How Loyalty Led Mark Stoops' High School Teammate, Frank Buffano, to Kentucky
[caption id="attachment_291626" align="alignnone" width="682"]
UK Athletics[/caption]
Kentucky's new safeties coach is a familiar face around the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. Frank Buffano has been with Mark Stoops since the head coach came to Lexington. The two have known each other much longer.
"Let me put it to you this way. When I was in high school here's how it went: Coach Stoops was a senior, Bo Pelini was a junior, Vince Marrow was a sophomore and I was a freshman," Buffano said on the Behind Kentucky Football Podcast.
"It all goes back to Cardinal Mooney. That's really where it all started. It's a family there."
Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown is also where Buffano started his coaching career. He temporarily left the profession until Stoops joined his brother Mike's staff at Arizona in 2004. Aside from a couple of seasons coaching in his hometown at Youngstown State, he's stuck by Stoops' side.
Kentucky's Director of Operations for the last seven seasons, Buffano will not have to learn a new playbook or teach the safeties a new style of play. Dean Hood's replacement knows the personnel well, creating a smooth transition for the experienced group.
"I'm extremely excited to coach them. I'm just excited to be able to work with them and make them better, not only as football players, but better people. I want to continue to help them grow both on and off the field. That's my goal. That's why I got into coaching," he said.
Buffano's path to SEC assistant coach was a long one, but his persistence eventually paid off.
"Of course it's hard. It's up and down. I don't know if emotional is the word but the way I looked at it was, I'm still involved. I was still here and there was a loyalty factor with Coach Stoops. I gave him my word that was going to come here and turn this program around, which we've done, and if I was to tell anybody anything is possible. I thank God everyday. I kind of just stayed the course and had my goals, where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do and just kept my head down, kept working.
"Things don't come easy and I think sometimes we get misled in society that it's got to be 'right now, right now.' I just kept my head down, kept working kept grinding."
[Behind Kentucky Football Podcast]
UK Athletics[/caption]
Kentucky's new safeties coach is a familiar face around the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. Frank Buffano has been with Mark Stoops since the head coach came to Lexington. The two have known each other much longer.
"Let me put it to you this way. When I was in high school here's how it went: Coach Stoops was a senior, Bo Pelini was a junior, Vince Marrow was a sophomore and I was a freshman," Buffano said on the Behind Kentucky Football Podcast.
"It all goes back to Cardinal Mooney. That's really where it all started. It's a family there."
Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown is also where Buffano started his coaching career. He temporarily left the profession until Stoops joined his brother Mike's staff at Arizona in 2004. Aside from a couple of seasons coaching in his hometown at Youngstown State, he's stuck by Stoops' side.
Kentucky's Director of Operations for the last seven seasons, Buffano will not have to learn a new playbook or teach the safeties a new style of play. Dean Hood's replacement knows the personnel well, creating a smooth transition for the experienced group.
"I'm extremely excited to coach them. I'm just excited to be able to work with them and make them better, not only as football players, but better people. I want to continue to help them grow both on and off the field. That's my goal. That's why I got into coaching," he said.
Buffano's path to SEC assistant coach was a long one, but his persistence eventually paid off.
"Of course it's hard. It's up and down. I don't know if emotional is the word but the way I looked at it was, I'm still involved. I was still here and there was a loyalty factor with Coach Stoops. I gave him my word that was going to come here and turn this program around, which we've done, and if I was to tell anybody anything is possible. I thank God everyday. I kind of just stayed the course and had my goals, where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do and just kept my head down, kept working.
"Things don't come easy and I think sometimes we get misled in society that it's got to be 'right now, right now.' I just kept my head down, kept working kept grinding."
[Behind Kentucky Football Podcast]
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard