No that is not being realistic. If fans and the program are going to accept UK for what it is, it is always going to stay what it is. It was this thinking for why Joker is the coach. People gave me all kinds of crap on here when I suggested UK was making a mistake by just giving him the job. People were saying how it was the right hire and all that. However Rich Brooks actually had UK by the time he retired at a spot where they could have taken another step. Yes they will never be one of the top dogs competiting year in and year out for titles. However they could be more than what they are. UK was at a spot where it would have been an attractive spot to some hot up and coming assistant coach from a big program looking for a start. Or it would have been a good spot to get a good up and coming head coach from a smaller school. They should have at least opened up to interview people. They could have interviewed Joker too, and if he was truly the best candidate after than then fine. However UK had a chance to try to take another step forward and was in a good spot to do so but failed.

 

Why are you so angry.....LOL. I think you misunderstand what I meant to say that set your rant off. I accept that "this team " is what it is and shouldnt win more than a few. Would it be realistic to expect 8 or 9 wins this season. However I don't accept UK has yet to go after a big name coach and change the program. Hope this clears things up and sorry I upset you.

Why are you so angry.....LOL. I think you misunderstand what I meant to say that set your rant off. I accept that "this team " is what it is and shouldnt win more than a few. Would it be realistic to expect 8 or 9 wins this season. However I don't accept UK has yet to go after a big name coach and change the program. Hope this clears things up and sorry I upset you.

 

My bad I misunderstood what you meant then haha. I agree it would definitely be very unrealistic to think this team will do much better than 4 wins if even that. I know last year I said I didn't think they would win 5 games and people gave me crap about that. It just simply is not a good team, and I don't see them being much better this year. I hope I am wrong though.

 

As for coaching I wonder if they would even be attractive now to any up and coming coach. When Brooks retired they were in a great spot to do so, however now with the way things are it will be very hard. Shoot when Brooks retired UL was in pretty bad shape, so UK would have been the most attractive school in the state for in state recruits too. However now when the state actually does produce top players, UL probably has the better chance. UK screwed up big time by not opening up the search when Brooks retired. I said it then and got a bunch of crap on here about it, and hopefully people see what I was talking about now. It was just dumb not to at least open up the search.

What does Joker have to do to keep "you" from calling for him to be fired?

 

Resign.

I am on the Joker band wagon. I will support him even if he goes 0-10. Please Mitch keep Joker.

 

Kind of like what UK fans said about Krag?

Mitch dropped the ball. I hope they treat this the same way they did Billy G and after 2 years they say...look...we made a mistake....bear with us....and then.......BOOM.

 

I hope and dream.....UK could be so much better.

 

But wouldn't you agree is it much easier for the basketball team to get a...............BOOM coach than it is for the football team? I just can't see why a big name coach would want to come to UK. While the basketball facilities are top notch, the football facilities compared to most of the SEC pale in comparison. Matt Jones spent a good portion of one of his shows discussing this topic. The commentors at the show mentioned how any coach knows that bringing SEC talent requires having top notch facilities which UK does not have, in football atleast. So I don't see UK ever being more than a stepping stone until tens of millions are spent on upgrades. While the Nutter Center was a good start, it was just a start.

Bobby Petrino. Quick fix where both sides benefit in the end. He's available.

 

The other side never comes out on the good end with Petrino. In the end only Petrino and his bank account wins.

Win. That's all that matters.

Best thing that happened for Joker was Coach Henderson of the baseball team had a job saving good fourth year for the baseball team. If his young team shows improvement throughout the year he will be back. The only thing that would really hurt his chances is a half full stadium. That could happen but Mitch is secure with his job and will show patience with this football team.

 

As for Petrino, Barnhart can't stand him. Just don't see that happening with Mitch as AD.

Can they show improvement but have a worse record than last season? Things aren't looking good for the future but he has beat the old ball coach and Tennessee. Is that enough to buy him another year if they go 4-8 or worse?

For me this Kentucky team needs to compete. They need to really beat these lower level teams and at least compete with the biggest part of the SEC. If this team shows they are with Joker then we should see results, maybe not wins, but at least an improving team.

 

If they get a few wins but are blown out in most games he is fired.

 

If they win a few and are competitive in most I believe he gets another year.

 

I agree with this

Balance up the offense. Simplify both the offense and defensive schemes. Have a positive energetic out look on the kids and the program take a glass half-full approach to recruiting. In essence be more like James Franklin who has energized Vanderbilt.

But wouldn't you agree is it much easier for the basketball team to get a...............BOOM coach than it is for the football team? I just can't see why a big name coach would want to come to UK. While the basketball facilities are top notch, the football facilities compared to most of the SEC pale in comparison. Matt Jones spent a good portion of one of his shows discussing this topic. The commentors at the show mentioned how any coach knows that bringing SEC talent requires having top notch facilities which UK does not have, in football atleast. So I don't see UK ever being more than a stepping stone until tens of millions are spent on upgrades. While the Nutter Center was a good start, it was just a start.

 

Your right a big name coach wouldn't have came here. However when Rich Brooks retired UK was in good shape as a program, and would have been an attractive job for a hot up and coming assistant possibly at a bigger school looking for his first head coaching gig. Or a hot up and coming head coach at a smaller school, kind of like what UC did with Brian Kelly. They got theirselves a very good coach with head coaching experience. Did he use UC as a stepping stone no doubt, but did he help UC take another step forward yes! Also while he was there, I believe he was one of the ones who helped improve the facilities there. If they get a coach like that on his way up, that might be enough to also help start getting the facilities improved. UK was in a spot to take another step up. Would have coach have stayed? Probably not, he would have used that to get a top notch gig. However it would have put UK in a spot to get another coach and hopefully get to a spot where they may be able to compete for the SEC East every now and then if they get the right team together. I am not a UC guy, however UC did it perfectly when it came to turning their football program around. While UK did it completely wrong when they decided to just hand the job to Joker.

Realistically, who does everyone think would replace Joker if he was ousted? I'm not talking about the pipe-dreams most on here bring up (Petrino, Leach, etc.)....I'm talking about realistic options...

If they lose to WKU (which call me crazy, is more of a real possibility than some seem to think), Kent State, or Samford, he's gone IMO no matter what happens.

 

The major consideration is that they need to show marked improvement regardless of whether that translates to wins in the other games. I don't think it would hurt if they could manage to win a 4th game or even a 5th, but I think the only possibilities of that happening are against Vandy or at Tennessee.

 

I'm with you. I don't view Western as a win after last year. I don't know much about the other two small schools, but I'm still assuming wins for now. But, I think a 2-win season is a possibility. I'm thinking 4 is the maximum. Whether that's good enough for Joker to remain coach depends on how competitive they are in the losses, how much improvement we see, how entertaining they are to watch, etc. Lots of factors.

 

Based on Joker's tenure to date, I'll take a wait-and-see approach, but I'm not optimistic.

Realistically, who does everyone think would replace Joker if he was ousted? I'm not talking about the pipe-dreams most on here bring up (Petrino, Leach, etc.)....I'm talking about realistic options...

 

Petrino is a pipe dream & you're probably right about Leach now that he's been hired at WSU. I really don't know, to tell you the truth. It's going to be a difficult hire for Barnhart if it comes to that.