For more than two weeks, Big Blue Nation has been living in the transfer portal—refreshing feeds, checking crystal balls, and holding out hope that the offseason might just save what’s left of Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football program. After a brutal 4-8 meltdown in 2024, it feels like 2025 might be do-or-die. Some think Stoops is coaching for his life. Others think he’s coaching just long enough to cash out. Either way, it’s getting harder to tell if he’s rebuilding or riding off into the bourbon sunset.
That murky motivation was put into words—half-joking, half-serious—by That SEC Football insiders Mike and Shane, who offered a raw and revealing take on the current state of Stoops. “I think he doesn’t care anymore. You know what I’m saying?” Shane said. “He’s probably golfing four days a week. He’s just focused on his bourbon, you know, barrels and growing that business.” Chimed in with a little more compassion. “Yeah, I feel like he does care. I mean, I joke, I feel like Coach Stoops does care, and he doesn’t want—I think there are moments where he thinks about how the season or his last games, you know, are going to be.”
The insiders weren’t done peeling back the curtain on Stoops’ mindset. “I don’t think he wants to leave Kentucky with a bad taste in their mouth,” Shane added. “Because he did at one point put Kentucky on the map. I think he would love nothing more than to do that again. But, man, he’s got an uphill battle, brother.”
“I think he might be a little heartbroken, Shane. And he tried to escape to A&M,” Mike added. That last line stings. It’s a direct reference to the late flirtation with Texas A&M after Jimbo Fisher was fired, where Stoops was rumored to be in the mix—until A&M pivoted hard. The escape hatch slammed shut. Now, he’s stuck in Lexington. And the walls are closing in.
What’s keeping him from walking? Well, $44 million will do the trick. That’s the buyout number tied to Stoops’ contract, a deal that has aged like room-temperature milk in the eyes of Kentucky fans. It’s one of the most ironclad safety nets in college football—and one that may have unintentionally incentivized complacency. Mark Stoops can fail upward, and everyone knows it. Which is why some in Lexington believe this is a man ready to get fired rather than turn it around. Whether that’s true or not, it’s a narrative that refuses to die.
To his credit, Mark Stoops isn’t just sipping bourbon and waiting for the axe to fall. Kentucky hit the portal hard this offseason. The Wildcats pulled in 19 transfers in December alone, looking to stabilize a roster that lost more than 20 players to exits. That, combined with a 22-man high school recruiting class, means nearly 50% of the 2025 roster is brand new. That’s not tinkering. That’s a full-on overhaul. The question is—do the pieces fit, and will they stick?
The problem is that patience is wearing thin. The days of “he brought us back from the dead” don’t buy what they used to in Lexington. Kentucky fans remember the 10-win season in 2018, the bowl wins, the swagger. But since then, it’s been downhill—slowly at first, then all at once. And with the SEC getting tougher by the day, Stoops’ window to turn things around is rapidly shrinking. He may not be mailing it in, but to many, it feels like the love is gone.
Mark Stoops’ roster puzzle is still a work in progress
Spring ball is in the books, but Mark Stoops isn’t closing the roster chapter just yet. In fact, it sounds like the Kentucky HC is still fine-tuning the Wildcats’ depth chart ahead of the summer grind.
“I feel good about the roster,” Stoops said after spring practice wrapped up. “There’s a couple positions, a few areas where I’d like to get a couple guys. You need to have the depth. You need to be able to function in practice.” He’s not panicking—but he’s definitely still shopping in the portal.
As it stands, three positions are flashing bright red on the needs list: safety, tight end, and running back. It’s not just about talent—it’s about depth. One untimely injury and the Cats could be skating on thin ice. Wide receiver might also sneak onto that list, but there’s some good news—Tru Edwards is expected to be cleared for summer workouts. This Louisiana Tech transfer is just waiting on NCAA clearance, which would give former junior college guys like him an extra year in 2025. And Kentucky is really hoping to land this big-time player on their roster ASAP.
The only catch? Kentucky has 87 scholarship players right now—two over the NCAA limit of 85. That means some tough decisions are ahead. As Stoops put it, “There’s still some moving pieces,” and the roster puzzle isn’t quite solved just yet.
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