On Saturday, Nov. 25, sources confirmed that current Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops was expected to fill Texas A&M’s head football coaching vacancy for at least four hours.
Stoops, who had just finished the Wildcats 2023 season with a road win over the 10th-ranked Louisville Cardinals, was likely riding high heading into his job transition. Still, as information regarding the hiring continued to leak, everything changed at the drop of a hat.
In one of the craziest developments, while covering Texas A&M Athletics, the announcement that Mark Stoops was potentially headed to College Station caused an immediate uproar from the Aggie fan base that caused a rapid shift in the overall process.
According to a report from TexAgs’ Billy Liucci, it was confirmed that Stoops was poised to become Texas A&M’s 31st head coach, and while the A&M Board of Regents had not approved of the hiring at the time, said fan/player uproar apparently destroyed the deal on its face.
However, less than an hour after it was announced that Stoops would be staying with Kentucky, the head coach released his statement contradicting Liucci’s report. Still, as we’ve seen in years past, this could be a case of saving face.
“I know there’s been much speculation about me and my job situation the last couple of days. It’s true I was contacted about a potential opportunity this weekend, but after celebrating a big win against our rivals with players I love like family, I knew in my heart I couldn’t leave the University of Kentucky right now. I have a great job at a place I love, and I get to work with the best administration and greatest fan base in college football right where I’m at. I’m excited to say I’m a Wildcat!”
Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork is now under pressure to get a deal done with one of the remaining candidates, which, according to several sources, still includes Duke’s Mike Elko, Arizona’s Jedd Fisch, and current Aggies interim head coach Elijah Robinson, who is a noted favorite among the current roster.
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