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SEC Fans Are Torching Kentucky’s Mark Stoops After On3 Ranked Him As One Of The Conference’s Best Coaches

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  • Jesse Simonton of On3 Sports released his rankings of the top coaches in the SEC.
  • Nick Saban and Kirby Smart were the clear top two, but the rankings after that were controversial.
  • Fans were absolutely clowning Kentucky coach Mark Stoops for his spot on the list.

Mark Stoops’ time at Kentucky has been an unqualified success.

Stoops took over the program in 2013 after Joker Phillips went just 2-10 in 2012. While it took him a while to get going, by Stoops’ fourth year the program was bowl eligible. The Wildcats have now made six consecutive bowl appearances.

In 2018. Stoops led Kentucky to a 10-3 record and victory over Penn State in the Citrus Bowl. It was the first 10-win season the Wildcats since 1977. They repeated the feat again in 2021.

So why is it Stoops is getting no respect?

On3 Releases Ranking Of SEC Head Coaches

Jesse Simonton of On3 Sports released his list of the top coaches in the SEC on Monday. Fans seemed fine with Nick Saban grabbing the top spot with Kirby Smart at No. 2. Beyond that, things began to get testy.

Chip Kelly’s spot at No. 3 ahead of Jimbo Fisher raised eyebrows. Fisher’s national championship with Florida State and Kelly’s lack of SEC experience had fans shaking their heads.

https://twitter.com/Dub_C_Young/status/1538906833276002305?s=20&t=6xrd0PdxI4tEirtHNBflwQ

But the biggest point of contention surrounded Stoops.

https://twitter.com/nick__flip/status/1538906926125400070?s=20&t=6xrd0PdxI4tEirtHNBflwQ

Kentucky boosts don’t seem to care what others think of Stoops. They recently handed him a monster contract extension that runs through 2027 and makes him one of the country’s highest-paid coaches.

That alone should be enough to keep Stoops from getting too upset over what fans think of him.