Mark Stoops Slides, Still Ranked Among Top 25 Coaches in College Football

The college football offseason knows no days off. Despite the madness heating up around the other major college sport, college football prognosticators are dusting off their old rankings to create a new pecking order for the sport’s top coaches.

Once upon a time, it was a shock to see a Kentucky football coach considered among the best in the sport. Now Mark Stoops has become a mainstay, so much so that he actually slid backwards after posting a winning record in 2022.

This week two senior writers for The Athletic, Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel, unveiled new Top 25 College Football Head Coach Rankings. Mark Stoops made the cut for each, but he was ranked higher a year ago.

Feldman dropped Kentucky’s head coach from No. 15 to No. 18, however, he believes Stoops made the right moves to get the Cats back on track in 2023.

“The 7-6 record felt like a bit of a dud,” writes Feldman. “Stoops’ choice to replace OC Liam Coen with another NFL guy, Rich Scangarello, did not work, but Coen is back in Lexington to run the offense. Stoops’ record over his past five seasons is 40-23 and he’s proven to be excellent at developing talent.”

Mark Stoops’ record was actually held against him by Stewart Mandel, who ranked Kentucky’s head coach No. 14 last year. He fell six spots to No. 20 in 2023.

“Stoops has led the most consistent era in Kentucky history, reaching his seventh consecutive bowl game last season a year after going 10-3 for the second time in his tenure,” says Mandel. “I recalibrated his ranking, however, seeing as he’s finished below .500 in the SEC three of the past four years.”

A slight slide is a fair assessment after an underwhelming season. Now it’s time for Mark Stoops to prove he is in fact one of the 15 best coaches in all of college football.

SEC Dominates College Football Coach Rankings — What’s New?

The College Football Coach Rankings aren’t just click-y fodder. This is evidence that Mark Stoops has put Kentucky on solid footing ahead of what will be a tumultuous time in the SEC.

It’s never been easy to win at Kentucky. It’s only going to get more difficult when Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC in 2024, altering the Wildcats’ annual schedule by likely adding more top 25 foes. According to Mandel, three of the the top four coaches in college football — Kirby Smart, Nick Saban and Brian Kelly — are in the SEC. Lane Kiffin, Josh Heupel, Hugh Freeze and Jimbo Fisher give the league 8 of the Top 25 coaches in America. Half of the SEC accounts for 30% of the best college football coaches in America.

In the SEC it just means more. Before it means even more, Mark Stoops is giving Kentucky an opportunity to succeed despite difficult circumstances.

Check out all of Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel’s Top 25 Coach Rankings over at The Athletic.