Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Kentucky Hires Mark Stoops as New Head Football Coach

The University of Kentucky has hired Mark Stoops as their new head football coach.  Stoops' was the defensive coordinator at Florida State University since 2010.  So let's just take a look at Florida State's defense under Mark Stoops.

2010:  Florida State's defense was ranked #24 in the nation, versus Kentucky's #78 ranked defense.
2011:  Florida State's defense was ranked #41 in the nation, versus Kentucky's #95 ranked defense.
In 2012 (at the time of Stoop's hiring) Florida State was the #13 ranked defense in the nation versus Kentucky's #79 ranked defense.

All three seasons at FSU the defense was above average and this season is in the top 20.  (Recall that FSU has played two non-FBS schools in 2012 - so who know if that matters that much.)  On the other hand, FSU had the #105 ranked defense before Stoops arrived, so the dramatic turnaround and consistently above average performance seems to indicate that Stoops has a good defensive system that will benefit Kentucky's football program.