The chaos of the coaching carousel brought about a ton of change this offseason, especially in the SEC. In the SEC 5 head coaches were fired with a total of 6 new head coaches leading programs in the conference. Among the coaches to get fired this offseason was long time Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops.
Mark Stoops led the Kentucky Wildcats from 2013 through the 2025 season, posting a career record of 72-80 with just a 38-68 record in SEC play. After a 10-3 season in 2021, the Wildcats struggled to surpass the .500 mark making it clear that it was time for the two sides to part ways.
Mark Stoops betrays family ties with newest coaching gig
On Monday, the long time Kentucky Wildcats head coach found his next job as he accepted a role as a special assistant to Steve Sarkisian.
BREAKING: Texas has hired former #Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops as a special assistant to Steve Sarkisian, a source close to the situation told https://t.co/RFQ2dWVupn.https://t.co/RNM81CdaH0 pic.twitter.com/Zl6AwUVdFT
— Chip Brown (@ChipBrown247) March 2, 2026
Mark Stoops accepting a role with the Texas Longhorns is notable as his brother Bob Stoops is a legendary Oklahoma Sooners head coach winning the 2000 National Championship and 10 Big 12 Championships.
The role isn't significant, but it allows Mark Stoops to get back into coaching with a likely goal of eventually gaining a head coaching role in the future. At times it looked like Kentucky was on a path toward being a constant middle to top tier team in the SEC, but Mark Stoops wasn't able to find enough success in the NIL era.
For Steve Sarkisian and Texas, the move truly has no downside while potentially bringing a lot to the table. Adding a former head coach to a staff can be great as Stoops can bring new ideas and experience to the staff which can potentially help Steve Sarkisian finally get over the hump and lead the Texas Longhorns back to glory.