When Kentucky Sports Radio founder Matt Jones says anything about Kentucky basketball or football, it’s worth listening to.
So when he predicted this week that there is an “85- to 90-percent chance” the Wildcats will have a new coach next season, that is worth noting.
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Here’s the segment where Jones made this claim.
Here is what Staples had to say about Stoops and what Matt Jones predicted.
This is significant because the structure of Stoops’ buyout makes it the most school-unfriendly in the nation. While James Franklin and Brian Kelly’s buyouts are larger, they include offset language that could reduce the total, and they’re scheduled to be paid out over years in monthly installments. Stoops’ buyout would cost about $37 million and would be due within 60 days of the firing.
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Stoops did a great job at Kentucky for a long time, but the Wildcats have been listless since he flirted with Texas A&M, which ultimately was nixed by that school’s board. (Texas A&M instead hired Mike Elko, who has worked out quite well.) Kentucky is currently 2-5, and it seems likely the Wildcats will miss a bowl game for a second consecutive season.
The vast swaths of empty seats at Kroger Field in the second half of the Tennessee game had to be alarming to Kentucky’s administration. That’s what Tiger Stadium looked like the night before LSU fired Kelly, and it’s what Kentucky’s stadium looked like at the tail end of the Joker Phillips era.
Losing to Auburn on Saturday might not be the end for Stoops. Doing it this week or next month doesn’t make a huge difference. But it feels like the end, barring a miracle run.
Ironically, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is No. 2 on the list. Kentucky plays Auburn this Saturday down at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will kick off at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.
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For a full list of Staples’s rankings, you can click the link to it here.
