Let us pretend for a moment that the coronavirus curve will be flattened, a vaccine will be at the ready and the powers that be will find a way to field the moneymaker that is college football in 2020.
If so, it would be Mark Stoops' eighth season as Kentucky's coach. In terms of longevity, that would match the tenures of Bear Bryant (1946-53), Blanton Collier (1954-61), Charlie Bradshaw (1962-68) and Jerry Claiborne (1982-89). It would put Stoops one season beyond Rich Brooks (2003-09) and Bill Curry (2000-06) and one season behind Fran Curci (1973-81).
Aside from Bryant, there is a common denominator among that coaching list. After a brief stretch of glory, none were able to sustain their success.
Start with Bryant's successor. The football and basketball coach at Paris High School before World War II and an assistant to Paul Brown with the Cleveland Browns after, Collier went 7-3, 6-3-1 and 6-4 his first three seasons. He never won more than five games in a season after that. Despite Collier's 41-36-3 overall record, the school declined to renew his contract after a 5-5 finish in 1961.
Enter Bradshaw, former player and assistant under Bryant. Bradshaw's best team went 6-4 in 1965. It was all downhill after that. Bradshaw went 8-21-1 his last three seasons before being fired during the 1968 season. His successor, John Ray, could do no better, going 10-33 in four seasons.
Enter Curci for a quick turnaround. UK posted a winning season (6-5) in 1974, a Peach Bowl win in 1976 (8-4) and a blockbuster 10-1 campaign in 1977. Alas, probation arrived at the same time. Post '77, the Cats slipped to 4-6-1, 5-6, 3-8 and 3-8. That, plus an array of negative off-the-field headlines cost Curci his job.
Enter Claiborne, another Bryant protege fresh off a successful run at Maryland. UK earned back-to-back bowl bids in 1983 and 1984, with a 9-3 record in the latter. The momentum faded, however. The Cats went 5-6, 5-5-1, 5-6, 5-6 and 6-5 before Claiborne retired after the 1989 season.
Enter Curry off a short stint at Alabama. His best UK team was his fourth, which went 6-6 after losing to Clemson in the 1993 Peach Bowl. That was followed by a disastrous 1-10 campaign. Two years later, Curry gave way to the meteoric rise and fall of Hal Mumme, followed by Guy Morriss' two-year tenure.
Enter Brooks, the former head coach at Oregon and with the St. Louis Rams. Taking a program on probation, Brooks put the Cats in four consecutive bowl games (2006-09), but he couldn't quite get the program where he wanted it before handing it to assistant Joker Phillips for a short (2010-12), unhappy tenure.
Enter Stoops. After records of 2-10, 5-7 and 5-7, Stoops has matched Brooks' streak of four straight bowl games. After a stellar 10-3 season in 2018, the Cats followed with an 8-5 campaign last year, capped by an 18-play, 85-yard drive over the final eight minutes to beat Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl.
There's little reason to expect a regression. The roster appears deep. The facilities _ including the $50 million Joe Craft Football Training Facility and the recently renovated Kroger Field _ are conference comparable. And Stoops has carved out his recipe for success _ physical football built on a strong running game and stout defense.
There are no guarantees, of course. Who knows for sure if we'll even have football come fall? The SEC remains a steep hill to climb. Georgia has thrived under Kirby Smart. Dan Mullen has pointed Florida in the right direction. Jeremy Pruitt has the recruiting gurus excited at Tennessee.
Still, if the goal is not just success but sustained success, Stoops appears to be in prime position to keep the ball rolling. For Kentucky football, that's a rare occurrence indeed.
