(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)
Big Blue Links for Monday:
My column after Rich Brooks announces he is 80 percent sure he will not return for 2010: After what he called a disappointing loss to end a “disappointing” season, Rich Brooks said he thinks “maybe it’s time.” In fact, after his Kentucky team’s 21-13 loss to Clemson in the Music City Bowl on Sunday night here at LP Field, Brooks told first his team and then the media that he is 80 percent sure that he will not return to coach the team in 2010.”
Chris Low of espn.com writes that Brooks’ class will be missed: “I wasn’t surprised to hear the news because I knew the 68-year-old Brooks was pretty close to saying “so long” to a fine coaching career that goes all the way back to 1963 when he was an assistant freshman coach at Oregon State. But I was saddened.”
Mark Story of the H-L writes on the UK quarterback situation: “Joker Phillips said in the run-up to the Music City Bowl that Kentucky would have an open quarterback competition in the spring regardless of what happened in the game. UK’s 21-13 loss to Clemson showed the wisdom of that stance.”
Chip Cosby of the H-L writes the game story on the Music City Bowl loss: “Kentucky drove to the Clemson 39 on its second drive but was forced to punt. The Cats reached midfield late in the second quarter before punting. They also punted from their own 42 and 48. Kentucky had one final chance for a score and potential game-tying two-point conversion and looked in good shape when Ryan Tydlacka picked up nine yards on a fourth-and-3 fake punt from the Clemson 43. But UK would move the ball no further and Newton came up a yard short on a fourth-and-9 run from the Clemson 33.”
Herald-Leader photo slideshow from the Music City Bowl.
Rick Bozich of the C-J on Brooks’ 80 percent lean toward retirement: “Try 80 percent. That was the number that Brooks gave his players in the locker room after the game. He said the final decision will come in four or five days, but Brooks and several of his players certainly sounded like this game, Brooks’ fourth consecutive bowl, was his farewell with the Wildcats.”
Jody Demling has the game story for the C-J: “Running back Derrick Locke, on the other hand, said he will “return for my senior year and try to get this right.” He had sent his name to the NFL to evaluate his draft status and in recent days had been talking as of he would turn pro. The Tigers (9-5), who lost to Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, avenged a 28-20 loss to UK in the 2006 Music City Bowl. The defeat also snapped the Wildcats’ 18-game nonconference winning streak.”
Matt May of the Cats’ Pause on the Nashville news: “Rich Brooks has spent the last 50 years of his life intimately involved in the game of football, beginning with his days as a player at Oregon State all the way through leading a moribund Kentucky program to a record four consecutive bowl appearances. In a few short days it may all be a thing of the past.”
(The State photo/Rick Glickstein)
Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches says UK football at possible crossroads: “Rich Brooks walked into a never-ending pit of probation-riddled quicksand seven years ago. Surprisingly, maybe a bit miraculously, he planted pillar after pillar and built a tradition of stability and winning, two terms that had become foreign to the Kentucky football program. Now that Brooks has decided he might not return next year to coach the UK football team, the foundation he worked so steadily and fiercely to build might be shaken.”
Paul Strelow of The State writes on the Clemson victory: “There will be those who discredit the significance of Clemson’s triumph Sunday night because, under normal conditions, it was a matchup the team should win. But given the circumstances, which could have led to the Tigers mailing in their Music City Bowl performance - as they did three years earlier - the 21-13 victory against Kentucky stands as a feather in coach Dabo Swinney’s cap.”
Ron Morris of The State on game MVP C.J. Spiller: “Swinney first found Jacoby Ford, his senior wide receiver who hauled in a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Parker in the first quarter. The two embraced with Swinney keeping one eye out for the one player he most wanted to share this moment with. Then Swinney found C.J. Spiller, whose 8-yard touchdown sprint with 10:14 remaining put the finishing touches on Clemson’s 21-13 victory over Kentucky. The two hugged, their heads pressed tightly against each other for a good 30 seconds.”
Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger writes on Joker Phillips: “Joker Phillips knew that Rich Brooks was contemplating retirement. Still, UK’s head coach in waiting wasn’t prepared for Brooks to break that news to his players immediately after Sunday’s 21-13 loss to Clemson in the Music City Bowl.”
Mike Organ has the game story for the Tennessean: “Defense stole the spotlight Sunday in the 12th annual Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, which was supposed to showcase Clemson’s and Kentucky’s offenses. Clemson came up with the only turnover and then made another big stop in a 21-13 victory, ending a three-game bowl losing streak while snapping a three-game bowl winning streak for the Wildcats.”
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky and a 1981 graduate of the University of Kentucky, he covered UK football for 13 seasons before being promoted to columnist in 2000. Born in Paris, he graduated from George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester in 1977. He lives in Lexington with his wife and two sons. In 2010, his Sidelines blog was one of four Editor and Publisher's EPpy Award finalists for best sports blog. You can e-mail him at jclay@herald-leader.com.
I don’t want to spoil the party, but I’m still trying to figure out what Brooks’ announcement accomplished. “I’m 80% sure I won’t be back” (or whatever)–what exactly did that mean? Wouldn’t everyone be better off if he had just kept his mouth shut until he was 100% sure? I hate to point out the obvious, but Urban Meyer he ain’t. I applaud him for running a clean program and getting UK back to a bowl game. However, that only ruined the program. UK now settles for wallowing in mediocrity. Yes, they can now beat Little Sister of the Poor. So what. And if Brooks retires, that leaves us with Choker Phillips–an offensive coach whose play calling was just that: OFFENSIVE. UK is simply not interested in becoming a big-time football program. I thought maybe in my lifetime this would change. But it hasn’t. And it NEVER will.
I bet you’re a blast at all the Christmas Parties Donald!
All those remarks coming from a guy who has never coached a team in D1 football and the only play calling you have done has been from a lay-z-boy when you may have remarked to noone in particular - “I bet they pass it.”.
Rich Brooks did a phenomenal job in his time here and gave UK fans a belief they had a chance in every game they played.
If he leaves he’ll be missed.
Stay: And just how many D1 football games have YOU coached? Secondly, I don’t own a lay-z-boy. Oh, and Einstein, no one is TWO words; not one. Now, if you wish, you can get back to brown-nosing Mr. Brooks.
Pre-Brooks (and early Brooks, in the Mumme probation era) UK lost to little sister schools and SEC schools and were blown out of every game against a good team. UK now beats little sisters like we should and wins a few we shouldn’t, and go into every game thinking we have a chance. We have lost a few we shouldn’t have, but we have won more we shouldn’t have. Broos will be missed. Hagy, have fun at the new year’s partyies you plan to crash.
I bet Donald is not over 19 years old. Everyone else loves you Coach Brooks except maybe the 19 year old kid Donald.
Donald, son, you cannot be very old. As any long term Cat fan knows Kentucky football suffered through the Blanton Collier, Fran Curci, Jerry Claiborne, Bill Curry and Hal Mumme era, though Hal got us to some bowl games and had an exciting offense and then ruined it with the violations and probation. Then in comes the one year wonder Guy Morriss, who immediately runs off to Baylor for more money and did so poorly there that now he is out of college football.
Rich Brooks took over in that horrible situation. I was not for him coming as he did not do such a great job with the St. Louis Rams, and I thought he may be too old. But he endured all kinds of hardship, reduced scholarships, a tradition of losing, and trying to rebuild and recruit in the toughest league in America, the SEC.
And in his watch we actually went to four bolws in a row, and won three. We beat LSU when they were rated number 1 in the country and went on to eventually won the National Championship that year, I think. The quality of players has sky- rocketed as well. Andre Woodson, Trevard Lindley, Locke, Cobb, Micah Johnson, Steven Johnson, Dickey Lyons, Jeremy Jarmon, Cory Peters,and others provided highlight reels galore. Now we are not the doormats just above Vandy. He raised the consistency level at UK and made them competitive in almost every game.
I hope Joker is the future answer, and not his namesake, and just a another Joke. I hope he builds on Brook’s foundation. And I hope the Cats become a power in football and basketball. It is obvious the loyalty the Cats have to basketball and the acquistion of Calipari is going to make them a powerhouse on the Courts for some time, but the administration needs to put the same commitment into football. The football fans at UK have been rabid and faithful for years. The AD needs to monitor Joker and keep the momentum going. If Joker is not the answer, then time to move on quickly like they did with Billy Guillespie.
As to your comments about Brooks being no Urban Meyer, Meyer would not have been Meyer without all the football tradition he inherited at UF. Brooks has started the tradition here at UK, and hopefully it will continue so youngsters like you won’t have to suffer through years of frustration like us older fans have!