Tag: mark stoops

Texas A&M hiring of Mike Elko classified as an ‘elite addition’ by 247Sports

“Not only is Elko respected on the recruiting trail, but he’s going to bring a sense of toughness and blue-collar mentality the Aggies didn’t seem to possess under the previous regime.”

The hiring of football head coach Mike Elko was the final major move by former Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork before departing Bryan-College Station for The Ohio State University.

247Sports writer Brad Crawford recently graded and organized the recent college football head coach hirings in tiers. Fans in Aggieland should be overjoyed with what Crawford said about Elko’s hiring, placing the move in his elite tier.

“This wasn’t rocket science for the Aggies after their initial pursuit of Kentucky’s Mark Stoops went awry down the stretch,” Crawford wrote. “The next choice was an obvious one with Elko, who transformed Duke in short order as a first-time head coach in the ACC after leaving Texas A&M’s staff previously as Jimbo Fisher‘s top assistant. Not only is Elko respected on the recruiting trail, but he’s going to bring a sense of toughness and blue-collar mentality the Aggies didn’t seem to possess under the previous regime.”

During his introductory press conference in Colombus, Bjork addressed his pursuit of Stoops.

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New Ohio State AD Ross Bjork explains interest in Mark Stoops from Aggies’ head coach search

“Mike Elko is a great coach and we’re gonna meet them in the playoffs because he’s going to build it,” Bjork said Wednesday at Ohio State.

As one chapter closes and another opens, former Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork had some explaining to do.

Bjork was hired as the future director of athletics at The Ohio State University on Tuesday afternoon, replacing Gene Smith who is retiring in June. Bjork held his introductory press conference in Columbus on Wednesday and answered a bevy of questions.

In Sept. 2021, Bjork gave former Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher a 10-year contract extension, then fired him in Nov. 2023. On Wednesday, he addressed Texas A&M’s reported interest in Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops, before eventually hiring Mike Elko to lead the program.

“Here’s what people, they don’t really realize about the process,” Bjork said. “The athletic director and the team — whatever that may look like — we run a search process. We make recommendations to the president. ‘I would like to hire this person,’ or ‘I think this is the No. 1 candidate.’ That’s how it works in every institution. No athletic director has the full autonomy to say, ‘I’m absolutely going to hire this person and no one else is involved.’ That’s where it goes back to alignment, that’s where it goes back to process and communication.

“So how (Stoops’) name got out there, of course he was a candidate. But we didn’t hire him. We hired Mike Elko, Mike Elko is a great coach and we’re gonna meet them in the playoffs because he’s going to build it. So at the end of the day, who did you hire and how did you get there? That’s what matters the most. So searches in today’s world are really, really probably unrealistic because of social media, plane tracking, or whatever. And so that’s what you have to do is just go through a process and pick the right person, and that’s what we did.”

At this point, it’s time for all parties to move on — media included.

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Our staff score predictions for Clemson vs. Kentucky Gator Bowl

Here are our staff score predictions for Clemson’s Gator Bowl matchup against Kentucky.

After a long wait, we are less than a day away from Clemson’s Gator Bowl matchup against Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers ended the regular season on a high note, but the same can be said about Kentucky, who took down a tough Louisville team 38-31 the last time we saw them. Clemson heads into this game the betting favorite, but the close line indicates that this should be a highly competitive matchup.

Will Clemson come out of this matchup on top, or will the Tigers drop their second straight bowl game? Here is a look at what we are thinking heading into the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

Coaching carousel updates for Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M

Oklahoma might lose offensive coordinator, Texas A&M botches head coaching hire and Texas assistant receives head coaching consideration.

It’s coaching carousel season in college football as dissatisfied athletic departments look to better their programs. Texas is not among the dissatisfied, but a handful of its rivals are in that category.

Texas A&M headlines that list as the program still searches for its next head coach. Last week, it appeared the team had narrowed its search to Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops. Despite his age, Stoops’ track record of maximizing the Kentucky Wildcats football program would have made the hire reasonable. Apparently he wasn’t good enough for the Aggies.

After public uproar, it appears Texas A&M will not hire Stoops. Perhaps two 10-win seasons at Kentucky since 2018, two more than Texas A&M, and eight consecutive bowl appearances wasn’t good enough for the Aggies.

The carousel spins wildly as teams search for new head coaches and coordinators. Let’s update a couple of situations in college football.

Report: Mark Stoops’ potential deal to become Texas A&M’s head coach dismissed in the final minutes

It has been reported that Texas A&M had a deal in place with Kentucky HC Mark Stoops, until a wave of fan disapproval entered the picture.

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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Breaking: It has now been reported that Mark Stoops is staying at Kentucky

Mark Stoops, who was reportedly expected to become Texas A&M’s next head football coach, is staying at Kentucky.

It has now been confirmed that Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops will not be taking the Texas A&M head coaching position after all, as Saturday’s news has taken a sudden twist after Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones released the news just hours after the first announcement.

Multiple sources, including TexAgs’ Billy Liucci, AggieYell Editor Mark Passwaters, and ESPN insider Pete Thamel, confirmed that Stoops will stay in Lexington (KY) after all, as nothing was finalized between both parties.

Stoops, who is finished his 11th year at Kentucky with a 7-5 record (matching A&M), has compiled a 72-64 record (35-55 SEC) and has taken the Wildcats to seven bowl game appearances, including four wins while recording two 10-win seasons in 2018 and 2021.

At the age of 56, Stoops has a proven track record. Still, after firing Fisher with an enormous $76.8 Million buyout attached, this looks more like a lateral move, if any—Stoop’s $4.5 Million buyout was probably a selling point initially. Still, until we receive the inner details regarding the sudden change in the agreement, the Aggies will return to the drawing board as the coaching search continues.

Saturday’s reports from Thamel and The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman included UTSA’s Jeff Traylor, Arizona’s Jedd Fisch, Duke’s Mike Elko, and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham as fellow candidates for the postion. At the same time, Stoop’s sudden inclusion surprised many. Here is a personal message from the man himself:

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UPDATE: Mark Stoops will not take Texas A&M job

Only hours after reports surfaced that Mark Stoops would take the Aggies job, reports surfaced from local outlets that Stoops would not leave for College Station.

Just hours after reports linked Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops to the Texas A&M job, either as the finalist or as the leading candidate, KSR’s Matt Jones reported Stoops would not be the Aggies coach early Sunday morning. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and ESPN’s Pete Thamel confirmed the report.

Stoops, the winningest coach in Kentucky history, has two 10-win seasons with the Wildcats and has finished with a winning record in seven of the past eight seasons.

The Aggies fired Jimbo Fisher on November 12th. Thamel reported earlier on Saturday that Texas A&M would like to hire a coach by the end of the weekend. Whether that happens or not, it appears it won’t be Stoops.

Get more Texas A&M coverage at Aggies Wire.

Texas A&M expected to hire Mark Stoops as next head coach

The longtime Wildcats coach is the winningest coach in the Kentucky’s history, with a winning record in seven of the past eight seasons.

Texas A&M is hiring Mark Stoops as its next head coach, according to reports from 247Sports on Saturday night. A Sports Illustrated report shortly after said a deal had not yet been agreed upon but Stoops has emerged as the Aggies’ leading candidate.

Stoops spent the past 11 seasons as the Kentucky head coach. His 73 wins, seven bowl appearances, and four bowl victories are all the most in program history, and his 52.9% winning percentage is the best of any Kentucky coach in the past 60 years. He’s put together two 10-win seasons with the program, first in 2018 and then again in 2021, he was the SEC Coach of the Year in 2018, and he’s finished above .500 in seven of the past eight seasons.

Kentucky is Stoops’ first head coaching position. He previously served as a defensive coordinator for Florida State and Arizona and as a defensive backs coach for Miami.

Texas A&M moved on from head coach Jimbo Fisher on November 12th. The former national champion strung together a 46-25 record in College Station. The Aggies have a single 10-win season since 1998.

Get more Texas A&M coverage at Aggies Wire.

Breaking: Texas A&M is expected to hire Mark Stoops as the next head football coach

It has been confirmed that former Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is expected to become Texas A&M new head football coach.

It has been confirmed that the search for Texas A&M’s new head football coach after the firing of Jimbo Fisher has reached its end, as former Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops is expected to replace Fisher for the 2024 season and beyond, according to multiple sources, including GigEm247 inside Jeff Tarply, and TexAgs’ Billy Liucci.

Early Saturday, ESPN insider Pete Thamel and Athletic insider Bruce Feldman joined Liucci to report that Stoops was indeed a legitimate candidate for the position, as Thamel stated,

“One name that is expected to emerge in the next 24 hours is Kentucky coach Mark Stoops,” Thamel stated on ESPN’s College GameDay.”He coaches a rivalry game against Louisville (on Saturday), and the next 24 hours will be critical for his candidacy.”

Stoops, who is finished his 11th year at Kentucky with a 7-5 record (matching A&M), has compiled a 72-64 record (35-55 SEC) and has taken the Wildcats to seven bowl game appearances, including four wins while recording two 10-win seasons in 2018 and 2021.

At the age of 56, Stoops has a proven track record. Still, after firing Fisher with an enormous $76.8 Million buyout attached, this looks more like a lateral move, if any—Stoop’s $4.5 Million buyout was probably a selling point, coupled with his ability to develop talent at a high level with what A&M offers from a recruiting perspective.

Stoops, for many, was a complete surprise as UTSA’s Jeff Traylor, Arizona’s Jedd Fisch, Duke’s Mike Elko, and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham were more notable candidates throughout the week.

With more to come out as soon as Sunday morning, this has already become a polarizing hire within the fan base, though this would likely be the case with any new head coach announcement.

NOTE: Rivals site AggieYell Editor Mark Passwaters and writer Landyn Rosow were the first to break the news, combined with TexAgs.

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Report: Kentucky HC Mark Stoops is a candidate to take over at Texas A&M

According to multiple sources, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops has emerged a legitimate candidate during Texas A&M’s head coaching search.

We’ve reached what looks to be the final stages of Texas A&M’s exhaustive search for the program’s next head football coach after the recent firing of now-former head coach Jimbo Fisher.

Throughout the week, credit to TexAgs’ Executive Editor and Co-Owner Billy Liucci, who has continued to drop several “nuggets” regarding potential names Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork has and will pursue in the coming days.

Earlier this week, Liucci revealed that Ohio State head coach Ryan Day remains a candidate for the position despite being a long shot to leave the Buckeyes, especially if Ohio State were to lose to Michigan on Saturday. Now, after his most recent update, one surprising name has emerged late, as Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops enters the race, which was further confirmed by ESPN CFB insider Pete Thamel and The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman on Saturday morning.

“One name that is expected to emerge in the next 24 hours is Kentucky coach Mark Stoops,” Thamel stated on ESPN’s College GameDay.”He coaches a rivalry game against Louisville (on Saturday), and the next 24 hours will be critical for his candidacy.”

Stoops, who is finishing his 11th year at Kentucky, has compiled a 72-64 record (35-55 SEC) and has taken the Wildcats to seven bowl game appearances, including four wins while recording two 10-win seasons in 2018 and 2021. At the age of 56, Stoops has a proven track record, but after firing Fisher with an enormous $76.8 Million buyout attached, this looks more like a lateral move, if any.

However, Thamel explained that this is just one name out of several contending candidates, including UTSA’s Jeff Traylor, Arizona’s Jedd Fisch, Duke’s Mike Elko, and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham.

“One source cautioned me that things are fractured at Texas A&M,” Thamel stated. “a lot of people put up a lot of money to pay off Jimbo Fisher, so don’t expect this to be a linear search to the finish.”

While Mark Stoops and Ryan Day are the hot-button names of the day, anything can change at the drop of a hat.

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