Mailbag: Fans calling for change, yet a Mark Stoops buyout still highly unlikely

Things are getting ugly in the weekly UK football mailbag.

Any bit of momentum that was established in the comfortable win versus an overmatched Eastern Michigan team quickly evaporated with a fourth consecutive loss to South Carolina on Saturday. Considering this space has included calls for Mark Stoops to be fired even after the two wins this season, it should come as no surprise that when the Herald-Leader took to social media to ask for fan input following the South Carolina loss the overwhelming majority of the responses dealt with demands for change in the program.

But the math on Mark Stoops’ buyout has not changed. There are still eight games left for him to change the narrative.

Let’s dig in more with your questions following the South Carolina loss.

Greg Burton on X: What do think the mindset is for Mitch Barnhart if Stoops finishes 4-8? Is buyout doable at end of season?

Considering Kentucky will likely be the underdog in all seven of its remaining games against power conference competition, there is no guarantee the Wildcats even get to four wins. I still don’t see a scenario where Barnhart will be willing or able to pay the buyout as currently constructed regardless of the record though.

Stoops would be owed almost $38 million within 60 days of being fired if he were fired on Dec. 1. That would be the second-largest buyout ever paid to fire a college football coach, trialing only the absurd $76 million Texas A&M paid to fire Jimbo Fisher in 2023. The current second-largest buyout is the $21.5 million Auburn paid Gus Mahlzan in 2020, around $17 million less than what UK would owe Stoops.

Football expectations are much higher at Texas A&M and Auburn, and both those buyouts were paid before college athletic departments had to find an additional $20.5 million per year for revenue sharing with athletes. The UK athletic department just took a $141 million internal loan from the university to cover the shortfall created by revenue sharing the next two years and to begin a series of facility improvements designed to raise revenue in the future. That’s just not a viable situation for an athletic director to pay almost $40 million to fire the program’s all-time winnigest coach.

Wildcat Blue Nation on X: One of the biggest things is with a planned investment for an entertainment district, coupled with apathy and declining fan interest, can Kentucky afford to fire Stoops, or can they afford to keep him on?

This is a fair question that I wrote about extensively before the season. There is no doubt on-field football success is crucial to the financial health of the athletic department moving forward. That’s why the first round of facility enhancements UK announced this summer were centered around Kroger Field. UK also began soliciting feedback last week to gauge the type of improvements fans want to see in the facility. (I feel sorry for whoever has to read those survey responses after the South Carolina game.)

It is worth noting that some of the proposed facility improvements could be described as “recession-proof” in regards to the on-field product, though. Ticket sales for luxury suites and premium clubs like the one UK plans to build in the west end zone tend to be far less dependent on team outlook than season ticket sales in the rest of the stadium. The idea behind the proposed fan entertainment district is to use the facility and surrounding areas more outside of football season. Certainly, the proposed sports medicine clinic that would house a basketball practice facility has nothing to do with football success.

Season ticket sales were down this year, but not close to as bad as many predicted in the offseason. I would expect close to capacity crowds for the upcoming October games against Texas and Tennessee thanks to a boost from visiting fans traveling to Lexington for the Keeneland-football double dip. Next season’s ticket sales could be boosted by road fans, too, with Alabama and LSU scheduled to make the trip to Lexington.

Maybe the math on the financial risk of keeping Stoops versus paying his buyout changes at some point, but that’s still at least another year down the road, assuming the results continue on their current trajectory.

I should also point out the last time I talked to Mitch Barnhart about football success, he gave a spirited response that pushed back on the narrative that the financial health of the department is the primary driver for football success.

“It’s important for us, our fans,” he said. “… It is about the BBN. It is about our fan base. And we’re trying to make sure that our kids understand what it means to serve an incredible fan base that we are fortunate enough to have. So yeah, make no mistake about it, we are supremely focused on finding wins. This isn’t about just surviving and being able to make sure that all the finances work for us. That’s not what this is about. And if you walk out and say that, I would be supremely disappointed in that.

Clay Mason on X: Time. For. A. Coaching. Change.

Keesling Sky on Bluesky: Firing Stoops now would be worth every penny. I wouldn’t even care if we couldn’t afford football for a couple years. It would be preferable to what we’re doing now.

Lee Weatherly on Bluesky: What in your opinion would have to happen for Mitch to let Stoops go in 2025? 2026?

OK, so you still want change, regardless of the finances. Let’s assume no turnaround is coming, and Kentucky finishes 3-9 or 4-8. The question then becomes whether Stoops would be willing to step away of his own accord. That’s the only viable scenario I see a coaching change being made this year. The problem with that suggestion is I would not walk away from $38 million, and no one should expect Stoops to volunteer to do it. Perhaps there is a scenario where he is willing to negotiate the format of the buyout with UK, to spread it out over a longer period, in hopes of resetting his career or focusing on his interests outside of football, but he has repeatedly shot down rumors that he would consider retiring. As for next year, a third straight losing season could force Kentucky’s hand, even though the buyout would still be astronomical (around $32 million).

Mark Pope’s Burner on X: I think Stoops has finally gotten to the point where he genuinely doesn’t care if they win or lose. He’s getting 9 million a year regardless.

This is where I have to disagree. There’s just no way this is true. Stoops desperately wants to prove to people he still has it. Even in the most cynical view of the current situation, you would have to acknowledge Stoops wants to prove fans have not appreciated him enough or perform well enough that he can get in the running for another job.

I’m sure Stoops’ postgame comments at South Carolina — he chose to stay positive and talk about how he knows the team is better — infuriated some fans, but there is nothing he can say in that situation that will make people happy. He has to worry about what message is most likely to keep his players confident for the daunting schedule that is ahead. We can all look at the schedule and project this is a three- or four-win team, but players and coaches can’t afford to think that way. I genuinely believe they still think they are capable of surprising people.

@Kenan14 on Bluesky: How does the Athletic Department react to 1) being the worst team in the SEC and 2) watching ‘basketball schools’ like Indiana and Duke have regular success on the football field?

Kentucky has plenty of history being the worst team in the SEC, but we’ll see if that title is actually warranted this year. I know no one wants to hear it now, but there are still eight games remaining to change the narrative. The basketball school question is an interesting framing I had not considered, though. I don’t think Duke matters much since the ACC and SEC are not comparable, but Indiana plays in the Big Ten. Last season’s success could have been written off as the product as an unusually easy schedule for that league, but a 5-0 start for the Hoosiers this year is making them harder to ignore. I think it’s a clear sign that picking the right coach can bring unprecedented success even at programs with little history. Of course, you could have said that about Stoops a few years ago, too.

Ben Hensley on X: Why can’t our offense score more than two touchdowns in an SEC game and why is it so difficult for our offense to put our quarterbacks and receivers in good positions to move the football down field? Also, why can’t we tackle this season?

Offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan has taken much of the blame for the offensive struggles the past two seasons on himself, as any good leader should. He certainly has not been able to scheme around an imperfect roster. But the roster is flawed.

Last year, the offensive line was terrible and the much-hyped transfer quarterback failed to live up to expectations. This year, the running game is much improved, giving the offense an identity, but the quarterback and receiver play has been poor. Cutter Boley’s performance in South Carolina showed why the staff did not think he was ready to win the job out of camp, but he can learn from that experience. I’m more concerned about wide receiver, where it does not appear UK has any difference-makers. That probably should not be a surprise considering it was never realistic to expect the top transfer portal options at the position to pick Kentucky after watching the anemic passing attack last year.

As for the tackling, LaNorris Sellers will make a lot of defenses look like that, but the missed tackles against Eastern Michigan mean we can’t assume it was just a one-off issue. Remember, tackling was a problem in the first preseason scrimmage too. It has to get fixed.

Kevin Farris on Bluesky: We can’t fire Stoops, so how does the OC’s eventual firing affect QB commits?

For all the offensive coordinator turnover in Stoops’ tenure, he has never fired one during a season, so Hamdan will still get time to turn things around. Stoops did take over defensive play-calling from coordinator D.J. Eliot during the 2016 season, but there’s no obvious candidate on staff to call plays for the offense if he takes those responsibilities away from Hamdan. Yes, former offensive coordinator Eddie Gran is in a support staff role now, but Stoops but returning to the one-dimensional attack that got Gran fired in 2020 would do nothing to develop Boley or attract offseason transfers.

It is worth considering the impact of the offensive struggles on UK’s two high school quarterback commitments, though. Four-star Cincinnati prep QB Matt Ponatoski is a unique case since he plans to play both football and baseball at Kentucky. The bigger threat for UK losing him is the MLB draft than a decommitment. As for three-star class of 2027 commitment DJ Hunter, no one should assume a player still two years from graduation is going to stick with his commitment, regardless of who the coaches are.

Isaiah Jackson on X: How do you average 6.6 yards per carry, drive down the field on your first possession and then just abandon the run? Boley had no time and looked lost in pass sets. Why not throw another QB in there? We’ve been playing nothing to lose football for years. Time to take chances.

I don’t think Kentucky abandoned the run. It was always going to need to complete passes to keep South Carolina (and future) opponents from simply stacking the box to eliminate the run. The offense cannot be one-dimensional. That’s why Boley and the offensive line struggled so much in third-and-long situations where everyone knew they had to pass.

Kentucky ran it four straight times to start its first drive of the second quarter, but facing third-and-7 it had no choice but to throw. That’s when Boley was sacked and fumbled, resulting in a South Carolina touchdown. On the next drive, UK got 1 yard on a first-down run from Dante Dowdell. Facing second-and-9 and likely trying to stay out of another third down where everyone knew a pass was coming, Hamdan called a pass play that was open, but Boley’s throw was tipped and intercepted, then returned for a touchdown.

Even on the next drive, Hamdan called three straight runs before an incomplete pass on fourth-and-3. The drive after that featured three runs and a shovel pass before a second-and-13 situation forced them to throw again. Boley ended up throwing his second interception of the half on third-and-13. Notice, the run game was less effective as the passing game struggled, and once UK was down at 18 at half it had no option but to try to throw the ball in hopes of some quick scores.

As for why Boley was not benched, it appears Zach Calzada still is not healthy enough to throw downfield. That certainly is not a quarterback who can lead you back from an 18-point deficit. Senior walk-on Beau Allen was the backup Saturday, and the staff clearly does not view him as a viable starting option. Neither of the freshman quarterbacks made the travel roster. It is unusual for UK to only travel with three quarterbacks, especially considering one was limited physically, but there are not enough practice reps to prepare the freshmen for each week’s game plan with the three veterans needing to play. I plan to ask Stoops on Monday if he sees a scenario where one of the freshmen gets more practice reps moving forward.

This story was originally published September 29, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription