Mark Stoops confirms he was 'pursued pretty aggressively' for Texas A&M head coach opening

Mark Stoops, for a brief moment earlier in the 2024 offseason, appeared in line to be the next Texas A&M football coach. And then just as suddenly, news came down that Stoops would stay at Kentucky, as the Aggies pivoted and hired Mike Elko as the head man.

Speaking at SEC Media Days on Thursday, Stoops didn’t shy away from what had happened, but also opted not to divulge much on the subject.

“I was pursued pretty aggressively by them and we’ll just leave it at that out of respect for everybody involved,” Stoops said at the podium. “There’s a lot of people over the years and a lot of interactions between people, but it was very brief. I was pursued, I had a job to do.”

He continued, harping on the pride he feels to be one of the few coaches in SEC history to have lasted a dozen seasons at one program.

“And I take great pride in, there’s only been 19 coaches in the history of the SEC that have been 12 years at their institution,” Stoops said. “I’m proud to be a member of that group. I’ve been grinding at Kentucky for a long time and very proud of that and want to continue to do that and again, we want more but that’s not nothing. The SEC’s been around a long time with a lot of very good coaches.”

Stoops wants to hit new heights at Kentucky

Stoops has led the most successful era in the history of the program with Kentucky football. However, as college football and the conference around them continues to change, he and his team are anything but content with where they stand.

Stoops closed his opening statement from the podium at SEC Media Days by discussing the direction of the Wildcats. Frankly, for all that they have achieved in the bluegrass, there’s still more out there for them to do on the field.

“We just want more,” said Stoops. “You know, I think I talked about it last year but where we’re at, the margin for error? We have to make the best of every situation. There’s been some consistency. I appreciate Greg just mentioning the fact we have been to eight straight bowl games. There’s only eight teams in the country that have done that. I think only two in the SEC besides in Alabama and Georgia. Then of course Oklahoma who hasn’t been in the league but they’ve done it as well. That’s not nothing but we want to improve.”