Kentucky DL coach Anwar Stewart signs two-year extension

Kentucky football has already experienced some coaching staff turnover since the regular season came to an end, but we now know of at least one coach who will be sticking around.

As first reported by Jon Hale of the Herald-Leader, Kentucky football’s defensive line coach Anwar Stewart signed a two-year extension on Dec. 1 that will keep him in Lexington through the 2024 season. Details regarding the extension have been released by UK’s Office of Legal Counsel, which states Stewart will earn $350,000 in 2023 and $375,000 in 2024.

His previous contract was set to expire in June 2023.

The native of Panama City, FL can earn bonuses ranging from one month to two months of salary depending on how far Kentucky advances in the postseason. If he were to leave his position, Stewart would be required to pay $12,500 for each month remaining on his contract.

Stewart, who played linebacker/defensive end at Kentucky from 1996-1999, returned to his alma mater for two seasons from 2017-18 as a defensive assistant under head coach Mark Stoops before taking over defensive line coaching responsibilities in Jan. 2020. He was previously the defensive line coach at Appalachian State in 2019 before coming back to UK.

This past season, Stewart was tasked with replacing a Wildcat defensive line that lost two starters. Stewart and Kentucky were able to fill those positions quite nicely though, highlighted by All-American freshman Deone Walker and potential 2022 NFL Draft pick Justin Rogers.