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Author
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Topic: Stoops has changed UK's culture
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catmandoo
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Member # 1284
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posted 07-29-2016 01:58 PM
The climate around Kentucky football in 2013 was as low as can be. Coming off a 2-10 season where the Wildcats went winless in the SEC and saw head coach Joker Phillips get canned, it is no wonder that many fans were down on the program.
Enter Mark Stoops, who brought a reinvigorating new attitude to Kentucky football. In his three-plus years, Stoops has been a driving force behind the change of culture and expectations in Lexington.
“[The Culture] has changed dramatically,” Stoops told Campus Insiders. “It’s much more positive: the attitude and the work ethic.”
Stoops has a winning pedigree, with coaching stops at national powerhouses Miami and Florida State as a defensive back coach and defensive coordinator. Winning in the Bluegrass State, however, is a different challenge.
“We need to be more consistent in everything we do, but the culture is a very, very positive culture,” Stoops said. “[We have] great work ethic and I’m very pleased.”
Stoops' first season began disastrously with a 35-26 loss to Western Kentucky, never gained traction, and saw the Wildcats limp to a second consecutive 2-10 campaign (one that strung the program's conference losing streak to 16 games). The talent simply wasn’t there after the Phillips era, and Stoops preached patience.
In the next two seasons, the Wildcats started out strongly (5-1 in 2014, 4-1 in 2015), but the team wilted down the stretch, and missed out on a bowl game in back-to-back 5-7 finishes. Stoops is certain that won’t happen again this season.
“We’ve been working on that the past 9-12 months,” Stoops said. “Whether that’s longer sessions in the weight room or harder, longer winter conditioning, or more strenuous spring practices. We trained them harder in the summer, and we’ve gotta have a great camp. If we can handle more throughout the offseason, we can help our chances in the season. And mentally being able to focus longer and pay attention to detail to do the things necessary. It goes with maturing as a program. We’re definitely more mature mentally and physically.”
With the close calls the last two seasons, expectations among the Big Blue faithful are back to winning seasons, bowl games, and maybe getting to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game for the first time in program history.
Stoops acknowledged that the heightened expectations don't just reside with fans; they've also shifted upward within the program .
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Posts: 186359 | From: st. augustine florida 32092 | Registered: Mar 2001
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catmandoo
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Member # 1284
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posted 07-30-2016 12:52 PM
Time will tell what the season will bring but not going to get my hopes up yet.
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http://www.ukfightsong.com/
Posts: 186359 | From: st. augustine florida 32092 | Registered: Mar 2001
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SCWC
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Member # 2464
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posted 08-02-2016 07:15 PM
I am not a Stoops fan myself and don't feel he will ever get our program to the top tier of the SEC. He is very well paid for the job at UK, second only to Saban at Bama so I read somewhere. He is not a very inspiring individual to me and even though I love all things UK, I expect very little from Stoops football.
He truly has changed the culture, is costing UK a ton of money with all the upgrades on the facilities, the training room etc but I still will only believe that he is head coaching material when I see some results, which I personally doubt we will ever see. Since he has been coach, he has replaced every assistant at UK so he is keeping the blame for the poor performances off himself, it will eventually catch up with him.
[ 08-03-2016, 02:18 PM: Message edited by: SCWC ]
Posts: 17777 | From: Myrtle Beach, SC | Registered: Jun 2005
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