Mike Stoops expected to join Mark Stoops at Kentucky, per report

A familiar face could soon join Mark Stoops in Lexington. According to FootballScoop, Mike Stoops is expected to join the Kentucky coaching staff to fill the void left by Jon Sumrall, who will serve as Troy’s head coach in 2022.

Mike Stoops has experience at all levels of college football coaching. Like all of the Stoopses, he got his start at Iowa. Mike spent seven seasons at Kansas State before joining Bob Stoops’ inaugural coaching staff at Oklahoma. After five successful seasons in Norman, he became the head coach at Arizona where his younger brother Mark called the Wildcats’ defense.

Mike Stoops returned to Oklahoma in 2012, assuming the defensive coordinator position. During this tenure Big 12 offenses got the best of the Sooners, souring his reputation among fans. That’s where things got dicey.

Close Calls for Mike Stoops

Even though Mark previously worked for Mike at Arizona, this would be the first time Mark has brought one of his famous brothers to Kentucky. The move almost happened two years ago.

On the heels of a season with Nick Saban’s staff as an analyst, there was scuttlebutt that he would come to Kentucky ahead of the 2020 season. Instead, Mark Stoops promoted Frank Buffano and Mike played the waiting game until another promising position opened at Texas.

Mike Stoops was poised to become Steve Sarkisian’s linebackers coach. He reportedly told Nick Saban he was making the move, until intense backlash from Texas fans forced Sark to rescind the offer. Instead of sticking around in an off-the-field role with Alabama, he served as Florida Atlantic’s defensive coordinator for the 2021 season.

Stoops Brings Experience, Familiarity

Many message board keyboard warriors share outspoken opinions of Mike Stoops, but his lengthy track record in the coaching business is impressive. Kentucky is losing one assistant to a head coaching position and replacing him with a former Power Five head coach who has decades of experience in the Big 12 and SEC. That’s rare in college football.

There is one area of inexperience on his resume. He’s done so well that he hasn’t been a primary position coach in a long time. Previously a defensive backs specialist, he last coached linebackers in 1991.

Unlike Bob and Mike, Mark rarely relies on his brothers while on the job. In his 30+ years of coaching, he only spent five of them working with one of his brothers. Entering his tenth year in Lexington on the heels of two 10-win seasons in four years, he’s earned the right to bring his brother to UK. If the move becomes official, Kentucky will have four coaches from Youngstown on the staff.