Kentucky Fires John Settle, Running Backs, Special Teams Coach

Following Saturday night’s Governor’s Cup victory, Mark Stoops said it’s “time for reflection” to examine what changes need to be made to move the Kentucky football program in the right direction. The first move has been made. On Monday, Kentucky fired John Settle, who led Kentucky’s running backs and was co-special teams coordinator for the last two seasons. His contract was set to expire in June 2023. BBN Tonight broke the news and the job posting is now up on UK’s website.

Settle arrived in 2021 to replace Eddie Gran. After spending 11 seasons at Wisconsin’s running back factory, the hire appeared to be a home run. Instead, it produced a mixed bag of results.

Chris Rodriguez has been nothing short of outstanding, now only 230 yards away from surpassing Benny Snell‘s all-time rushing record. Promise and potential is turning into production for JuTahn McClain. After dealing with off-the-field issues in 2021 and some early-season injuries 2022, he had 55 rushing yards against Vandy and 50 in the season finale vs. Louisville.

The rest of the story is not as picturesque. Kentucky leaned on Kavosiey Smoke through Rodriguez’s four-game absence and was unable to get much of anything going on the ground. Michael Drennen was a passion project for Settle after he missed on the four-star recruit at Wisconsin. John Settle persuaded the coaches to move Drennen from wide receiver to running back last summer. Drennen did not appear in a game in 2022, a sign that he will likely use a redshirt and transfer.

It’s unclear what John Settle’s special teams responsibilities were, but it is clear they did not meet expectations. From penalties to missed kicks and bad snaps, the Wildcats were inconsistent all year.

From a recruiting standpoint, a running backs coach should be one of the best recruiters on a coaching staff. Stoops’ first running backs coach, Chad Scott, brought in the Wildcats’ first wave of playmakers — JoJo Kemp, Jeff Badet –and Eddie Gran did some heavy lifting in Florida over a few recruiting classes. It’s unclear if John Settle served as the primary recruiter for any signee and two running backs in UK’s 2023 class de-committed, with Khalifa Keith flipping to rival Tennessee.

It’s difficult to predict where Mark Stoops could go from here. However, Adam Luckett has connected the dots to one potential big fish, Cadillac Williams. The Auburn interim head coach is an outstanding recruiter that will likely be looking for a new job this offseason. The former All-SEC running back’s old position coach is currently on UK’s payroll, Eddie Gran. The move might make a lot of sense for all parties involved.