How Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart responded to Vince Marrow leaving for Louisville
For any fans worried that Vince Marrow’s departure from Kentucky football for a job at archrival Louisville is a red flag for the future of the program, UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart has a message.
“That’s not the way to look at this thing,” Barnhart said when asked about the move by the Herald-Leader after Thursday’s athletics committee meeting. “I think things have changed in college athletics. Rosters change, staffs change. I’m thankful for the 12 years Vince gave us. He put a lot of heart and soul into our program, and appreciative of that.
“... We’ll make the adjustments we need to make. But the program doesn’t rise and fall on one person. It never has. It never has. And so let’s just make sure that we’re not jumping on the back of what was perceived one change and say, ‘OK, we’ll give these young people a chance to compete.”
Louisville confirmed Marrow, the only position coach to serve on each of Mark Stoops’ Kentucky staffs, as its executive director of player personnel and recruiting Thursday.
The relationship between Marrow and Stoops dates back to their adolescence in Youngstown, Ohio. Marrow was credited as the lead recruiter on many of the top players of the Stoops tenure, including Benny Snell, Lynn Bowden and the rest of the Ohio prep stars who signed with the Wildcats.
More recently, Marrow has spearheaded Kentucky’s in-state recruiting efforts, frequently going head to head against his new boss, Louisville coach Jeff Brohm.
“We’re thankful for Coach Marrow’s contributions to our program over the past 12 years,” UK coach Mark Stoops said in a statement provided to reporters Thursday after Louisville confirmed the hire, which was first reported by ESPN on Monday. “As we look to the new season, and a new era of college football, we’re focused on the opportunities at hand. We will continue to build a roster and staff that balances talent, experience, maturity, physicality and the attitude it takes to win in the nation’s most competitive conference. I wish my friend and colleague nothing but the best.”
After a 4-8 2024 season, Stoops appeared to make changes in his recruiting philosophy, giving position coaches more leeway about which prospects they pursued at their positions. Marrow’s involvement in recruiting UK’s most recent transfer portal class, which Barnhart pointed to as proof the program is still recruiting at a high level, was smaller than previous years as well.
“The world of college recruiting has changed,” Barnhart said. “The way you do that, and finding the balance in youth, experience, maturity, strength, positional awareness of what you’re trying to get to, that’s all changed, and coaches are going to have to find what suits. We sort of let our coaches sort of manage their areas and say, ‘Hey, this is what fits best for us.’ And Mark has done an amazing job over the time he’s been here, really doing a lot of things we’ve never done in Kentucky football before.
“Now we’ve had a little lull and we got to find our way back, but I think that recruiting class we’ve got and young men that are out there competing … are ready to go out there and compete. And they’ve been working hard all spring, and they had a good spring on the field. They had a good spring in the classroom. They’re ready to go compete. And so they’ll get through the summer. We’ll make the adjustments we need to make.”
Marrow’s public comments about his departure will come Friday when he is scheduled to make an appearance on a Louisville radio show, but he did issue a statement through the Louisville athletics department Thursday.
“I’m incredibly excited to work with Jeff Brohm and the University of Louisville football program,” Marrow said in the news release confirming his hire. “Jeff and I have known each other for over 25 years, I have always admired and respected him and the Brohm family. I love the state of Kentucky — this has become my home. The opportunity to take on this exciting role, in the state where I have so many incredible relationships, was something that I couldn’t pass up.
“I also want to thank the University of Kentucky, Mark Stoops, the administration and the fans. I have made lifelong friendships during my time at UK, and I have every desire to keep those relationships. That is one of the reasons I wanted to stay in this state. My hope is that I left the Kentucky football program in a better position than when we started. I will always be grateful for my time there. Ultimately, my goal is to win a national championship. I am very confident that we can accomplish that goal, and I can’t wait to get started.”