Kentucky football coach Joker Phillips has a die-hard supporter in former UK All-American Derek Abney.
“Joker is doing a great job keeping the current program in tune with former players and he really does bleed blue. It’s a great move by him to keep former athletes and players part of the program,” Abney said.
Even if Kentucky does not have a winning season for the third straight year under Phillips, Abney believes he should keep his job.
“I have thought about this some as a former player who played with Joker as my position coach,” Abney said. “I really feel he deserves another year barring some major problems happening.”
Abney’s reasoning involves what is best for the long-term UK program. His theory is that if a new coach would be hired if UK has a poor year and that new coach uses talent Phillips has recruited to have success, he would likely leave Kentucky for a higher profile job. Abney suggested that’s what could happen at Louisville if coach Charlie Strong has a big year with the Cardinals.
“But if Joker starts winning, he’s going to stay and you have a better chance to have a dynasty, or a program that stays successful every year,” Abney said. “Barring either serious off the field stuff that Joker really does not allow, I feel unless the season gets really ugly with only one or two wins that he deserves another year. That would be a fourth year, and a defining year, for him.”
But with season ticket sales down dramatically, do empty seats and lost revenue factor into the equation about keeping a coach?
“Between football and basketball, they carry the athletics program financially. Fewer season ticket sales are not a good thing. That’s a tough thing to answer,” Abney, an engineering major, said. “If UK has a poor year, I guarantee you ticket sales will go down even more. Do you bite the bullet and keep Joker or say we are moving forward with a new coach? I had not thought that much about that, but I still think he deserves a fourth year.
“I don’t think you could ever question coach Phillips’ character or integrity. My boss brought up Bobby Petrino, who wins but has some off-field issues. There a camp that says if you win, who cares. The other camp says if you struggle but then eventually win and you have a high character guy you are a lot better off.”
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