Expectations were high coming into year twelve of Mark Stoops’ tenure. The Cats had veteran playmakers, (seemingly) reloaded from the transfer portal, and seemed prime to extend the school’s record streak of postseason appearances to nine.

The longest tenured head coach in the SEC may not be that after this season. With Nick Saban retired after last year, Mark Stoops has been employed longer than

Mark Stoops is digging his heels in despite his team having a 2024 to forget.Kentucky got demolished on Saturday in their annual rivalry game against Louisville, losing 41-14. The bitter defeat put a capper on an ugly 4-8 season for the Wildcats in which they finished 15th out of 16 in the SEC and failed to achieve bowl eligibility for the first time since 2015.

At the end of a disastrous season in Lexington, the tide is starting to turn on head coach Mark Stoops. Barring a dramatic second-half comeback, Kentucky will fall to 4-8 and finish with its worst record in a season since 2013 — Stoops’ first year in charge. The 1-7 record in conference play is also the worst since 2013.

Well, it would likely come to a retirement announcement, but that’s not happening this offseason, as Stoops continues to make it clear