesn’t win football games. Team discipline, physical prowess, game planning, and great decision making (a thing that has been Stoops’ kryptonite during his time in Lexington.) Let’s face it, this story has been told before. Stoops has leaned into the underdog, “blue collar” narrative for his entire time here. How many times has he spouted off to the media about being from Youngstown somehow makes him tougher than the average American? News flash Mark, it doesn’t. Many of the players you recruited have come from much more daunting communities/living situations. You’re the son of a successful High School football Coach, not an orphan wandering the inner city streets of Youngstown for scraps. The thing that makes me most frustrated is that the SEC is not waiting. In 2025, Kentucky’s margin for error is even smaller now that Texas and Oklahoma have joined the fold. Kentucky used to make its living beating the second-fiddle SEC teams: the South Carolina’s and Missouri’s of the world. That is no longer a foregone conclusion. Both have climbed past Kentucky in recent recruiting cycles and have fiery-and (maybe truly motivated) men at the helm of their respective programs. Stoops has been good here, but he has never adjusted to the speed of the modern game. Kentucky is reactive, not proactive. How many times have we seen Stoops get a lead and milk the clock when there was still PLENTY of football left to be played? Mark Stoops has earned respect in Lexington. He is the all-time winningest Coach in program history. He took our beloved Cats to heights never thought possible by the rational members of BBN. But the sport has moved forward-and Kentucky cannot live in the past. “Motivated Stoops” might win the off-season, but fans are not laughing “with” Stoops anymore, they are laughing “at” him. If Kentucky wants to win more than four football games in 2025, Stoops is going to need a lot more than “motivation” and a “blue collar attitude”. Those things might get you through fall camp, but I am sure Lane Kiffin (or any other SEC Coach) will care when they stand across the sideline. Like my work? Follow me on X @CoachRyanKY Ryan D. Hoots Untd We Stnd, Sports Director