Mark Stoops


Mark Thomas Stoops is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach of the University of Kentucky football team. Stoops previously served as defensive coordinator at the University of Arizona from 2004 to 2009 and Florida State University from 2010 to 2012.

Early life

Stoops, one of six children born to Ron and Evelyn "Dee Dee" Stoops, attended Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio, where his father was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator. He is the brother of former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops and former Arizona head coach Mike Stoops, who also served as defensive coordinator for the University of Oklahoma until he was fired on October 7, 2018 after losing 48-45 to Texas.
After graduating from high school, Stoops played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes from 1986 to 1988.

Coaching career

Stoops was a graduate assistant coach at Iowa from 1989 to 1991, and then became the athletic director and defensive backs coach at Nordonia High School in Macedonia, Ohio.
In 1996, when Kansas State assistant Jim Leavitt was hired as the head coach for the South Florida Bulls, he hired Stoops as defensive backs coach.
Stoops served as the defensive backs coach for the University of Wyoming Cowboys from 1997–1999.
At Wyoming, Stoops served under head coach Dana Dimel. When Dimel was hired at the University of Houston, he took Stoops with him to join the Cougars as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach in 2000.

Miami (FL)

In February 2001, Stoops was named the defensive backs coach for the University of Miami Hurricanes, replacing Chuck Pagano, who left to go to the Cleveland Browns.

Arizona

Mark's brother, Mike, was hired as the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats for the 2004 season. Mike then hired Mark as part of his staff.

Florida State

On December 11, 2009, Stoops accepted the job as defensive coordinator at Florida State University.

Kentucky

On November 27, 2012, Stoops was hired as the new head coach of the University of Kentucky football program, replacing former head coach Joker Phillips, who was fired after a 2–10 season. In Stoops' first season as the Kentucky Head coach, he went 2-10, followed by back to back 5-7 seasons.
After an 0–2 start to the 2016 season, Stoops led the Wildcats to a 7–3 finish after that start and defeated their in-state rival, the eleventh-ranked Louisville Cardinals. They lost in the Taxslayer Bowl to Georgia Tech.
The 2017 season featured ups and downs and the breakout of star running back Benny Snell. They finished 7-5, losing afterwards in the Music City Bowl to Northwestern.
The 2018 season was a historic one for the Wildcats. Paced by Snell on offense and Josh Allen on defense, they snapped a 31-year losing streak to Florida, finishing 9-3–only the fourth time in school history that the Wildcats have won at least nine games. Kentucky defeated Penn State in the Citrus Bowl on January, 1st, 2019 giving the Wildcats their first 10 win season since 1977, and only their third in school history. Stoops was named SEC Coach of the Year, the first time a Kentucky coach had won the award since Jerry Claiborne in 1983.
The 2019 season was one of overcoming adversity. After a 2-3 start in which they lost all of their Quarterbacks to injury, Kentucky turned to Wide Receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. to take over at QB. With a revamped offense, the Wildcats finished the Regular Season 7-5 routing Louisville 45-13 on Senior Day. Kentucky capped the season with a thrilling win over Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl, as the Wildcats scored the winning touchdown with 15 seconds remaining for an 8-5 finish.

Personal life

Stoops is the younger brother of former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, former Oklahoma defensive coordinator and current Alabama assistant Mike Stoops, and Ron, Jr., the oldest of the brothers, who is an assistant coach at Youngstown State. Stoops and his wife Chantel have two sons, Will and Zach.

Head coaching record