Mark Stoops Focused on Kentucky amid Texas A&M Rumors

The span of the Texas A&M coaching search has reached the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Throughout the week there were whispers surrounding Mark Stoops and the Texas A&M coach vacancy. Those whispers grew from message board posts to nationally-televised news on Saturday morning.

Overnight Billy Liucci from TexasAgs.com included the Kentucky head coach with Utah’s Kyle Whittingham among the new names added to athletic director Ross Bjork’s short list. Hours later Bruce Feldman and Pete Thamel reported on Fox and ESPN pregame shows that Mark Stoops as a name to watch in the search over the next 24 hours.

Following Saturday’s win over No. 9 Louisville, the Kentucky head coach had an opportunity to respond to the reports of his involvement with the Texas A&M coaching search.

“Come on. You know better than that. This is a big win for our state and our program and our team,” said Stoops. “You know how good I’ve been, keeping the focus and concentration on this team and that’s all it is.”

In addition to Stoops, Texas A&M also has their eyes on Duke head coach Mike Elko, a former A&M defensive coordinator, Kansas’s Lance Leipold, Kansas State’s Chris Klieman and Ohio State’s Ryan Day. Michigan State became the first team to make a big move this offseason by announcing the addition of Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith this afternoon.

Texas A&M paid a $76 million buyout to terminate Jimbo Fisher in early November. After finishing No. 4 in the AP Poll in 2020, the Aggies were just 19-15 over the last three seasons with nine straight losses on the road.

Mark Stoops just finished year 11 in Lexington. No coach has led the program longer or won more games. Prior to taking over following the 2012 season, he served as Jimbo Fisher’s defensive coordinator at Florida State.

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