(We will miss you sir!)Rich "pawpaw" Brooks announced this afternoon that he will be stepping down from the head coaching position for the University of Kentucky football team. This brings the end to a long and respected career.
Brooks leaves UK with a 39-47 record that greatly undermines his impact on the program. Before Brooks arrived in Lexington in the only word that could be used to describe the team was "joke." He took over before the 2003 season and although he inherited a 7-5 team, he also was left to deal with the oncoming NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations under the watch of complete jacka$ Hal Mumme. After Guy Morriss (no that's not a typo, that's actually how he spells his name) couldn't bring respect to the UK program, Brooks was given his shot.
Although his first three seasons were far from what the fans and administration were looking for, it was easy to see that things were headed in the right direction. Brooks was bringing in his guys, and setting standards for recruiting, practicing and playing that future teams could build off of. All of this hard work came to fruition in the 2006 season when the Cats finished with a 8-5 record, a Music City Bowl win over Clemson, and upset of the previous SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs. It was UK's first bowl victory in over 20 seasons. The next two seasons were also highlighted with bowl wins over perennial powerhouse Florida State, and Conference USA front runner East Carolina.
In 2009 Brooks lead an injury prone team to another trip to the Music City Bowl that was highlighted along the way with road victories over Georgia and Auburn. Lets not forget his win over #1 LSU either. He has also won 3 games in a row versus rival UofL... although that's not saying much as a trained monkey could have out coached Steve Kragthorpe. He will now turn the program over to 46 year old coach in waiting, and UK alumn Joker Phillips. Phillips started as recruiting coordinator and receivers coach under Brooks in 2002, and has been the Offensive Coordinator since 2004. While his play-calling is often questioned (do we really need to run 25 screen passes a game?) his recruiting ability and character never have been.
While we look forward to watching Joker take the reins, we will miss Brooks deeply. He got the state interested in UK football again and has turned the university into more than a 1 trick pony. Just remember that anytime you want to come back, and pay the Cats a visit, you are always more than welcome. Enjoy your retirement sir, you have earned it.
Brian "Joker vs. Strong will be fun to watch" Reinhart
Brooks leaves UK with a 39-47 record that greatly undermines his impact on the program. Before Brooks arrived in Lexington in the only word that could be used to describe the team was "joke." He took over before the 2003 season and although he inherited a 7-5 team, he also was left to deal with the oncoming NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations under the watch of complete jacka$ Hal Mumme. After Guy Morriss (no that's not a typo, that's actually how he spells his name) couldn't bring respect to the UK program, Brooks was given his shot.
Although his first three seasons were far from what the fans and administration were looking for, it was easy to see that things were headed in the right direction. Brooks was bringing in his guys, and setting standards for recruiting, practicing and playing that future teams could build off of. All of this hard work came to fruition in the 2006 season when the Cats finished with a 8-5 record, a Music City Bowl win over Clemson, and upset of the previous SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs. It was UK's first bowl victory in over 20 seasons. The next two seasons were also highlighted with bowl wins over perennial powerhouse Florida State, and Conference USA front runner East Carolina.
In 2009 Brooks lead an injury prone team to another trip to the Music City Bowl that was highlighted along the way with road victories over Georgia and Auburn. Lets not forget his win over #1 LSU either. He has also won 3 games in a row versus rival UofL... although that's not saying much as a trained monkey could have out coached Steve Kragthorpe. He will now turn the program over to 46 year old coach in waiting, and UK alumn Joker Phillips. Phillips started as recruiting coordinator and receivers coach under Brooks in 2002, and has been the Offensive Coordinator since 2004. While his play-calling is often questioned (do we really need to run 25 screen passes a game?) his recruiting ability and character never have been.While we look forward to watching Joker take the reins, we will miss Brooks deeply. He got the state interested in UK football again and has turned the university into more than a 1 trick pony. Just remember that anytime you want to come back, and pay the Cats a visit, you are always more than welcome. Enjoy your retirement sir, you have earned it.
Brian "Joker vs. Strong will be fun to watch" Reinhart
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