"Last 2 years have been terrible" - Paul Finebaum sounds alarm on Mark Stoops' future in Kentucky after Vince Marrow's departure

The Kentucky Wildcats' 2024 season was one to forget for Mark Stoops. They ended the season with a 4-8 record, the worst for the program in over 10 years. To make things worse for Stoops, Kentucky lost long-time associate coach Vince Marrow, who has moved to the Louisville Cardinals to become their general manager.

On Thursday's edition of the "Paul Finebaum Show," Finebaum spoke about the last few years for Kentucky and the future of its coach.

"I do know that Mark Stoops' career right now is fragile enough," Finebaum said. "There is no way of sugarcoating it. The last two years have been terrible. I have felt a disconnect from fans."

Stoops has been with the Wildcats program since 2013, and his tenure with the program has been mostly consistent. He normally leads them to 7-10 wins a season and a bowl game win (with a few exceptions depending on the opponent). This is what fans have come to expect of Stoops' Kentucky.

However, after a seven-win season in 2022, the Wildcats were expected to mildly improve in 2023. This did not happen, but quarterback Devin Leary (replacing Will Levis) led the program to another seven-win season. For some, this may have been disappointing, and the Gator Bowl loss to Clemson did not help.

Things took a turn for the worse in 2024. The usually consistent Wildcats collapsed and only won four games all season, with only one win against SEC opposition.

This sets up a situation where Stoops' job is on the line this season. If we do not see any significant improvement from Kentucky this season, there is a possibility that they will get rid of a coach they have had for the last 13 seasons.

Kentucky Wildcats' 2025 schedule does not help them

The Kentucky Wildcats' schedule this season does not do them any favours. They have an important game in the season's second week, where they face the Ole Miss Rebels. This could be an indication of how well this team is going to fare in the SEC this season.

Kentucky then goes on to face South Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Auburn.

It is the latter two that may decide the future of Stoops. While wins against the likes of Texas and Georgia may be tricky, Florida and Auburn have recently been on the same level as Kentucky.

If the Wildcats were to lose these games as well as the game to Vanderbilt, Mark Stoops' future will likely be up for discussion.

About the author

Ben Tredinnick is a journalist who covers college football and college basketball at Sportskeeda who is currently studying for a masters in Data Science. His degree in Psychology has helped him gain an in-depth understanding of the minds of coaches.

Ben has been involved in sports writing since 2022 and covered the NFL previously. His strengths include providing in-depth profiles of athletes and coaches, with a particular focus on development, and looking at which teams could be in the hunt for today's college stars.

Ben enjoys following college sports more than the NBA or NFL because there is more variation in terms of playstyles. The tournaments are often more competitive than the major leagues, and due to the constant turnover of players, there are rarely any "superteams" in college sports.

He prioritizes research, looks at multiple sources and publications to make sure he gets the full picture of the story before writing. He tries not to write from a one-sided perspective to allow the reader to be able to make their mind up on their own.

A Texas Longhorns fan, as well as a massive New York Giants fan, some of his favorite college players of all time are Arch Manning, Tim Tebow and Reggie Bush.

When he is not working, Ben enjoys watching films (especially Godzilla) and spending time with his cat.

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Edited by Ribin Peter