Bush Hamdan Clearly Sees Blue Collar Culture at Kentucky

Big Blue Nation is still feeling out Bush Hamdan. It’s understandable. He’s the fourth different person to hold the title of “Kentucky offensive coordinator” over the last five years. Even though it’s a familiar song and dance, there’s a certain level of trepidation for Kentucky football fans. We don’t want to get our hearts broken again.

Hamdan has been a frequent flyer throughout his career as well. Since entering the coaching foray in 2009, he’s never spent more than two consecutive seasons on the same campus. Well accustomed to making transitions, this one has been seamless thanks to the culture Mark Stoops has cultivated at Kentucky.

“It’s been tremendous,” he shared with Andy Staples Monday morning. “From the day to day I got here, this is very much so a blue collar operation at all levels, from our quarterbacks to our running backs, offensive line, tight ends, receivers. These are guys that want to work. There’s a lot of experience, they know what it takes, and that’s a huge, huge thing for us.”

Culture is a phrase that gets thrown around quite a bit in the offseason. For Hamdan, stability set this program apart.

“It’s a testament to everything Coach has done here and it starts with how you treat people. I think that he’s got a culture of efficiency. He’s got a culture where he’s gonna hold people accountable, but treat people right, and it’s impressive,” he said.

“I actually think that’s one of the biggest selling points I have here is there’s been numerous guys that have had opportunities to leave. It’s not only the longest-tenured SEC head coach, but it’s the longest-tenured SEC staff and the loyalty they’ve had to them. It’s been tremendous, again you said it, they know exactly who they want to be in all phases of development, the program, what the team looks like, and a lot of times what that allows you to do is not waste time on the front end, and continue to grow in areas you need to grow in.”

Brock Vandagriff is a “Consummate Pro”

Hamdan has been hesitant to show too much of his hand before he returns to the SEC as a play-caller. We know very little of his pro-style offense, except that it will be played with more pace than some of his pro-style predecessors at Kentucky.

“This is our life’s work, right? Every year tweaking it, now six, seven years at offensive coordinator, finding that constant state of improvement mixed in with our personnel and what we think we can do well. I just come back to these players, this program, the culture that’s been here — it’s a working culture. It’s guys that are about the team and I’m unfortunate for that.”

Hamdan has not been shy about how often he will use his no-huddle operation and how much he wants the QB involved in the run game. Brock Vandagriff is going to need to rush for 3-4 first downs a game. The new play-caller refrained from divulging too many details, but he believes Vandagriff’s attitude reflects the culture of the program Mark Stoops has built at Kentucky.

“He’s a consummate pro,” Hamdan said. “He’s just one of those guys, he’s about his business. He loves the position, in and out. He’s been coached tremendously well at Georgia. So you know, system wise, there’s probably a lot of similarities, maybe some change in verbiage.

“So again, I think it’s a mature, mature player, who loves the game, inside and out, and again, it’s a guy who had to wait his turn, and things maybe haven’t happened exactly how he’s wanted them to, but there’s certainly some perspective there. There’s some grit there.”

Hamdan Working with an Offense Coach vs. Defensive Coach

When Mark Stoops stepped up to the podium on Thursday, he addressed one elephant in the room at the Dallas Omni Hotel with a joke. “It’s wouldn’t be SEC Media Days if I didn’t have to talk about a new offensive coordinator,” he said.

Offensive coordinator churn has become a problem for this program. You can assess blame with some nuance (If Jim Harbaugh goes to Minnesota, Coen probably doesn’t leave after the 2021 season) or you can blame Stoops for being a conservative, defensive-minded head coach. How much control Stoops has over the offense is a hot-button point of contention.

Although he did not get asked the questions specifically, Staples did ask Hamdan about the difference between working for a defensive head coach vs. an offensive-minded guy like Eli Drinkwitz.

“It’s definitely different working for a defensive guy versus an offensive guy. I think there’s positives and negatives to both. But I think philosophically, it always starts there. I think the number one point of winning football games is doing what it takes to play complimentary football. In this league it’s a must, with as talented as the rosters are,” said Hamdan.

“There’s a lot of alignment there, but certainly getting a perspective from a defensive guy certainly differs from maybe the day-to-day being in there with an offensive guy. But I’m fortunate to have both those experiences prior in my career and really, I’m gonna lean on that.”

Complimentary football is the name of Mark Stoops’ game and Hamdan is in lock-step with his boss.