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With the recent termination of University of Kentucky Head Football Coach Joker Phillips, many UK fans’ look forward to the possibility of a resurgent Kentucky Football program in the coming years. With the sudden, yet expected changes in coaching staff as the win/loss ratio hit rock bottom, the speculative list of possible candidates for the head coach position continues to build along with the enthusiastic hopes and dreams of the Big Blue Nation. Like the building blocks for a solid foundation, the fans opinions for probable candidates abound.
Big Blue Nation suggests a long list of replacements the likes of Neal Brown, David Cutcliffe, Sonny Dykes, Phillip Fulmer, Butch Jones, Dirk Koetter, Mike Leach, Gus Malzahn, Breant Pease, Willie Taggart, Tommy Tubberville, Rich Brooks, Kliff Kingsbury, Ron Caragher and Bobby Petrino.
Each potential coach presents their own unique set of pros and cons for the possible journey through the Big Blue recruiting process.
No one in the Kentucky Blue Grass is shy to express their ideas. Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions as to which coach would best fit the Kentucky system and help revive the football program into a glorious new era, or at the very least generate more wins and thus potentially greater revenue for the school.
CBSSports Gregg Doyel believes there are three potential coaches that Kentucky could benefit from, two are safeties and the third a possibility:
“Gus Malzahn or Sonny Dykes would be the safest picks, because of their offensive systems and because they have experience running their own programs” Doyel states, “I'm going to throw a third name out there: Kliff Kingsbury. This guy has the pedigree of a future superstar coach. I have no idea how good he really is, but he's the guy on this list that I can see, 10 years from now, being an absolute monster. Kentucky might need to do now like Duke football did in 1987, and get lucky and hire an absolute monster before everyone realizes the guy's an absolute monster. Steve Spurrier was that guy for Duke in 1987. I don't know if Kingsbury is that guy now for Kentucky, but if he is ... they better recognize it.”
With a new head coach brings a certain level of promise, but a good head coach isn’t the only thing that can propel Kentucky further up the rankings in the Southeastern Conference.
“Kentucky needs a gimmick offense because they can’t recruit athletes to compete with LSU, Alabama, Florida, Texas A&M and about 3-4 other schools… Not right away, anyway.” Doyel says, “So they better win with something else -- an offensive system that compensates for the athletic disadvantage they'll be at until the new coach gets recruiting up to that next level.”
The right gimmick can bring you the right talent, and with the right coach and right talent, this formula can result in an instant or inclining .500 season next year. But, it may take some time before Kentucky can get to the great 10 wins mark, but with the right combination, anything is possible.
“The right coach, with the right system and the right quarterback -- imagine Kevin Sumlin and Johnny Manziel, both in their first years competing at Texas A&M, at Kentucky in 2013 -- could get this program to .500 next year. Realistically? Well, again, if the right coach is hired, 2013 is realistic to be .500. Now, to win 10 games? Maybe 2015 ... with the right coach. With the wrong coach? It'll never happen.” Doyel explains.
The big lingering question is… Can Kentucky bring in the right coach, can they bring in a coach who not only has the talent for recruiting and coaching, but the charisma and media-friendly attributes that UK’s very own basketball coach, John Calipari, holds?
Well, if he does, that media-friendly asset will highly benefit these Wildcats. Doyel believes that with the right personality, UK can continue to cement concrete bricks into the very foundation of a great football plan and help to materialize UK fans’ hopes and dreams for this struggling Kentucky football program.
So what should be Kentucky’s main focus for next year?
“They should get a media-friendly coach -- because those win over the fans -- who plays an innovative offensive style (because that wins over the recruits). Hire a guy who meets both criteria, or why bother getting rid of Joker Phillips?” Doyel declares.
Well, hopefully UK Athletics during its long and exhaustive recruiting process will pick the best coach not only for the Athletics department but for the football program as a whole. Until the announcement of the new head coach is made, UK fans should continue to hope and dream big…cloud nine can take people to many places, I mean, look, it got UK a national championship in basketball. Dream big, but keep your fingers crossed.
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