Stoops Explains How Relationship with Eric Wolford was Mended

The Big Blue Nation was stunned when news broke that Eric Wolford is returning to Kentucky to coach the Wildcats’ offensive line. On the day the school officially announced the assistant’s return, Mark Stoops was quick to get in front of a microphone to explain why he’s making the move and how it came to be.

Everyone recalls the abrupt nature in which Wolford departed UK following the 2021 season to join Nick Saban‘s staff. He was Public Enemy No. 1 for quite some time, so how did Stoops reconcile with his former offensive line coach?

“Well, sometimes you just gotta let people from Youngstown sort things out their own way. We had to grind things out a little bit between us,” Stoops said with a smirk. “I’m joking.”

In a conversation with KSR alum Maggie Davis on BBN Tonight, Stoops dove into all of the details behind the move.

“Very excited to have Eric back. I think the last time when he left — any time when someone leaves your program there’s always a bit of a hurt or regret, whatever you want to call it, especially when somebody is only there a short period of time.

“I learned things since Eric’s left about that transition. There’s things I could’ve done better. There’s things he could’ve done better. I think both of us understand that. The big thing is in our business, there’s no room for being sensitive. You gotta have thick skin, you can’t be sensitive, you have to do what’s right at all times. Ultimately, you have to make tough decisions sometimes and I think that separation was difficult on some people, including me. But you learn things, and I’m sure there’s things he’d tell you if he could change things he would about the separation. The bottom line is he’s one heck of a football coach, I know what he can do, I know how he can help this program, and ultimately that’s very important.”

Stoops was Prepared to Retain Zach Yenser

It was not just the nature of Wolford’s departure that made this move so stunning, it was the timing. Zach Yenser signed a one-year contract extension the week after the Louisville win. Everyone expected him to stick around for one more season after the Kentucky offensive line showed improvement during his second year.

“I don’t know if there is good timing. I also contemplate a lot of things at the end of the season and evaluate everything. But I also want to make sure I don’t just make rash decisions if I don’t have a very good succession plan. I don’t want to just make moves to make moves and disrupt continuity if I don’t have a better plan in place. Read between the lines on the timing with that.”

Stoops is instructing us to read between the lines. We all know Nick Saban retired, putting Wolford back on the job market. It might be more noteworthy to know that Stoops is only changing the pieces of the puzzle if he knows what’s next.

Kentucky OL Needs the ‘Heavy Hand’ of Wolford

Most people only know about the departure of Eric Wolford. There are two more things you need to know about him as a head coach. He’s a great recruiter and he is a hard-ass. Mark Stoops describes his style differently, and he believes it’s exactly what this offense needs.

“Liam has a lot on his plate and you need to have the best people you can around him and we felt like Eric was the type of guy, the type of fit that can help us. Again, I think he strikes that balance of being extremely supportive, developing young men, caring about them deeply, and investing in them deeply with his time,” said Stoops.

“He’s very passionate about what he does, but he’s also got a heavy hand. I think there’s a fine balance that’s much needed in college football right now because the minute you want to break out the heavy hand, it’s very easy for players to say, ‘I’m outta here.’ I think you have to have talent, the ability to see that and have great balance.”

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