It's Official: Kentucky Announces Addition of Bush Hamdan

The wait is over. Kentucky officially has a new offensive coordinator. The university announced Bush Hamdan will serve as the Wildcats’ play-caller in 2024.

Hamdan, a former Boise State quarterback who spent the last two seasons calling plays at his alma mater, will succeed Liam Coen. Kentucky has had a new offensive coordinator in each of the last five seasons. Hamdan becomes the sixth different person to lead Mark Stoops’ offense during his 12-year tenure, the longest in the SEC, that kicks off in 2024.

“I’ve known Bush for a few years and spent some quality time with him in 2021,” Stoops said. “Since then, I’ve followed his career and have been very impressed by him. He’s coached under Chris Petersen, Steve Sarkisian and Eli Drinkwitz, three coaches I have a ton of respect for, and I think he’s a rising star in the coaching profession. We are excited to bring Bush and his family to Lexington.”

“We are very excited to join the Big Blue Nation,” Hamdan said. “I’ve really admired Coach Stoops over the years and everything he’s done to build this program. It’s an exciting time to be at Kentucky and be back in the SEC. I can’t wait to get started.”

This is not the first time Stoops and Hamdan have crossed paths. Hamdan was a finalist for the job in 2021 when he was coaching quarterbacks for Eli Drinkwitz at Missouri. During his time in CoMo, Hamdan proved he can recruit in the SEC, helping the Tigers receive commitments from a few four-star prospects, most notably WR Dominic Lovett.

In addition to his work at Mizzou, he spent a couple of years calling plays at Washington. In each season he had a 3,000-yard passer. He was also on Chris Peterson’s staff when the Huskies went to the CFB Playoffs in 2016. Hamdan had a cup of coffee in the NFL, working alongside Steve Sarkisian as an Atlanta Falcons assistant in 2017.

During his last two seasons in Boise, the Broncos had a balanced, efficient attack. Last fall they ranked No. 12 nationally in rushing success rate while scoring 32.1 points per game. Boise State ranked No. 17 nationally in points per drive (2.82).

Hamdan has proven that he can continue Kentucky’s success in the running game, deploying the Mountain West’s top rusher in 2023. A big problem he must fix is the pace of play, where the Wildcats ranked near the bottom of the country over the last two seasons. Hamdan prefers to call plays without huddling, which should play a big role in getting the Wildcats to move quicker on a down-to-down basis.

Bush Hamdan inherits an experienced offensive line with a former Blue Chip quarterback throwing to a deep arsenal of explosive receivers. If he’s the right man for the job, it could be a fun 2024 for the BBN.

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