The Kentucky Wildcats made the decision to finally move on from long time head coach Mark Stoops this offseason. After several inconsistent and bad seasons for the Wildcats, the program ate a massive buyout in order to bring in a new era for the football team. Rather than circling a re-tread head coach, Kentucky made the smart decision to hire Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein.
This offseason, Kentucky showed a level of commitment that we haven't seen on the football side. Will Stein was able to compete for top transfers, and in some cases win out giving the Wildcats a chance to compete in Year One. The only issue for Will Stein is that treasure chest may not be available again.
Mark Pope's struggles may hurt Will Stein at Kentucky
On Sunday Afternoon, the Kentucky basketball team was dominated in the second half by Iowa State bringing the Wildcats' season to an end in the Round of 32. The loss comes 2 days after Kentucky needed a miracle shot from Otega Oweh to even force overtime and survive against Santa Clara. The way this season has gone certainly has Mark Pope on the hot seat heading into next season.
The Wildcats spent a reported $22 million on this year's basketball roster which seemingly was a massive waste. Kentucky will likely spend big once again this offseason, but if it doesn't work out they'd need to pay Pope a massive buyout before spending big to bring in a new staff and build a new roster.
This would be terrible news for Will Stein as the top priority at Kentucky is very clearly the basketball program. Mark Pope's struggles now put pressure on Will Stein to deliver promising results next season if he's going to give boosters a reason to continue believing.
Positive results in Year One will prove that Kentucky can build a winner in football, and would almost certainly warrant further investment in the program. However, if Will Stein has a rough start paired with another bad season by Mark Pope, and investing in basketball will become a far bigger priority for the Wildcats.