Unsatisfied Mark Stoops Believes in Kentucky Culture, "We want more"

Mark Stoops took the SEC Media Days stage as the longest-tenured coach in the league. He brought a few jokes –“It’s wouldn’t be SEC Media Days if I didn’t have to talk about a new offensive coordinator” — and thanked the great people of Texas for purchasing his RD1 bourbon. He needed to hear the jokes as much as anybody.

“I was really kind of coming in with a little edge, a little attitude about our team because we just want more,” said the Kentucky head coach.

Following a 9-3 regular season in 2021, the Wildcats underwhelmed with consecutive 7-6 campaigns. Losing to a Top 25 Clemson team in the Gator Bowl still bothers Stoops.

“Ultimately, we got to get better. We got to find a way to make those players in critical moments to push us over the top. We’re not interested in just existing. I’m not here, I’m not coaching, I’m not back for the 12th year just to to exist. We want to improve, we want to use these rules, whatever it is, to make changes to make that jump to get to the next level.”

The “next level” is a popular talking point on Radio Row at SEC Media Days and also in the state of Kentucky. Have the Wildcats plateaued? Can they still reach that “next level” in a 16-team SEC with Texas and Oklahoma? Stoops believes the foundation of his program is solid enough to push Kentucky forward.

“We have a competitive culture, a united culture, but that’s not always perfect,” Stoops said in a scrum with members of the local media.

“We need people that are willing to pull a teammate up when adversity hits because when adversity hits, it kind of shatters that mental model that we all want, right? We all want it to be perfect. We prepare our players for adversity, we talk about it constantly. But how do you really respond to that? And are you willing to go right back to work and put that play behind you, put that game behind you, and grind it out?”

When adversity hit in the form of a fake punt against Missouri, the Cats crumbled. They failed to close out Clemson and South Carolina because of late-game mistakes. The margin of error is thin in the SEC and the Wildcats must be able to execute within that margin to push forward.

Stoops Not Diminishing Kentucky’s Success

It’s clear Stoops is not satisfied with how the last two seasons went. However, he is not overlooking the team’s accomplishments. They got a pair of wins over Florida and Louisville to preserve winning seasons, a rarity prior to his arrival in 2013.

“Do we want more? Do we want to take it to the next level? Yes, we do. But also I can’t lose sight of the fact that we have been consistent. You know there’s only eight teams in the country that have been to eight straight bowls. There’s only two teams that have been in the SEC this whole time that have done that. That’s not nothing,” he said in Dallas.

Mark Stoops has raised the floor in Lexington. What was considered underwhelming in 2023 was an unforgettable season in 2007. Kentucky football is on stable ground entering a new era of SEC football.

“I don’t want to dismiss the great things that we’ve done, the good things we’ve done. We’ve made a lot of growth. If you look at 2018, we’re the fourth-most wins in the conference. It’s not nothing. Do we want more, do the fans want more? Absolutely. Let’s continue to work. We’ll continue to do our part. Let’s continue to invest.”

You can invest in Kentucky football’s important recruiting efforts by contributing to the Cats’ NIL Collectives, The 15 Club and Club Blue.