Let’s say we rank Kentucky’s football coaches over the years. Bear Bryant would be No. 1. Let’s put Blanton Collier at No. 2. Of the 11 who have followed Bryant, only Collier finished with a winning record. Fran Curci coached arguably the best season in modern UK football history, the 10-1 team of 1977. We’ll put Curci at No. 3.
After that, I’d group Jerry Claiborne, Rich Brooks and Mark Stoops together. All three took over a program on the downswing. All three built solid foundations that produced bowl games. Claiborne coached in a different time, however, back in the 1980s, before SEC expansion. Brooks and Stoops are more or less contemporaries, both coaching the Cats in the 21st century.
So here’s the question: Which coach did/has done the better job at Kentucky? Who would you rank higher? Brooks or Stoops?
Let’s break it down by categories:
Starting point: When hired by Mitch Barnhart on Dec. 30, 2002, Brooks was 61 years old with both college and NFL head coaching experience. He had taken Oregon to the 1995 Rose Bowl before going 13-19 in two seasons as head coach of the St. Louis Rams. Stoops was 46 when tabbed by Mark Stoops on Nov. 27, 2012. A defensive coordinator at Arizona and Florida State, Kentucky is his first head coaching gig.
Inherited: In 2003, Brooks followed a 7-5 team coached by Guy Morriss, who left after two seasons to take over at Baylor. The record was deceiving, however. Kentucky was starting to feel the effects of an NCAA probation brought about by recruiting violations under Hal Mumme. Meanwhile, Stoops took over a team that had gone 2-10 in 2013, the last of Joker Phillips’ three seasons as head coach.
Overall record: Brooks went 39-47 in seven seasons, but 30-22 his last four. Stoops is 49-50 in his eight seasons, but 30-20 in his last four, 37-26 in his last five.
SEC record: Brooks was just 16-40 versus the conference, but the record is skewed by a 2-14 mark over his first two seasons. His best year was a 4-4 mark in 2006. Stoops is 24-42, but 20-22 over his last five. His 2018 team went 5-3, the program’s first winning SEC record since 1977, on the way to a 10-3 mark.
Additional SEC note: Stoops has never beaten Georgia, while Brooks recorded two wins over the Bulldogs, including one in Athens. Brooks never beat Tennessee, while Stoops has two wins over the Vols, including one in Knoxville.
Facilities: Stoops has managed to get some of the program improvements Brooks desired. In 2015, UK completed a $126 million renovation of Commonwealth Stadium. In 2016, it opened the $45 million Joe Craft Football Training Facility. On the one hand, Stoops raised the funds needed for those enhancements. On the other hand, UK’s coffers were helped by proceeds from the SEC Network, established in 2014.
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Bowls: Brooks took Kentucky to four consecutive bowls (2006-09) for the first time in school history. The Cats were 3-1 in those bowls. Having coached one more year than Brooks, Stoops has a one-year bowl advantage. He has taken the Cats to five straight bowls. Kentucky is 3-2 in those games.
Versus ranked teams: Stoops is 5-19 against AP Top 25 teams, while Brooks was just 2-25 at Kentucky. But while Stoops is 0-13 versus top-10 teams, Brooks was 2-11, including a win over No. 1 and eventual national champion LSU in 2007.
Draft choices: Brooks had 11 players selected in the NFL Draft. Nine came in his final three years. Stoops has had 17 players drafted, including 13 in the last three years. And Stoops has coached three first-round picks — Bud Dupree in 2015; Josh Allen in 2018; Jamin Davis in 2020.
Bottom line: The two coaches are so much alike, and have done such similar jobs, it’s difficult to separate the two. With no disrespect whatsoever to Brooks, I’d give a slight edge to Stoops, with the knowledge that much of what Brooks did has led to Stoops’ success.
One more thing: The story of Mark Stoops’ tenure at Kentucky is still being written.
