Kentucky Expected To Fire Mark Stoops, Will Owe Him $38 Million Buyout On The Way Out

After ending the season with a 41-0 throttling by Louisville on Saturday, Kentucky has made the decision to fire head coach Mark Stoops and pay his $38 million buyout. 

There were a number of meetings Sunday to discuss the Wildcats' future, with the status of Mark Stoops being the focal point of the talks, considering he had the very large buyout that would need to be paid out within 60 days of his firing. 

Over the past few weeks, even before the loss to Louisville, the conversations around his future in Lexington had reached a boiling point with fans, along with boosters. The problem was that Stoops was not going to walk away from that type of money, making it clear that he was going to ride this out until he was shown the door. 

Following the loss to Louisville, Stoops was asked what the chances were for him to step down as the head coach. 

"I'm going to be here as far as I'm concerned," Mark Stoops said Saturday following the 41-0 loss to Louisville. "Now, I can't control what decision [is going] to be made. If you're asking me, I said zero. Zero means zero."

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One of the most intriguing parts of the ongoing talks centered around how the school would pay the head coach, who has been at the helm at Kentucky for 13 seasons. 

According to On3's Chris Low, there was a bit of optimism within the athletic department over the past few days, as Stoops told leaders that he would be willing to take his buyout through yearly payments. But still, this will be a hefty sum for the Wildcats athletic department to take on. 

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During his 13 years in Lexington, Stoops led Kentucky to an 8-year streak of bowl games, which included the 2021 season where he led the Cats' to a 10-win season. He will go down as the winningest coach in program history, but unfortunately, the football program looked like a rudderless ship over the past few years. 

Now, with Mark Pope leading the basketball program, the athletic department felt it was the right time to try and salvage the football program. 

It was following the 2022 season when Stoops signed a massive contract extension through June of 2031 that put Kentucky in the spot they are in now, thanks in large part to athletic director Mitch Barnhart. There has been friction within the athletic department over NIL money, and which program deserved a higher percentage compared to the other. 

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Now, Kentucky will be searching for a new head coach, at one of the craziest times in college football. On Sunday alone, Arkansas, Florida, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and Michigan State all hired new coaches. 

There could have been a chance last year to make a run at Jon Sumrall, but obviously that time has passed, given he has taken the Florida job. 

We will find out what type of juice the Kentucky football program has, with a coaching search that has already begun, and the firing of Mark Stoops set to be finalized Monday.