Not will he be but should he be. There is some interesting debate about what is prudent vs. what is fair and there are some pros and cons to firing and keeping him. Obviously the program is regressing and with next years schedule he is destined to finish below .500 again. So do you cut your losses or do what many believe to be fair and give him a 3rd year?

 

Two things to keep in mind:

-If UK loses by 28 or more points this weekend this will be the first UK team to lose 5 games by 28 points or more in a single season. In the illustrious history of UK football it has never happened and Georgia is a 28 point favorite.

-If you do fire him how hard will it be to conveince someone to take the job. Would a quality coach trust you to give him time to build a program if you fired the previous coach after 2 years?

I fire him.

 

Then I go out all on the media campaign on how we have an 8 year plan with whomever we hire as HC. In that 8 years we will TOTALLY upgrade Commonwealth Stadium, that we will add to/upgrade/build to have football facilities equal or better than Texas, Oregon, OSU, and Alabama. I do all this while dropping K-Fund requirements for football the next 2 years, because we have put an embarrassing product on the field for 2. I also cap ticket prices at where they are at for 2.

 

I back up the Brinks truck and try to get -

 

Brent Venables, Oklahoma

 

Bud Foster, Virginia Tech

 

Kirby Smart, Alabama

 

 

If I don't get one of them I start going to former NFL guys and other top assistants.

Edited November 16, 201114 yr by spindoc

I'm not sure what I'd do if the decision were mine. I wouldn't worry about covincing someone to take the job. I think you could explain that there's a difference between a new coach who will overhaul the staff and bring in new guys, and Joker who was the coach-in-waiting. In theory, there shouldn't have been much of a transition because the guys there now are his players, the system didn't change, and the coaches are the same.

It is a very tough call. The fact that next year really isn't year three for Joker makes me seriously consider letting him go. Whereas I would very rarely fire a "new" coach after just two years, Joker has been a big part of the program for how many years ... 8,9? He had a big hand in recruiting the players on this team. This isn't year two of turning around a program. This is year two trying to build on a successful run in an improving program. How young is the team? What are the prospects for next year? How does the recruiting class look? Because two years is very short in learning to be a head coach, I would probably need all those factors and a couple more be negative to let him go.

I voted yes. This is with the idea that UK can land a quality coach to replace him. If they can't then its a moot point anyway.

I would fire him immediately after the UT game.

Ultimately, I think it was LABS who said it was either fire him now or fire him next year. I don't think he'll turn it around, so RP's probably got it right.

 

Based solely on what I've seen from Joker and his team in two seasons, I would lean toward making a change. There's really no excuse for how bad UK was this season based on the previous 5-6 years.

 

Making a bowl game isn't the issue to me. With the departures of Hartline, Locke and Cobb, I thought a 5-7 season was certainly possible. It has been the lack of competitiveness in too many games, and then performances like the opener against Western Kentucky, which was pathetic even if they did win.

Not will he be but should he be. There is some interesting debate about what is prudent vs. what is fair and there are some pros and cons to firing and keeping him. Obviously the program is regressing and with next years schedule he is destined to finish below .500 again. So do you cut your losses or do what many believe to be fair and give him a 3rd year?

 

If UK is destined to finish below .500 next year then what is the sense in keeping Joker one more year and then firing him? Why not just get the new coach in now and get ahead of the game?

If UK is destined to finish below .500 next year then what is the sense in keeping Joker one more year and then firing him? Why not just get the new coach in now and get ahead of the game?

 

I agree with everything you said. I think there is a 99% that he is fired by the end of next season so why delay the inevitable? On the other hand I am concerned that other coaches would be scared off if Barnhart fires Joker after just two seasons. Remember Billy Clyde was also let go after two seasons. I understand the circumstance for BCG were unusual but perception is reality.

 

With that said, I would fire him.

I'm the first "No" vote.

I would fire him immediately after the UT game.

This.

I'm with RP on this one. I would fire him on the way to the locker room after the UT game, not let him in the locker room and make him find his own way back to Lexington.

At the beginning of the year I thought he should be given at least this year and one more. The wheels have fallen off way to fast and he has to go.

The funny thing is that he will make out like a bandit with whatever buyout UK has to give him, and then he lands another assistant job at a big time school (can you say Kragthorpe? Cooper?)

I voted yes, but that is believing that we will not be competitive in these final two games. I think Georgia will be by however many they want to beat us by and Tennessee will be at least 17 point loss. Neither game will be competitive so cut our losses just like we did with Billy G in basketball. The program is headed in the wrong direction.