I hate losing but I can handle it better if the team is competitive.

You cannot compare Rich Brook's start and Joker's start. Brook's start was tainted with probation and limited scholarships. I lost all faith in Joker Phillips at the bowl game. Ryan Mossokowski (sp) should have been given a chance under center. It could not have been any worse. How many times have we seen other top teams change QBs to try and jump start the offense. Even KY has brought the likes of Jared Lorenzen and Shane Boyd to the sidelines to give them a chance to see what is going on. Maybe Newton needs to come to the sideline??????

You cannot compare Rich Brook's start and Joker's start. Brook's start was tainted with probation and limited scholarships. I lost all faith in Joker Phillips at the bowl game. Ryan Mossokowski (sp) should have been given a chance under center. It could not have been any worse. How many times have we seen other top teams change QBs to try and jump start the offense. Even KY has brought the likes of Jared Lorenzen and Shane Boyd to the sidelines to give them a chance to see what is going on. Maybe Newton needs to come to the sideline??????

 

I've watched Newton in person a couple of times now this season, and he is not the problem. IMHO he is actually a good QB. His receivers have a tendency to drop balls that are right on the money, and play-calling has been atrocious. Not to mention how terrible the O-Line has been thus far, although several sacks can be faulted to Newton. I will stick by my opinion that Newton is not the reason we have looked so bad.

I can assure everyone that the University of Louisville fan base and Coach Strong fully support Joker Phillips. We wished he would get a 10 year contract........

This team has gotten worse since defeating South Carolina last year and that is with an extra month of practice for being bowl eligible. The longer he is around it is possible the program could reach new lows. How much time is acceptable? BCG got 2 years and we saw the direction he was taking the basketball program. The football program needs to be treated with the same urgency for it to ever be taken seriously. Especially in the SEC football arena.

 

 

I'm with you Purple. If Joker was totally new to the program than Larry would be correct, more time is needed. However he is not new and was a big part of recruiting this "talent" to play at UK.

Unfortunately, the majority of the Kentucky fanbase will never fully back an African-American head basketball coach or football coach. If that statement offends you, I apologize that offends you but I don't apologize for what I said. Too much Tubby Deja Vu going on here.

 

That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. How many other major schools have had African-American head coaches in both basketball and football in the last 10 years?

 

Are Minnesota fans racist? They're not too pleased with Tubby either and its for the exact same reason Kentucky fans weren't pleased. He doesn't win like he used to. Period.

 

Brooks got time because he inherited a pile of crap. Joker has been in the program for a long time. He's already got a full team of players he recruited.

 

Its not racist to be dissatisfied with losing.

I would love to be enjoying UK football right now, but frankly how can I? UK is bad and Ole Miss might as well be a high school JV team.....

I've watched Newton in person a couple of times now this season, and he is not the problem. IMHO he is actually a good QB. His receivers have a tendency to drop balls that are right on the money, and play-calling has been atrocious. Not to mention how terrible the O-Line has been thus far, although several sacks can be faulted to Newton. I will stick by my opinion that Newton is not the reason we have looked so bad.

 

I agree that Newton is not THE reason, but he is a big part of the problem. Although his passing is 100% better than his previous two years, he still cannot pass. Not only does he have to have confidence in his receivers, but his receivers have to have confidence in him. 5-7 yard bullets? Noone could catch them. And if you listen to the coaches, he is not making good decisions when the plays are called in. He is not going to the correct option of pass, handoff or run. That is why I say take him out, let him watch the opposing defense for a series and then put him back in.

Billy was not a "Kentucky" guy. Billy had some issues. Joker is a Kentucky guy. Needs more time, this isn't basketball. At least wait until the season ends to start bashing your coach. If things turn around you will look foolish.

Unfortunately, the majority of the Kentucky fanbase will never fully back an African-American head basketball coach or football coach. If that statement offends you, I apologize that offends you but I don't apologize for what I said. Too much Tubby Deja Vu going on here.

 

Your statement doesn't offend me. I just think you're wrong when your say "the majority of the Kentucky fanbase will never fully back an African-American head basketball coach or football coach." I don't deny elements of racism throughout the fanbase, but in no way, shape or form is it the majority. Even the reasonable Tubby Smith defenders will acknowledge the drop-off in the program his last couple of seasons. And as someone else stated, fans in Minnesota are currently dissatisfied with Tubby.

 

If you remember, there were numerous people calling for Rich Brooks' head and I was one of them. There were numerous people calling for Billy Gillispie's head and I was one of them. What it boils down to, as Charlie Sheen would say, is winning. Rich Brooks started winning and he was embraced. Gillispie didn't win. Then you have his off-the-court antics, both the the personal behavior and treatment of players/former players/boosters, and that spelled a quick demise for him.

 

The primary problems facing both Tubby & Joker is that they inherited their respective programs at the height of success. For 6-8 years, Tubby did a fine job maintaining that status, but then the wheels fell off. Joker, who had his fingerprints all over the football team's success, has not thus far been able to do the same.

 

What I do think is that many in the UK football fanbase have very unrealistic expectations for the program. The four-year run we had with Brooks winning four straight bowl games, in my opinion, is the ceiling for UK football over a significant span of time. Sure, we might catch lightning in a bottle and win 10 games some year, but 6-8 wins & an appearance in a nominal bowl game is success for Kentucky football on a year-in, year-out basis.

Your statement doesn't offend me. I just think you're wrong when your say "the majority of the Kentucky fanbase will never fully back an African-American head basketball coach or football coach." I don't deny elements of racism throughout the fanbase, but in no way, shape or form is it the majority. Even the reasonable Tubby Smith defenders will acknowledge the drop-off in the program his last couple of seasons. And as someone else stated, fans in Minnesota are currently dissatisfied with Tubby.

 

If you remember, there were numerous people calling for Rich Brooks' head and I was one of them. There were numerous people calling for Billy Gillispie's head and I was one of them. What it boils down to, as Charlie Sheen would say, is winning. Rich Brooks started winning and he was embraced. Gillispie didn't win. Then you have his off-the-court antics, both the the personal behavior and treatment of players/former players/boosters, and that spelled a quick demise for him.

 

The primary problems facing both Tubby & Joker is that they inherited their respective programs at the height of success. For 6-8 years, Tubby did a fine job maintaining that status, but then the wheels fell off. Joker, who had his fingerprints all over the football team's success, has not thus far been able to do the same.

 

What I do think is that many in the UK football fanbase have very unrealistic expectations for the program. The four-year run we had with Brooks winning four straight bowl games, in my opinion, is the ceiling for UK football over a significant span of time. Sure, we might catch lightning in a bottle and win 10 games some year, but 6-8 wins & an appearance in a nominal bowl game is success for Kentucky football on a year-in, year-out basis.

 

Wow! I don't think I could have responded any better than this post. Great job!

All I ask of Kentucky football is to be competitive in the SEC ... you can even be 2-6 in the league and still be that. But from what we've seen of this team so far, that doesn't seem too likely this fall.

Nobody in the country wants this job more than Joker. I would love to see him be successful. There are folks in the Big Blue community that say Joker needs to get his own house in order...

Personally, I think Brooks saw the down turn coming and retired before it bowled him over. I'm willing to give Joker the time to convert the offense to what he wants and recruit the players to play it the way he wants it played.

Unfortunately, the majority of the Kentucky fanbase will never fully back an African-American head basketball coach or football coach. If that statement offends you, I apologize that offends you but I don't apologize for what I said. Too much Tubby Deja Vu going on here.

 

I've thought of that myself. (I did with the Tubby thing)

 

I guess though I start looking and wondering if Notre Dame has the same problem? Their only African-American coach was canned after three seasons and he wasn't even on the staff before his hire like Joker has been.

 

I think Purple hit it on the head: Winning beats racism, hands down.