Matt Jones on where Kentucky stands with Mark Stoops | Buyout details regarding Wildcats head coach

As Kentucky is on a bye week for week 7, Matt Jones from KSR joins Andy & Ari from his car to discuss the latest on Mark Stoops and his buyout with Kentucky. With the Wildcats sitting at 2-3 on the season, the angst is building with Big Blue Nation. With Mark Stoops’ insane buyout, Matt Jones breaks down the latest happenings in Lexington surrounding the UK athletic programs. What changes need to be made in Lexington, and what does Mark Stoops need to do to keep his job? Find out here as Matt Jones joins from Lexington.

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Andy, you know, this is a we’ll make it a bit bid. If he can’t hear me, you can say it what I’m saying to you. See, I can’t hear anything he’s saying. That’s fine. That’s great. That’s great. I think it’s selective selective deafness. All right. Just make a bid out of it. Okay. We are joined by Matt Jones, the founder of Kentucky Sports Radio. And Matt, you’re driving right now. Please be safe. Please be careful. I got you. I need to know because my pre-season assumption you you might have blown it all up because one of my biggest preseason assumption was because Mark Stops’s buyout would be payable in a lump sum within 60 days and it’s this massive number 36 37 million whatever it is that Kentucky wouldn’t do that. You said on the radio the money’s probably there if they if they need it. if they if they decide to go that route, how how did it get here? Well, let’s start with this. They don’t want to do it and it will be a very very very difficult pill to swallow. Um I don’t know, maybe you all do. How many contracts have ever had it to where the buyout is paid within 60 days or I I don’t know. Kevin Kevin Sumins’s was the big one. Kevin Sumland got two extra years at&m because of that. Yeah. So, I think I I think that it’s it’s very negative, but it’s hard to overreact to how uh toxic things are going to be if they keep losing this year. I mean, right now, people are kind of resigned to Kentucky not being good, but it’s more like if they finish three and nine, which if you look at their schedule is very possible. They play Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Vandy, Auburn, and Louisville. It’s not certain they win any of those games. If they finish three and nine, I don’t think Kentucky can afford to bring him back because there will be no donations for NIL. There will be no season ticket renewals or at least a huge downgrade on them. They just can’t do it. So, what I was told is, look, $37 million is awful. They don’t want to do it and they would hope to find a way around it. But they are aware that even with all the cost and this is a tough year for Kentucky because they’re doing expansions, they’re thinking about an entertainment district that they do there is an understanding that like in a doomsday scenario, you might just have to do it. Can you hear me now? Andy, ask him what a doomsday scenario is. Yes. Okay. The the the the funniest part here is I don’t know how this is happening, but Matt can’t hear Ari and I just think it’s selective. I think he’s pretending not to be able to hear him with Ari. I don’t know that Ari and I have ever have ever actually interacted and I like Ari’s stuff. So, it’s a shame that he decided to mute when he talks to me, but uh but at least I get to look at him while I’m doing it. Yeah. Yeah. Well, okay. But he he’s wondering Okay. the doomsday scenario. Is that is that three and nine or is it a certain way they lose or how does that happen? Because it’s this is a good question. Three and nine three and nine is doomsday. I think four and eight is pretty close to doomsday. Uh six and six he’s fine and then five and seven is the scenario you were talking about with Kevin Sumlin where I don’t think anyone would be happy but they’d probably just because of the 37 million swallow it and deal with it. Um, but I don’t think anybody, if you ask people, if you got them in a honest truth sura moment, nobody wants Kentucky to win five games. That’s the worst thing that could happen. They’d rather it be three and four, three or four and six. Cuz the thing is, if you were to win five, they’d have to beat two pretty good teams on their schedule, right? I mean, you look at Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, Vandy, Louisville. you win two of those, that’s those are two decent teams, right? So, I think if you win zero or you win one, then it’s it’s easier. Plus, the other thing is their road games, Tennessee tennis are Vandy, Auburn, and Louisville. If you had those games at home, you might feel like you could win those games, right? But you have to go on the road. And then the games in theory that you don’t think you’re going to win either way, Texas, Tennessee, and maybe Florida, you’re playing those at home. So I it’s it’s about a worstc case schedule scenario. It it is amazing to me and and you know I’m assuming that Stoops wouldn’t negotiate like a Bobby Bonia deal or anything like that to to stretch this out and make more money cuz uh there was a report from from somebody else last week about you know that that he went they said he went to the administration last year to to talk about negotiating a buyout and he was adamant about that after the Georgia game. We got that clip. Here’s Mark Stops after the Georgia game talking about that. Mark, there was a radio report that got a lot of traction yesterday that you approached the administration about negotiating an exit last year. Is there any truth to that? I mean, I I hate to give anything like that legs. There’s zero I told you last year, right? You know, I mean, you guys could write and say what you want about me, but I mean, I told you there’s zero chance I’m walking away. You know what I mean? Zero. And you know, there’s no quitting me, you know? So that that’s unequivocally 100% false, you know, and anybody says otherwise is lying. You said at the start, we’re not And I don’t want to address that crap no more. I don’t want to address that crap no more, Matt. Yeah, I didn’t believe that report when it came out. No offense, the person that that brought it up. I think what did happen is there was a conversation last the end of the year. You have to understand Mark Stops is a very firing guy. I think you all probably know that. And you can get in conversations with him where it can be it can be tough. I’ve been in them before, right? And he gets angry and then sometimes things happen and he comes back and everything’s fine. So I think they had a conversation a lot of which was about okay are you all going to invest in this program NIL etc. and there was some talk about it and maybe he got an answer he didn’t like and he said, “Well, if that’s the way you feel, then you could just buy me out.” Um, and but then they got to where they needed to be. Kentucky actually spent pretty good money on NIL this year. And I think everything was in a positive place. So, no, I do not believe he said go get go buy me out, I want to leave. I do not that didn’t happen. I’m not exactly sure why that came out, but I don’t think that’s true. Nor do I understand why in his best interest to do so because of the buyout and when it’s due. Like why would you ever negotiate for less? His stance needs to be fire me. Tell him that Andy. The Hule Black edition. Best complete meal that you can find. Take the powder. You throw it in the bottle. Take the bottle. You have a complete meal. 40 grams of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals. Fuel is the number one complete nutrition in the world. Use the promo code staples 15 for 15% off plus a free gift. Your first purchase is $75 more. Plus, check out Hule Daily Greens in one beautiful drink. You get 42 vitamins, minerals, and superfoods. Supergreens, adaptogens, lion’s mane mushroom, four grams of fiber, electrolytes, and antioxidants. So go to hule.com. That’s hueel.com. Use the code staples 15 for 15% off your first purchase of $75 more plus a free gift. Yeah, what what Ari said, Matt, is and I agree with this. Why would anybody in their right mind even entertain negotiating this thing down? If if somebody owes me $37 million in 60 days, by God, pay me $37 million in 60 days. Yeah. Well, that’s the rub. That’s the rub. There’s no incentive whatsoever for Marks. Mark Stoops has them by the, as they would say, the short hair. Like, there’s nothing they can do about it. I mean, really, they’re they’re they’re stuck. Now, the one the one little caveat that I would note is that a lot of coaches don’t really care what the fans think. Like John Caliperry, he either was oblivious to what the fans thought or did not care. It was like, it doesn’t matter. That’s not how Stoops is. He feels the criticism, feels it in his bones. He knows and he hates it. He wants to be liked. So that might play a small part. Very good relations with the donors that would have to pay this buyout. Like they’re very close. I would say they’re very good friends. So maybe there’s some way that something gets worked out that that that is different than in normal circumstances. But if you owe me $37 million, why would I take 15, right? I mean, why would you do it? And so I could see a world. I wouldn’t take 37 over 6 years unless you’re bumping that up to 50 over 6 years or 60. That could be that could be what happens. I think that’s the sneaky thing to see what happens is is there a way that it gets stretched out over time. That would not shock me because the problem for Kentucky is not money. They actually have more money than you would think for the success that the football program has had. The problem is literally this is the worst year it could have happened. The worst year it could have happened because they have a lot of stuff coming due and they have some investments they want to make and it’s just not an ideal to actually have the cash flow this year. Longer term, I think paying it would not be as big a deal. Well, I I cannot wait to see what happens. This this adds a lot of drama, I feel like, to the Kentucky Texas game next week, which could be dramatic anyway if Texas loses to Oklahoma. There there there’s, you know, going to be a lot of stuff going on in Austin, too. But, well, let me say this, by the way. One of the things Mark Stop’s always done a great job at is winning the game you do not think he will win, right? Like, he’s always been good at that. They I mean, they beat Old Miss last year. We were having these conversations last year and then they went and beat Old Miss on the road and all of a sudden the conversation stopped until the end of the year. I fully expect Mark’s going to win a game. Those games I read on the schedule. He’s going to win one of those. I don’t know which one it’s going to be, but he’s going to win one that nobody expects him to win. And that will but I that’s why I think he’s got to win two because Kentucky fans are kind of used to him winning one every year. It would not shock me if they beat Texas or they beat Florida or they beat Tennessee. But I think he’s going to have to show he wins more than one because unfortunately for him, he’s done that every year, including last year with that Old Miss win. I’m going to speak. I don’t know if you you do sign language. Ari, I wish I could read sign language. You know, in South Africa, sign language is an official language, and you could have actually uh been able to speak it. I just said you’re a very good-looking man. Uh Andy, I can’t hear you. The notion of You’re going to have to translate this for me. I will. He’s going to win a game or win two of those games and make things harder like to me is such a bizarre thought process because the entire point of being on the hot seat and the entire point that Kentucky fans are upset is because they’re not expected to win some of those games. Like that like winning a game as an underdog doesn’t do anything. The fact that Kentucky fell from a place where they were either favored or expected to win them is the problem, right? So, one, Matt, Ari says, “You’re very good-looking.” Uh, two, he said it it this conversation about winning a game you’re not supposed to win, and I actually feel like it’s a conversation Ari and I had about Florida after Florida beat Texas, too. But the fact that they keep win they’ll occasionally win a game they’re not supposed to win. Is that not the problem? Because Kentucky had gotten to a point under Mark Stoops where they were supposed to win most of the games. Yeah. And they’re not supposed to win most of the games. And that’s that seems to be the bigger issue. Here’s where fans are for Kentucky. This is how Kentucky fans judge the program. Three three games. South Carolina, Vandy, Louisville. That’s where they judge it. They like beating these other teams. I mean remember there were like five years in a row that we beat Florida or four out of five years but really South Carolina Vandy Louisville the assumption whether it’s fair or not in Lexington is okay we get it we might not be able to beat Georgia we might not be able to consistently beat Tennessee but there is no reason structurally we cannot beat Vandy South Carolina and Florida and excuse me Vandy South Carolina and Louisville and what happened is South Carolina has blown the doors off Kentucky two straight years not even been competitive. Vandy has beaten Kentucky in Lexington two of the last three years and then Louisville Kentucky had had owned Louisville for a long time and last year was uncompetitive and Kentucky quit. So I think the more interesting thing is they’ve already lost to South Carolina. Really was not all that competitive. Vandy and Louisville is where you see it because Kentucky fans are not they’re unreasonable when it comes to basketball. They are not unreasonable when it comes to football. They get it. But their theory is we play South Carolina, Vandy, and Louisville every year. There is no reason on earth those teams should be blowing us out. And last year all three of them blew Kentucky out. And this year, South Carolina already has. Well, I don’t know if this is all going to last this long, Matt, but I have a feeling like when Florida comes up to Lexington to play, we need to get the Gators Online crew and the the KSR crew together and like the, you know, our posters in for for Gators Online and our posters for KSR. They all need to gather maybe at KS Bar and commiserate because I feel like they’re kind of in the same boat right now. They are. Except Florida’s expectations should be a lot higher. That’s one of the best programs in the country. But here’s what I expect to happen. This is my prediction. Kentucky plays Texas next week closer than you would think. Probably loses at the end, but plays them close. They get destroyed by Tennessee. Everybody’s out, right? Then they they play like I don’t know when they play Florida, but they they end up beating right about then. Right about then. They’ll beat they’ll beat Florida. That’ll be my prediction. They will beat Florida and And then when they beat Florida, people are going to go see C and come into the Vandy and Louisville game with a chance to save the season and then they’ll end up losing both of them. That’s my prediction. 4-8 and they beat Florida as a win that gives people hope and then Vandy and Louisville rip it out of our bodies. That is also the best uh for ratings for KSR and for Well, no, people have already moved on. I mean, I’m in all serious on Mark Pope and basketball. See, that’s another thing. That’s an underrated part of why this has been tough for Mark. Mark had the benefit of Cal was very unlikable at the end and he was underachieving. And so fans loved Mark in comparison to Cal. The problem is they love Mark Pope. I mean, they love Mark Pope. And because uh Stoops now seems like the less likable of the two, that’s hurting him as well. And people are as excited about this Kentucky basketball team as they’ve been in a long, long time. And so people, I can tell you the moment Georgia scored those two touchdowns to end the first half or excuse me, Georgia scored and Kentucky didn’t score at the end of the first half, people switched to basketball at that moment. And they’ve spent too much money on football to allow that to happen because Kentucky does care about football. Kentucky fans do care about football. I think that’s nationally one of the biggest misconceptions like they KY’s better this year. They’re better than they were last year, but their schedule’s not going to show it cuz they’re not going to win these games, but they have more they have more talent than they did last year. This is going to be fascinating to watch. Matt Jones, thank you. I’m so glad you didn’t crash. We will figure out a way to get you to hear Ari, but I I I almost wonder if it’s like if we we need to have you see a doctor, but No, I don’t think it’s me. I didn’t hear the Mark Stops press there either, but I will say uh as the very first on three hire, even when on three wasn’t an actual thing, it was just a theory. It’s very nice to have you all uh on board. Oh, we’re so happy to be working with you, Matt. You you are the best. And uh thank you so much. Thank you guys. Drive safe.