Steve Spurrier believes Kentucky should bring back Hal Mumme to run offense

Kentucky is only averaging 321.7 yards of offense per game this season, ranking No. 115 of 133 teams in the FBS. In an interview with the Courier-Journal, former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier suggested the Wildcats bring back former head coach Hal Mumme to solve the team’s issues on offense.

“Kentucky, they can play defense, they can run the ball. Their pass game hasn’t been very good, I guess, the last two or three years,” Spurrier said. “They need to bring Hal Mumme back to run the pass offense and let those defensive guys play the way they play, because they certainly played well against Ole Miss. If you can beat Ole Miss, you’ve got a team that is capable of beating about anybody, I would think.”

Mumme was the head coach at Kentucky from 1997-2000, finishing his stint in Lexington with a 20-26 record and a 10-22 mark in conference play. In his final season at the helm of the program, Mumme led Kentucky to a dismal 2-9 finish and 0-8 record against SEC foes.

Despite Mumme’s lackluster record against conference foes, his offense was always electric. Mumme is widely known as one of the founders of the air raid offense and he heavily implemented it at Kentucky with quarterback Tim Couch, who was the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NFL Draft.

When Couch left Kentucky, he held NCAA records for most completions in a season (400 in 1998), most completions in a two-year period (793 in 1997–1998), most completions per game in a two-year period (34.7, 1997–1998) and career completion percentage (67.1%).

While Couch was undoubtedly talented, a notable portion of his success was due to Mumme’s innovative offense. In comparison, Kentucky’s offense ranks 121st in the country in passing yards per game this season.

This issue isn’t new for Kentucky. In the past four seasons, Kentucky has had three offensive coordinators, each failing to find significant success in the passing game. The closest Kentucky came to having a consistent passing threat was quarterback Will Levis, who now starts for the Tennessee Titans.

Nonetheless, Levis’ 216.3 passing yards per game still pale in comparison to Couch’s 290.9. On Saturday, Kentucky’s current QB1, Brock Vandagriff, will have a chance to improve his passing totals in a showdown against Florida.

The Gators’ defense is allowing 213.5 passing yards per game this season. Vandagriff threw for a season-high 243 yards in Kentucky’s upset win over Ole Miss. The Wildcats will need Vandagriff to step up again on Saturday when they square off against UF at 7:45 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the SEC Network.