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November 29, 2025 • 84 mins

Matt and Billy recap the Cats' 41-0 loss at Louisville.

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, welcome everyone. It is the Local Toy Dealers KSR
postgame show, Final one of the UK football season. The
Cats get embarrassed in Louisville forty one to nothing, give
up forty one points for the second straight year to
the Cards, and finish the season five and seven, which
is what I said was purgatory. That's where we are.

(00:23):
You can give us a shout. We'll open up the
phones at the end of this segment. And here's the
way I'm going to do this today. Today, I think
I want to kind of talk about sort of the
game and my position on the program and then kind
of throw it to you all. And you know, in
the last few weeks we've talked a lot about what
would happen, what could happen. I think now is the

(00:44):
time for fans just to be able to say their
opinions what they think should happen. So our lines are closed,
will open them when I finish, and then and then
let you go start with the game. I'm not going
to go into detail on it. We got just destroyed
forty one to nothing. That means in the last two
years we've lost to Louisville eighty two to seventeen eighty

(01:09):
two to seventeen against two Louisville teams that, towards the
end of the season for both of those years, were
on a downward trend. They still found a way in
consecutive years to not just beat us, but humiliate us.
Today is the most humiliating. Today is probably the most
humiliating Kentucky Louisville game of the Stoops era. Not necessarily

(01:35):
because of the margin, although it's an insane margin. I'll
note it's one point more than the Joker Phillips lost
to Vandy that basically ended his time here, but also
because of by game time, I think we were the favorite.
I think it flipped right at game time and we
were the one and a half point favorite. This was

(01:56):
a Louisville team that had lost three straight games, that
was without their time top four running backs. They started
a running back who was a walk on freshman from Ashland,
Kentucky that at this week last year played against Corbin
High School and had sixty one yards rushing and we
gave up one hundred and thirteen yards. We gave up

(02:19):
fifty two more yards than Corbin did last year. That's
what happened today. It's a humiliating loss, and it was
a game that was never close. The moment they blocked
that punt, our team, it was over. And in terms
of in terms of all of you watching, you never

(02:41):
thought we had a chance to win after that. And
then they quit for the second straight week, they quit,
which is in some ways even more embarrassing than the
final result that you quit against Vandy and Louisville in
back to back weeks, when winning any of the games
would have gotten you a Bowl birth you not only
got humiliated in both of them, you quit. So it's

(03:06):
a terrible loss and there's no hiding it. It's awful,
but it's also not worth breaking down because the team
on the field is not going to be on the
field next year. Probably the most interesting thing coming out
of the game is that Vince Marrow tweeted at KSR
from the sidelines with six minutes to go, Billy was
six minutes to go. He was tweeting about Nick Roush.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Incredible.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
That is I mean, that is incredible, and it's very
Vince Marrow. Vince, I'm sure you're listening right now. Congrats,
but six minutes to go, that's insane. So ultimately, talking
about the game is a waste of time. What matters
is the future, and what matters is what needs to

(03:52):
happen going forward. And those of you that have listened
to this show for a long time know that I
I am much more of an incrementalist than most people are.
Most people sort of ride the emotions of the moment.
They're up there down I'm like that during the game.
But then I try to sit back and go, Okay,

(04:14):
this is probably the lawyer in me. What is the
argument on either side for things? So I have been
with Mark Stoops going back to the beginning of the season,
thinking okay, how is it to figure out what we
should do with Mark Stoops? And you may remember I said,
if he wins four games, you got to make a change,
and if he wins six games, you're gonna bring him back.

(04:37):
But five wins would be the worst scenario. I was
wrong about that. Five wins was not the worst scenario.
Five wins with two humiliations to end the season is
the worst scenario. Five wins with Indiana going undefeated, Vandy
having a shot if they win today to being ten

(04:59):
and two, and losing to Louisville forty one to nothing.
That is probably the worst scenario. After the game's over,
Mark Stoops says, basically, actually, let me read the quote
because I want to get it exactly right. Mark Stoops
has asked about his future twice. He was asked in
the press conference and then he was asked by Tom

(05:22):
Leach in the press conference. He said, you think I'm
gonna walk away? Are you kidding me? There's zero percent
chance I walk away. I'm gonna be here as far
as I'm concerned. Zero means zero zero percent chance I
walk It's pretty definitive. Billy Right said zero, one, two, three,

(05:44):
four times, so you know his take on it. Well,
this is my take Kentucky football and really even broader
than that, Kentucky Athletics. It's time for a change, and
it is time for a separation between UK football and

(06:07):
Mark Stoops. And that's hard to say in some ways
because I feel like we're where we were two years
ago with John cal Perry. Let's talk about because I
think it's important to know what Stoops has done. Stoops
has been the best coach at Kentucky of my lifetime

(06:28):
for the majority of his career. When he came here,
this program was abysmal. It had two wins. The fans
were not only defeated, they had basically stopped caring. And
he did something I did not think you could do
during that era, which is recruit at Kentucky and bring

(06:49):
in players that could make you competitive in the SEC
on a consistent basis. I didn't think you could do
that here back then. I didn't think you could recruit.
He made Ohio's base and he created a program that
you could actually be proud of. Not only did they
have two nine win seasons, they had multiple six's and sevens.

(07:11):
They had they were but more importantly, you went into games,
almost all of them, thinking you have a shot here.
And think about all the NFL players he produced. At
one point one season of our offensive line had more
players who went to the NFL than the twenty five

(07:31):
years prior combined. That's a pretty amazing thing and he
should be given all the credit in the world for
doing that. But ultimately, if you want to have a
successful program, a successful business, a successful life, you cannot

(07:52):
focus on the past. You have to focus on the future.
And the reality is that going forward, I cannot see
a scenario where it is going to work. If Stoops
is back. I just can't, and there are a number
of reasons for that. One is I don't think this

(08:18):
regime is adapting to the modern era of college football.
I don't think they know what kind of player they
want to recruit. They had a history of success by
recruiting guys, developing them, and watching them come up the system.
That's what he was good at. Then the portal started

(08:39):
and they combined a handful of those guys with the
people they had and it worked. But now it's a
different system. Now the system is lots of portal, handful
of recruited guys, pay money, and so far they have
not shown an ability to be good at that. They've

(08:59):
picked the quarterbacks at least two years in a row,
depending on what you think of Devin Leary. Three. They
have brought in players that not only have not necessarily helped,
they've brought in culture issues to the program. And I
think it's pretty clear, even looking at this year's team
that the vast majority of guys that had success were

(09:21):
who guys that they had recruited out of high school,
who played as freshman or sophomores and did better than
we thought, but who have been the disappointments the people
in the portal, and there's no way you can win
in twenty twenty five without crushing the portal, and it's
clear they don't know how to do it. Last year,

(09:42):
Stoops blamed that on not having enough money. I think
he had a little bit of a point. Well, this
year they spent a lot of money, and I think
the team is a little bit better, But they only
had one more win, and they actually lost to Louisville
by more than they did last year, lost to Vanderbilt
by more than they did last year, and they lost

(10:03):
a Tennessee by more than they did last year. So
did it matter? I don't really think it did. But
beyond the on the field product, it's clear from Mark's
comments he's not gonna change. Tom Leech asked him, I thought,
as nice as you could ask him, what do you
think you are you gonna be in the seat next

(10:25):
year and what are you gonna do? And his answer
was basically like, well, we're gonna recruit and develop. It's
the same answer that he's given for fifteen years and
an answer that's just not gonna work in twenty twenty five.
He said, we're going to work like we always do.

(10:45):
We're gonna try to build this roster. You know, we've
been in tough spots before and we're going to continue
to improve. Is that an inspiring message? Is that a
message that makes you think, go it's not for me.
This college football is a completely different sport than it

(11:08):
was four years ago. You can now win at places
like Kentucky. I don't know if that was true fifteen
years ago, but you can. You can spend money, you
can do it intelligently, you can coach at a high level,
and you can have success. And there's nothing to me

(11:28):
that says going forward that that can happen here. I
wish it did. I like Mark, I sat here and thought,
I didn't even watch the second half of this game.
I just kind of walked around downtown Lexington trying to
think about what I was going to say, because I mean,
I knew the game was up, so if it happened
the second half, I didn't even see it because I

(11:49):
knew what was going to happen. And as I walked around,
the people I saw or who screamed at me out
of their car, were all saying the same thing, fire stoops,
you gotta get rid of Stoops. This fan base is
for the most part, I don't think it's completely but

(12:10):
for the most part out they just are. I'm a
hockey fan now because of my Carolina Hurricanes, and every
year before the hockey season starts, the athletic does something
where they rank the thirty two teams by how much
hope their fan base has. I always like to read
it because you can kind of see, like, where are
the fans on their team. I have a question for you, Billy,

(12:34):
if they did an sec hope rankings with the fan
base next year, if we bring Stoops back, what place
are we going to be in?

Speaker 2 (12:41):
I'm gonna say dead last.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
We're going to be in sixteenth because the teams that
had less hope than us, what did they do? They're
switching coaches to coach Yeah, Arkansas, Florida, Auburn. The teams
that used to be on our level, Vandy, Missouri are
excited about their futures. We would be last and I

(13:04):
don't I think we would be last and it wouldn't
even be close. This van base is just kind of
over it and the reality is two weeks ago he
had a chance. We were five and five with two
games where it was programs that you should be competitive with,

(13:27):
and we went out and got destroyed both times. Destroyed.
That flips it for me. I was on the edge before,
but that flips it for me. He knew what was
at stake in those games, the team knew, and not

(13:49):
only did we not win, we got destroyed and we
quit in both games. How in the world am I
going to see that and then assume that next year
is going to be better? What is it there that
gives me hope? A big part of football, a big
part of life, a big part of sports, is you

(14:09):
hope for the future. I don't know what the hope is.
I just don't and I want Mark to succeed, but
I just don't think the likelihood is high. We were
talking the other day and Ryan wanted to bring him back,
and Drew said there should be a separation. Shannon and
I were kind of in the middle, but then Drew

(14:31):
asked a question I thought was a very good question,
whether you bring him back or not? Do you think
next year it'll work? And I realized later that my
answer to that question was no. So if I don't
think it's going to work, why am I doing it? Again,
what's the point. I don't want to act like Mark

(14:52):
Soops has been a disaster. I think he's been like
a really good coach here. But when it's over, it's over.
Some people know they've been in relationships and it can
have been great. But for people who've ended them, they
know sometimes there's a moment when it's just over. And

(15:18):
when it's over, it's over. And you can put it
off until your kids graduate high school, and you can
put it off until you pay off your house, and
you can put off for a million reasons. But when
it's over, it's over. And I just think this is over.
It's just over. So how do you get there? That's

(15:41):
been my question to people. I don't think there's an
easy answer, but you know what, I've become convinced in
the last couple of weeks. I think you just have
to do it. You have to find a way to
get the money, and you got to make the change.
Say you bring him back, you oweing thirty seven million dollars.

(16:03):
Let's say you bring him back and next year doesn't work.
I would ask you how many of you all think
it's gonna work next year? All right, let's say it
doesn't work next year, you know what you're oweing them,
Billy what twenty six million dollars, So you still got
to owe him a lot of money. The problem was
the contract, which brings me to my second point. The

(16:27):
best athletic director in the history of Kentucky is Mitch Barnott.
If you look at it, the success he's had here
is unbelievable. He has taken a school that was basically
a basketball only school, and for most of his tenure
he's had a competitive football program, a competitive women's basketball program,

(16:49):
won a national championship in volleyball, went to the World
Series in baseball and softball, and produced Olympic our old
record holding track stars, and for much of that time
been goodirly good at basketball, including winning a title. He's
been here twenty three years. I think his record is

(17:12):
really good. But I also have to say it's time
to move on. It's time for Mitch to do what
I think he'll do anyway, but hand it off to
somebody else. UK athletics is behind, and as good as
he's done, and the things that matter now, we're way behind.

(17:37):
And we screwed up our Nile system. Mitch waited two
years too long and we're behind. Luckily, in today's world
you can still catch up, but we are behind, and
it's because of his personal aversion to it. That's a
massive mistake in the realm of being a CEO. It's

(17:59):
an almost unf forgive them, unforgivable mistake. You took the
future of your product and you'd refuse to adapt, and
you caused your company to be buying that's number one,
number two in an almost unprecedented way from any other
athletic director in the country. You gave two of the

(18:20):
worst contracts that have ever been given to coaches, not
because you gave them, but because you let the agents
put in a provision that required you to pay them immediately.
No other coach except Jimbo Fisher has ever gotten a
deal like that. And what happened to the ad that
gave Jimbo Fisher that deal? He got fired. You got

(18:46):
bailed out because one coach left, but you were gonna
keep him. You did the video with him. You got
bailed out, but as Stoop's postgame comments make clear, you're
not getting bailed out of this one. You made a
unforgivable in the business term mistake. You made a contract

(19:10):
where not only do we owe the money, we have
to pay it in sixty days. I think if that
sixty day provision wasn't there, he'd be let go. But
if he's not let go, it will be because of
your decision. And you did it not once, you did
it twice behind on nil way behind two contracts that

(19:37):
I think are egregious. And then a future that I
would say is at best a little tenuous. The new
JMI Inil deal, I don't know about that. I was
told it was the future and the whole country was
going to follow, and so far no one has. We're
still the only one doing it like that. And I

(20:00):
got to tell you, at least, looking at trying to
lock up these top basketball recruits, I'm a little bit
worried about how that's gonna work. So twenty three years
of success, twenty three years is a long time, And
sometimes you can have people who are legends in their
jobs and have unprecedented success, and there comes a time

(20:25):
where you just need to move on, And there comes
a time for everybody that you just need to have
a change. There's a song I really like by one
of my two or three favorite artists, Tom Petty and
it's called it's time to move on, and he has
the course is like it's time to move on, It's
time to get going. What lies ahead I have no

(20:47):
way of knowing, but under my feet grass is growing.
It's time to move on, It's time to get going.
That's how I feel about UK Football and that's how
I feel about UK Athletics. The two people in those
positions have done an amazing job, but under our feet,
in both levels, grass is growing and it's time for

(21:11):
UK Football and UK Athletics to get going. Eight five
nine two twenty two eighty seven. That's my take. Forgive
me for my length, will now go to you A
five nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven. It's
a local Towityter Dealers KSR postgame show. Well done getting
the song there, Billy, It's like you're like Shannon getting

(21:32):
doing the song that I that I refer to. Well done.
You've had a busy day and you got that made
it happen.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
Oh, it's time to get going, Matt you go.

Speaker 1 (21:41):
Did you know that song? Or is that like before
your time?

Speaker 2 (21:44):
A little before my time? But I are you like it?

Speaker 1 (21:46):
I love Tom Petty like Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Tyler Childers.
If I was to have like one, I mean, these
people are dead except Tyler Childers, so I don't think
I can see them, but like that would be my
perfect bill, would be like those three. But that's a
good line, very unlikely to happen at this point. A
five nine two eight, twenty twenty seven. One person says, Matt,

(22:08):
that was amazing, but it was also clearly written. Is
that what you did during the second half? Mario's standing here?
Did I write any Did I even have notes? That
was just that was just off the top of my head.
But also I thought about what I was gonna say,
but I didn't write it down. Mario can tell he
was sitting there. I was watching his head bob yes

(22:29):
or no, as I was saying, Hey, if I'm nine
two eighth, twenty twenty seven, I've talked enough, let's just
go to you all might go ahead, Mike, Matt.

Speaker 3 (22:40):
So, my buddies were asking me, or asking.

Speaker 4 (22:44):
Us what we thought the prediction or the score of
the game would be, and I said it would be
the most Kentucky football thing ever if they got blown
out in this game. And lo and behold it became
into existence. What do you want to nothing? I got
a question? Could you educate me on an il for
just a second.

Speaker 1 (23:04):
Sure, Well, as much as I know, I don't, I
don't understand.

Speaker 4 (23:08):
So does it hurt Kentucky that they are like baseball
is good?

Speaker 3 (23:17):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (23:17):
I think I think yes, I do think it's an issue.
I think it is hard to be in everything school
going forward, so to be in everything school going forward.
And I think that is an issue that a lot
of the secondary programs that UK are thinking about. But
I think you have to do what Craig Skinner's doing
with volleyball. He's kind of creating his own little in

(23:38):
Aisle thing with donors there that's working. But yes, I
think something that's difficult for UK football is that we need,
we want UK basketball to be really good. But with
that said, so does Louisville And they beat US forty
one to nothing, right, so that's not an excuse for
this season.

Speaker 3 (24:01):
Right So?

Speaker 1 (24:03):
And los also Louisvills women's basketball team's good, Louisville's baseball
team's good, like Louis's volleyball team's good. Like they're in
the same possession position we are. And they just destroyed
US two years in a row.

Speaker 4 (24:16):
So at the end of the day, it comes down
to having people that make good decisions.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
I totally agree with you, appreciate the call. Ultimately, I
think being smart is more important now than it's ever
been in terms of making the decisions, because now a
lot of the decisions that are going to determine whether
or not you are successful are decisions not based on

(24:45):
how well you coach them up, but how will you
make decisions be they on the field or in the
boardroom before let's go to uh, Jerry, go ahead, Jerry.

Speaker 5 (24:59):
Man.

Speaker 6 (24:59):
I agree with David thing you said everybody, and I
appreciate you saying that. But you know, I got two
things don't want to bother me more than anything to work.
This is two weeks in a row that this team
is quit. I set back and watched Louigill played last
week and gets this MU gave up almost five hundred
total yards and they completely dominated US today. And I

(25:21):
hated for color Body, but he never he never did
have a shot today in that game.

Speaker 1 (25:25):
He really didn't have.

Speaker 5 (25:26):
Both.

Speaker 1 (25:27):
I appreciate it. Called Louisville and Kentucky quit last week.
Louill quit against a SMU or was it Clemson they
played last week? I guess it was Clemson.

Speaker 2 (25:35):
Was he only scored six points?

Speaker 1 (25:36):
Yeah, So both teams came into this game having quit
on their last game, but they got up for it
and we didn't, so they were more ready. Todd, Go ahead, Todd, Todd,
go ahead, Todd.

Speaker 7 (25:55):
Can you hear me?

Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yes?

Speaker 7 (25:57):
Okay, yeah, man, I agree with everything you said. Stoops
has done some great things here and I hate to
see that his legacy has kind of come down to this.
But is there a world that that was just coach
speak after the game, and that he may agree to
a lesser buyout to kind of say face and walk away,

(26:18):
or is he going to dig in like Brian Kelly
you think?

Speaker 1 (26:21):
I don't know. I would have thought. I've never known
Stoops to be someone who doesn't mean what he says,
so I think I wouldn't have thought that was going
to be what he said in the postgame, But he did,
so I have to think he believes that. And while
I would wish selfishly that Stoops would be open to something,

(26:45):
whether it be extending the payout over a term of
years or whether it be taking less ultimately asking a
person not to take money a contract says they give them,
they don't have to do that. And so while I
part of me wants to ask him to, at the
end of the day, the fact we owe him thirty
seven million dollars if we do it, ultimately, that's Mitch

(27:07):
Marnhart's fault. It's not Mark Stoops's fault.

Speaker 7 (27:11):
Right, you know, Yeah, I just fut, it's his fault.
We're in this same spot again, just just the whole
cow situation, and then you turn around have done it
to us again.

Speaker 1 (27:20):
That's right.

Speaker 7 (27:22):
Do you think that season ticket holders? Do you think
that takes a hit? And honestly, I would love to
have season tickets. I have a son at Eku right
now and he said, don't you dare buy season tickets
right now?

Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (27:34):
And I would love to buy them, but I just
don't want to in this kind of situation.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
Really, Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I appreciate the call.
I think it will certainly lose some the questions how many?
I mean, you know, I think some people have season
tickets for social reasons, so like, I don't know, I
don't know. I think attendance is usually a better measure
than actual tickets sale. But I don't know. Listen if

(27:59):
they do, if they do bring those, if they do
bring them back, like I mean, they they couldn't have
handled this offseason worse in pretty much every way possible.
And you know, how do you sell this to the
I just don't know how you sell this back to
the fans? How? I mean, what is there to be

(28:22):
excited about them? I guess Cutter, maybe some of these
young receivers, but I mean, they just got destroyed. So
I don't know. Let's go to uh, Isaac, what's up? Isaac?

Speaker 3 (28:38):
Hi?

Speaker 1 (28:38):
Am, Matt, how are you good? What's up?

Speaker 8 (28:43):
I've just kind of been growing apathetic towards his team
this season, like it's I mean, it's time for a
change for sure. I mean, Barnestewkes has been the coach
for my whole life, but he's got to go. But
my main point is, if if I were Miss Barnhart
and Mark Steve's Agent's coming to me and putting that
provision on the table where we have to pay in

(29:04):
sixty days or who or Mark steps will walk if
that provision is not put in, how does Miss Barnhart
just not let him walk? In my opinion there's no
coach in the country that is worth putting that provision
in the contract.

Speaker 1 (29:17):
Yeah, I mean, I agree with you in hindsight, I
don't know what happened in that moment. I wasn't in
the room. Did he have another job offer? I think
when they did that contract there was a lot more.
I mean, Stoops was very popular, so it would have
been hard if he walked away. At the same time,
though part of me would say, since I don't know

(29:37):
of any other coach in the country that has that provision,
I think he got out bluffed by Jimmy Sexton. The
only other person that got that was Jimbo Fisher, who
was coming off a national championship. And while he was
a failure, he also today said his protege Mark Stoops
that Louisville was a racehorse and we were what a
wounded donkey or something, and that's his mentor right that

(30:02):
said that. So, yeah, I at best and I appreciate
the call. At best, Mitch got vastly out negotiated in that.
That's the best read of it. At worst, he's just
bad at that. You know, the other provisions in the contract.
I don't even mind. I don't even mind the money amount,

(30:25):
because at the time we didn't want him to leave.
I don't even mind the term of years. I just
mind that sixty day provision because nobody else has that.
That's not an industry norm. And I know of three
coaches that have gotten that, and two of them were here.
That just doesn't make sense, the hateful truth. What does

(30:45):
that mean?

Speaker 2 (30:45):
Billy that's his name?

Speaker 1 (30:48):
All right? Go ahead?

Speaker 9 (30:50):
Yeah, fire Mark States and firebarn Heart, And I appreciate
the call.

Speaker 1 (30:54):
Well, there you go. It's kind of what I thought
was when I saw that. When I saw that, I
just kind of thought that's what was coming. James, Go ahead, James, James.

Speaker 5 (31:06):
After the game, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm here, hell looking here?

Speaker 1 (31:08):
Yes, go ahead.

Speaker 5 (31:10):
Sorry about that. So immediately after the game, despite the performance,
with all the noise going on, Tutter wants to stay.
Cutter wants to be a Wildcat, and I really like
seeing that. But my worry is if what if changes
do happen, how likely is he to stay or how
likely is he, you know, to leave or transfer out?
I mean, he could be a high target for some

(31:32):
really good football team.

Speaker 1 (31:33):
Well, I mean Mark, So Mark clearly screwed up earlier
this week, saying that he was one hundred percent in.
As a matter of fact, how do you know he
screwed up because he walked it back in the postgame.
I kind of heard that the Bully folks didn't like that. Now,
with that said, Bully did say after the game he
wants to be at Kentucky. He did say wants to

(31:54):
be at Kentucky. I will note, I'm I can't help
but parse people's words. I do think it matters. He
said I want to be Kentucky. He did not say
I will be at Kentucky. Mark Stoops said we have
lots of players locked up, Billy. He did not say
we have Bowley locked up, right, So I mean those
those things matter. With that said, I think there is

(32:17):
a very very good chance Bowley is back, and I
think most of the young players that have done well
this year, if Stoops were to come back, would also
be back. But I don't think for me that's enough
to just say, well, let's just run it back.

Speaker 5 (32:35):
I totally agree with that. Thank you for taking the.

Speaker 1 (32:37):
Call, Appreciate the call and listen. You know, I think
people probably know this. It's not easy for me to
say that stuff because there's probably a good chance he
will be back and things are not going to be
great for me for saying that. You know, they're probably
not gonna be very happy, either Mark or the administ
like Barnhardt and those guys for me saying it. But

(32:59):
I also just have to tell you how I feel.
And I really didn't get to the point that I
was like, we just have to do it until halftime
tonight because I still was like, well, it's a lot
of money. But the money was always the issue for me,
and the money is still an issue. I can't magically

(33:21):
say it's gonna appear. But I now am like, what
are we doing if we bring back? Like, what are
we doing? What is gonna happen? What is gonna change?
I mean, I could pull up that schedule next year,
do you I mean winning six games? I mean I don't.
Maybe you see it, I don't, Nick, go ahead and Nick.

Speaker 3 (33:43):
Hey, Matt, what's up?

Speaker 7 (33:46):
I was wondering, Uh, how do you think Mark Steeps
lost the locker room between from now in Tennessee Tech.

Speaker 1 (33:54):
You know, I don't know if he lost the locker room.
I haven't heard that he lost the locker room. I
just think, you know, he wasn't able to get him
to play that. I don't think that means like they
hate him. I actually think the opposite. I think those
guys want to succeed for him. I think, especially this group,
I think last year they lost the locker room. I
don't think they lost it this year, especially the young guys.

(34:16):
I just think, you know, they just couldn't do it.
You can, you can have like, you can have a
nice guys, and you just can't get it done. And
so I don't think he lost the locker room, at
least that I've heard. I appreciate the call. I do
think he lost the locker room last year, but I

(34:39):
don't think that happened at least from what I've heard
this year. Andrew, go ahead, Andrew.

Speaker 10 (34:46):
That long time who I was getting kicked off a
computer's high school listening to J Lucas never called him before,
but uh on a football and basketball I'm fully prepared
to get whipped on Tuesday. I just want to know
where's this department called? Like, what what is the motivation

(35:10):
for me to continue to support the program? Donate to
in I l by pickets to both Ghost Sports.

Speaker 1 (35:18):
Well, I mean, I think the motivation for basketball is
we're only six games into the season. Football, though, I
think especially the donating nil, I think that's a fair
question where you like, who's excited to give to ANIL
for football next year?

Speaker 11 (35:33):
Not me?

Speaker 1 (35:34):
I mean who is excited for that? I don't know
who those people are?

Speaker 12 (35:40):
Right?

Speaker 10 (35:41):
I'm not poor? I mean I'm you know, I'm making
okay money UK grad with the with the bed listening
to the UK football games for me to sleep right
by the stadium as a baby. You know, I'm I'm
but I just don't understand why I'm at What is
what stoops have to go? You can't keep doing that.
I think Polk can get it right. That's a separate issue.

(36:02):
But but the stupid thing.

Speaker 13 (36:06):
We got to make a move.

Speaker 1 (36:11):
Appreciate it.

Speaker 5 (36:11):
Call.

Speaker 1 (36:11):
I think a lot of people agree with you. Yeah,
I don't know how you. I don't know how you
would get in I old donations for next year for football.
I mean, you know, maybe they will, but I don't know.
And I I just like just think about people sometimes
say we focus too much on PR but let me

(36:33):
just let me just give an example of where I
think Mitch is unbelievably behind the times. When's the last
time you all heard Mitch speak? Anybody know?

Speaker 5 (36:46):
No?

Speaker 1 (36:46):
I don't even know now counter that with other ads.
I've heard the ad at old miss speak like four
times in the last few weeks. Mitch Bornhardt says anything
we hear from him like twice a year. It's absurd.

(37:08):
Even during all of this happening with Stoops, he never
said a word, even when we were two and five, Like,
he never says anything. Can you remember the most passionate
Mitch Barnhart moment of the last five.

Speaker 2 (37:21):
Years, maybe after hiring Pope?

Speaker 1 (37:25):
Okay, but again that's an official press con Like true,
he was at football media Day, But has he said
a word since then? Like he needs to speak today.
Let me put it like this, if he's gonna bring
Mark Stoops back, he needs to say it right now.

(37:46):
Like every moment you don't say it, what happens, Billy, The.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
Void is filled.

Speaker 1 (37:51):
The void is filled. So if you're going to bring
him back, you need to say it right now now.
If you're not, or if you're thinking about it, then
that's a different question. But if Mitch knows he's bringing
Mitch Stoops back, he should be talking, because every moment
he doesn't talk, people are going to think, well maybe,

(38:12):
And I don't know that he ever thinks about the
pr aspect of any of this. I think they are
so bad at pr in the football and athletic department
that it's like sometimes I go listen, I volunteer to
help you just do better, But they're just not good
at it. Let's go to Brad. Go ahead, Brad.

Speaker 14 (38:35):
They three practical steps. Number one, get the attorneys in
the room to see if they can negotiate out of
the sixty or six or ninety.

Speaker 1 (38:45):
Day sixty days.

Speaker 14 (38:48):
That's step one. You can't get it. Next thing, you
go to the money number two. Number three if you can't.
If you can't get the money, I think you got
to make a switch with the I guess the border
show athletic department.

Speaker 1 (39:02):
I don't think that's a oh yeah, that's not an
impress I mean that's that's at least a logical plan.
I also think, look one more thing about both Stoops
and Mitch. Let's say you believe they're both have a
positive future. Let's say you believe they'll both turn it around. Billy,
how many years could they possibly have left. How many

(39:23):
years is Mitch really gonna go from now on? Right?
Like at Max at Ras not two three. So let's
just go ahead and do it right because this is
the most important year or two that this will set
up college sports for the next twenty years. There's something

(39:44):
about people who have a lot of success, Mario, that
they feel like no one else can do it, and
that's not true. You can be successful and then someone
after you can do it too. Remind me of this
billion like eight or ten years or maybe five. Yeah,

(40:06):
when you give it up, right, But like for me,
it was really hard for me to like hand over
the website. It was like I built this, like can
I No, I need it? But you know what they
do fine, they're good. They don't need me. Mitch, He's
not the only person that can run an athletic department.

(40:28):
I saw no filter the cut man say on Twitter, like, well,
who you're gonna get? You think Mark Soops is the
only guy that can go five and seven. If we
were ten and two, Billy, that might be different. But
we're five and seven. Yeah, we can find other people
to go five and seven. So you know, just like

(40:52):
Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi and like, you don't have
to do it forever. You can let someone else do
eight five nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven.
We'll take a break. Be right back. It's a Local
Toy Dealers KSR postgame show. Welcome back. It is the
Local Toy Deers KSR postgame Show. Eight five nine two

(41:14):
eighth twenty two eighty seven. One person says Matt, I
love you. I think you're very smart. But you own
a restaurant. It's built on a radio show, and you
cannot broadcast the radio show through the speakers without feedback.
Hire a smart person, like you tell Bernhardt to hire
a smart person to get it to work. Fairpoint, that
is a problem, touoche, Yes, touche. We can never get
the equipment to work. But that's why if I was

(41:35):
running like an audio department, I wouldn't hire me, right.
I feel like that's kind of where we are. One
person rides Mat, I saw you walking downtown and I thought,
isn't the game on? True? I wasn't gonna watch a
second half. I mean, what was the point I watched
first half? I thought I had somebody. I texted somebody

(41:57):
said if if we come back, let me know, and
I'll pop in some and watching because I was trying
to think of what I was gonna say, and I
need to get my steps in. And then I had
to go shave.

Speaker 2 (42:07):
Oh yeah, you came in. You said you needed shaving crops.

Speaker 1 (42:09):
I forgot shaved because, like you know, now, my beard
grows gray if I don't if I don't do it
all right, One person says, madam, have you a list
of names? Who is working at Kentucky on July first?

Speaker 5 (42:21):
I like this?

Speaker 2 (42:22):
Okay, Mark Stoops.

Speaker 1 (42:24):
Bush Hamden, Uh, Brad White, Mitch Barnhardt. Okay, so this
is not a who I think should be working here,
but who I think will be. I think Bush Hampden
is almost not certainly, but very unlikely to be here

(42:44):
next year. At this point, I think he could have
been absent these last two games. Brad White, I think
is probably gonna no matter what Stoops does, do something else.
So that's another thing you got to think about. If
Stups comes back, we might have two new coordinators. Is
that good for a person that has one year to
kind of show it? I think Mitch Barnhardt is gonna

(43:09):
step away. I hope that's again. I'm not calling for
his job in the sense of like he should be fired,
but I hope he does. It's time. It's time for
him to move on. And then for Mark, I think
it's over, but I don't think he knows it's over.
And I'm not sure it's again. It's like a divorce, Okay,

(43:32):
husband and wife both in their hearts know it's over.
Husband's in denial, thinks maybe if he can just act
a little better and keep the wife around. Wife knows
it's over. Does she think she ought to stay a
couple more year for the kids, or do you just

(43:53):
go ahead and do it now? That's where I think
we are. That's the analogy in my opinion. And all
their friends are like, it's probably time. You know, you
two can't stop fighting. Yeah, Like, that's where we are.
I just it's it's over. It was a good run.

(44:16):
It was a really good run, and in Pitch Barnhardt's case,
it was a great run. But it's over. Let's go
to Robert. What's up, Robert?

Speaker 15 (44:25):
What's going on that?

Speaker 1 (44:26):
What's up?

Speaker 15 (44:26):
I'm sorry I missed your intro. It sounded like it
was epic. I will go back and catch it.

Speaker 1 (44:30):
Yeah, we'll happen up on YouTube and then Mario's making
a little video of it toobe go ahead.

Speaker 15 (44:36):
I've got to ask, so earlier this week you've been saying, hey, Mitch,
maybe going after this this calendar or this sports a year,
like in May, June, whatever it may be. I mean,
if that's the case, then Stoops has got to say,
I don't see why we hire a coach Mitch go
away and then the new adea is stuck with the

(44:59):
new coach.

Speaker 1 (45:00):
Well it's a very fair point. I mean, it's a
very fair point. But what do you do right? Like
like I mean, let's say let's say that Mitch. Let
me just put put a scenario. Let's say Mitch Barnhardt
in his in his mind knows he's gonna step away,
but he also thinks he should replace the coach. She

(45:21):
just keep the coach just cause? Or I mean, like,
what do you do? I don't I'm with you. I
don't really know the answer to that question. You know,
I don't know, I think.

Speaker 5 (45:35):
And I will.

Speaker 15 (45:37):
I will tell you. I tested the text machine the
other day when Drew was on his rent and he
was right, you know, who needs to be ponying up
right now, mister Barnhart, and I know that that's a
snowballs chance and blank that's gonna happen.

Speaker 1 (45:50):
Well, I don't think he has thirty seven million dollars
to give.

Speaker 5 (45:52):
But.

Speaker 15 (45:54):
He could, he could contribute those, Well, he doesn't.

Speaker 1 (45:57):
I want it to be fair to Mitch. He contributes
a lot to you. But he's one of the few
ads I know that gives back to the university. I mean,
like part of why he has an amount of money
he's pledged I think, to give to the university every
year for like the last five years, and I think
that ends this year, which is I think part of
why I kind of think he resigns at the end
of it. But to be fair to him, he's actually

(46:18):
given a lot back to the university, more than almost
any other a d I bet has.

Speaker 15 (46:23):
You make it tough on me.

Speaker 1 (46:25):
I'm just I just want to be fair to him.
I mean, I just you know, I actually think he
has been and I appreciate the call. I think he's
been very generous in giving back. That doesn't excuse the contracts,
but I mean, one person on the text machine says,
all right, let's say Mitch leaves, who should be the
A D. So here's what I would here's what I

(46:45):
think should happen if he leaves. I'm a big believer
that the way you make a decision, especially hiring decisions,
you have a number of candidates, a set number. You
don't want to have too many because then you get like,
what is it? What's what's the frame? Billy like, well,
something leads to indecision if you have too many choices.

(47:05):
Too many choices can lead to indecision. So you have like,
let's say, let's just say five is the number. In
my opinion, two of those candidates, without questions should be
Mark Hill and Dwayne Peevee. They've not only earned it,
they know this school. They should be two of the candidates.
But there should be more. It should not be handed
to somebody just because they've been here. You should do

(47:29):
a search and have a couple more. Then you should
look at all of them and make the choice of
who would be the best one. And I would argue
it should not be Mitch Barnhardt making that choice. It
should be people apart. It should be a hiring committee.
They should do it like when they hired Mark Stoops,
they put a committee together. They interviewed like five people.

(47:52):
They chose stoops and I think that worked out. I
think Mark Hill and Dwayne Pevee should be two of them,
but they shouldn't be the only two. And I say
that even though Dwayne PvE is my great friend and
I get along with Mark Hill. There should be more
and then you should decide who's the best of the group.
You shouldn't just hand it to somebody no offense. Nobody's

(48:13):
earned that yet. Who's next, Rooney, Rooney, go ahead.

Speaker 5 (48:19):
Rooney, Matt's cleaning the house tonight.

Speaker 1 (48:23):
Well, I mean, I love those guys, and if Mark
Hill or Dwayne pv becomes the AD, I'm gonna be
their biggest backer, hoping helping out, hoping I can make
them succeed. But like everybody should earn their.

Speaker 5 (48:34):
Job, right, Yeah, I agree. I called in after the
Vanda game and I said, the only thing they have
to do, or the coach students has to do is
not get smoked by Louisville, which he did. Yeah, and
I'm kind of with Drew at this point. It's not
my money, but who are we gonna get because we

(48:57):
can't do another Billy g higher lot.

Speaker 1 (49:00):
Of people we could get. Let me ask you a
question before uh Vandy hired what is it Lee Clark
Lee or whatever his name is, did you ever heard
of him? Had you ever heard of Kurt Signatty? Have
you ever heard of the new guy that that Oklahoma
State just hired from North Texas. There's a lot of
great coaches out there, you.

Speaker 5 (49:19):
Know, Yeah, but I think you know, just just break
down one of those examples. You got Vandy. They got
a coach. I have no idea who he is, but
he got lucky with his n il and got a
great Damnit. He didn't get lucky.

Speaker 1 (49:30):
He didn't get lucky. He picked him.

Speaker 5 (49:33):
He didn't get lucky.

Speaker 1 (49:35):
He picked the right but he picked the right guy.
I mean, when people have success, and I'm not saying
you are like this, Rooney, but when people have success,
the loser mentalities to go. They got lucky. No, he
was smart. And by the way, Diego Pove is really good.
But like they're not tied at Tennessee right now because

(49:55):
he's the only good player they've got, right.

Speaker 5 (49:58):
Oh, I agree with that. But there's lucky and everything
there is. But I'm lucky. But I'm lucky where I'm
at today, and you're lucky where you're at. You're exactly right.

Speaker 1 (50:08):
But success is not one hundred percent. But success is
not one hun there's there's there's others that luck is
part of it, but like success is when talent.

Speaker 5 (50:19):
Meets luck, right, that's right.

Speaker 1 (50:22):
So I appreciate you. I mean it's easy to go. Well,
it didn't work out, so I'm unlucky. Yeah, I mean
I'm lucky. Patrick Patterson and Jay Lucas were there. I'm
lucky Instagram didn't exist when John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins
got here. But I also worked my ass off, right
like John Caliperry's lucky that this recruiter, that recruit hit,

(50:46):
but he also knew what he was doing to get
him here. You know, there's a lot like luck's part
of it, but it's not all of it. Let's go
to Noah, what's up? Noah? Hey, Matt, what's up?

Speaker 5 (51:03):
So I'm making my way back home.

Speaker 16 (51:05):
I was at the game today, sat up in the
nose leads. Took my brother to his first ever Kentucky
football game.

Speaker 17 (51:11):
What to start?

Speaker 1 (51:12):
Yeah, it's a tough well just till it's all it's
all down, it's all better from here.

Speaker 5 (51:19):
Yeah, hopefully.

Speaker 16 (51:20):
Because my first game that I went to was when
Kentucky got trounced forty to nothing to Vanderbilt, and Jokers.

Speaker 5 (51:28):
Last game, well this is good.

Speaker 1 (51:29):
It's yeah.

Speaker 7 (51:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 16 (51:33):
So what I'll ask is, with the success that we've
had in the past few years and the success that
we're seeing certain teams like Indiana, teams like Vanderbilt, is.

Speaker 5 (51:42):
This a new low for Kentucky? Does this feel worse
than it did when Joker got fired?

Speaker 1 (51:47):
No, because I didn't think there was any hope of
success when Joker got highed like none. I was excited
for a new era. But I just I never thought Kentucky.
I mean, if you listen to show, you know, I
thought Kentucky football would always be horrible. I just had
accepted it. I think in this new era, you can win.

(52:07):
We can go get somebody and win. We just have
to go get the right person. So yeah, so no,
I don't think it's a new low. I mean, we
went five and seven. That's better than last year. So
this is a low. Last year was worse. But I
would say to you that now I'm not as hopeless
because I actually think you can win at this school,
Whereas I used to not think that, Yeah, I don't.

Speaker 18 (52:31):
I guess it could be the fact that they were
playing Grove Street Party on the left kickoff.

Speaker 1 (52:35):
I didn't like that.

Speaker 17 (52:36):
It really burned up you know.

Speaker 1 (52:37):
Yeah, well, I mean they trolled us. Well, I appreciate
the call that Grove Street. When I heard it, Billy
and I were sitting in here and we were like, oh,
but I would have done it too if I were them.
You know what's amazing is we rescued their season. Billy,
they were like, I mean they were in the tank.
I mean, yeah, they lost, they had lost three straight game,

(53:00):
and and like, just we're a disaster. I mean we
were favored at kickoff, we lost forty one. Let's go
to Jay, Go ahead, Jay.

Speaker 19 (53:14):
Yeah, Matt disagreed with your intro. You're saying that Kentucky
is a business should look down the road. Well, their
basketball intro music is right here, right now, right here,
right now. Uh l A rams Dish Golf brought in
Stafford one right now. Dandy brings in their players wins

(53:39):
right now. Indiana brings in their players wins right now.

Speaker 1 (53:45):
So what do you what do you disagree? Well, what
do you disagree.

Speaker 19 (53:51):
With UK President? Can I say something here, UK President?
Are they going to have the cajonies to pull the
trigger to get read A Barnhart? So I believe is
on the one of the commissioners for the basketball selection committee.
But we got people with power do not leave their positions.

Speaker 1 (54:11):
What do you disagree with?

Speaker 19 (54:13):
Am I correct?

Speaker 1 (54:14):
What do you disagree with? Though? I don't understand what
you're disagreement with?

Speaker 3 (54:17):
You said you in your earlier statele your life.

Speaker 19 (54:19):
We're not looking down down, We're not looking ahead. You
don't look ahead. You'd look for right now, you win
right now, not keep looking ten years down the road
when right now.

Speaker 1 (54:34):
I appreciate it. I got a lot of right now. Yeah,
I don't. I still don't know that you. I mean
we came the same conclusion.

Speaker 2 (54:44):
Sounds like he agreed with you honestly.

Speaker 1 (54:46):
Yeah, I mean that seems like an argument you would
make for keeping studs because you would go, I think
he can turn it around right now. I don't totally
understand this point, but you know, I think I saw
justin and say Mark Stoops has been the coach here
for thirteen years. Eli Cappeluto has been the president of

(55:06):
UK for sixteen years, which is an enormous amount of
time for a college president. I bet there are almost
no college presidents in America that have been in their
job for that long. Usually it's like a four or
five year job. And then Mitch Barnhart's been the ad
for twenty three years. That's a lot of stagnation. You know,

(55:27):
that's a lot of like the same names for a
long time. I don't know, Sometimes you need to do
something different. What's next?

Speaker 2 (55:37):
We got another j on the line.

Speaker 20 (55:39):
Jay, go ahead, Hey Matt, so you stole a bit
of my thunder. But my whole thing is I want
soups in Michigan, obviously, but if steps away he has
that advisory role, how do we know that. You know,
he's not gonna get one of his boys, Mark or
Dwayne your buddy and them just do the same exact.

Speaker 1 (56:01):
Things, because he shouldn't be the one. He shouldn't be
the one picking it. I mean Mark, Like like when
we go back to Mark and Dwayne, I'm not saying
they can't be good ads. I think they actually can't.
But I think Mitch should have no role in picking
the replacement. I think they should pick a group of
people that are outside the athletic department and they should choose.
And then if they end up choosing one of those guys,

(56:23):
I'm good with it. Somebody has to choose, right, but
he shouldn't be the one to choose for the reasons
you're talking about.

Speaker 20 (56:31):
Yeah, it just kind of scares me with that advisory role,
because you know, like everyone who is that successful has
a little bit of you know, control issues. They want
to control it.

Speaker 3 (56:40):
And I think he's going to be the same way.

Speaker 20 (56:43):
And I mean also Roland was talking a while ago
that Capoluto's on his way out and they're just going
to get one of his assistants too, to be the
next president. And so it's like we're not really moving
forward if we get rid of Mitch and Capo Luto
and have the same stuff. It's kind of like hiring
Brea wh as our next football coach. It's the same
exact thing.

Speaker 3 (57:03):
We need a whole new start.

Speaker 20 (57:04):
We need to get rid of everyone and just start over.

Speaker 1 (57:07):
Yeah, well, I appreciate the call. I mean, Eli Cappoluto's
it's a little different because the job of a university
president's a lot more than sports, and I think in general,
Eli Cappoluto has been a successful president University Kentucky. It's
a much better school as a university now than it
was when he got there. So, I mean sports is
a small part of that job, and I actually think

(57:27):
he's done a pretty good job at that job. Eight
five to nine two eight oh twenty two eighty seven.
We'll take a break and come back for a final segment.
It's a Local Toy Dealers KSR postgame show. Walker back
final segment, Local Toy Dealers KSR postgame Show. You know
I cited a song in my opening. Do you think
he was doing Billy that Van Halen song? Right now?

(57:50):
Do you know that song?

Speaker 2 (57:51):
Song? What song you talking about?

Speaker 1 (57:53):
The Van Halen song? Right now? Do you know that's song?

Speaker 2 (57:55):
I think I've heard that before?

Speaker 1 (57:56):
Right now? Hey tail tomorrow, you don't know that song?

Speaker 2 (58:01):
No, I think I do. But you think Stoops is
doing that?

Speaker 9 (58:03):
No?

Speaker 1 (58:04):
I thought that caller that said right now fifteen short
times that was saying.

Speaker 2 (58:07):
That was that was a little It was a lot
of right now.

Speaker 1 (58:10):
Yeah, I still don't know what his point was. H
Vandy and Tennessee tied at twenty one second half. Missouri
Leeds Arkansas twenty seventeen might be the last time Bobby
Petrino was a head coach today, uh and then LSU
and Oklahoma just three to three. So to what of
the game tonight? Alabama Auburn, what else? Anything?

Speaker 11 (58:32):
You know?

Speaker 2 (58:33):
Florida was playing Florida State, but that's already started, so
I'm not sure what's tonight?

Speaker 1 (58:37):
Okay, all right, if I'm nine to two eight twenty
two eighty seven, we'll go till just a little pit
past six and then call it an evening. Thank you all.
I mean, I this is probably like a record number
of listeners for posting. When you think, William, this has
got to be up there. If not basketball, we probably
had more today Cal lost and all that national title,
but it's got to be close, wouldn't you think?

Speaker 5 (58:57):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (58:58):
These are these are biggies to the union one.

Speaker 1 (59:01):
Yeah, biggest one we ever had was the h when
we won the national championship. But I think that after
we lost Oakland was probably pretty close. Nothing'll ever get
close to Katina Pale though, like that. The numbers there
were just stupid. Terry and Shepherdsville go Terry.

Speaker 3 (59:19):
Well, the song the guy that the callers referencing is
the one that goes right here, right now, right here,
right now. Okay, So I came out to my happy place,
that came out to my fire pit. I got my
fire going, uh, hoping to look up and get some guys,
some brothers South End State. I just I really did.

(59:43):
I thought today win or loose. In my heart of hearts,
I thought Stoops was going to walk away. I thought
he was. I thought I thought he was going to say,
I've done all I can do here, I'm going to
hand it off to someone. The fact that he doubled
down and said see four times really hurts me at
my core because he still has to look in the

(01:00:05):
mirror and ask himself, am I doing the Am I
doing this? This fan base justice? And it has to
be no. Every answer has to be no. It can't
be anything other than that. Now, Matt, you're probably gonna
agree with this what I'm going to say here, but
if you go back and watch the second half, you
might change your mind. My message to the fans, are

(01:00:28):
you watching the games? Why do you care if Cutter
Bowlie comes back. He's not good. He's not good. He
misses wide open receivers. Across the middle. He forces the
ball on the coverage, he can't run, and when he
does run, he makes the wrong gay and he throws
the ball to the other team. All the time, he's
got like thirteen or fourteen interceptions and he didn't even

(01:00:51):
start the year off shine.

Speaker 1 (01:00:52):
So I will say, you got two points here, Let's
let's go back to the first one. I would not
have thought he was going to walk away, but I
was a little surprised by his kind of defiance in
that answer. He kind of laughed when the question was
asked and he was like zero. That was a little
surprising to me. I mean, I would have thought he

(01:01:12):
would have taken the view of, you know, this has
not gone well, and I but I want to be
here and hopefully, you know, we figure out a way
to you know, something like that. I was surprised that
because that was it reminded me of when Jim Calhoun
was asked if he was going to give up any
of his salary. Do you remember that? And he was
like not one dollar or something like that, And it

(01:01:33):
kind of reminded me of that, which is not a
great memory. On your second thing, I disagree with you
about Cutter I understand what you're saying. My like.

Speaker 3 (01:01:45):
My, if he was if he wasn't from Kentucky, people
wouldn't be there.

Speaker 21 (01:01:49):
May be true, I.

Speaker 1 (01:01:50):
Mean, that may be true. We do care a lot
more about people can Tuck. What I would say to
you is, I'd love Cutter to be back. I actually
think Cutter has a lot of talent. I would say this, though,
whatever decision you make can't be made because of Cutter
bowling one way or the other. Well, I mean, I want,
I want Cutter to come back, and I appreciate the call.
I think he can be good here. But you don't

(01:02:12):
make this decision, whatever it is, you don't make it
based on Cutter Bowl. You make it based on what's
good for Kentucky football, in Kentucky athletics long term. Going forward, Branson,
Go ahead, Branson, Tom, who what's up?

Speaker 11 (01:02:28):
Hey?

Speaker 5 (01:02:28):
Real quick?

Speaker 17 (01:02:30):
That last call just completely caught me off guard. But
to respond to that, why in the world would he
walk away from thirty seven million dollars?

Speaker 1 (01:02:39):
He wouldn't. He wouldn't and he shouldn't. But he maybe
should be flexible to talk to us about saying, hey, man,
do you have to we have to give it to
you in sixty days, can we find a way to
you know that, to me, that would be good of him.

Speaker 17 (01:02:55):
Completely agree with you there, And his answer in the
press conference was kind of smug.

Speaker 1 (01:02:59):
I mean, he's called in here smug. I agree, it
was kind of smug.

Speaker 17 (01:03:02):
Yeah, real quick. Just to get away from the big
picture type of things in the NIL world, I think
it's probably as important as ever to evaluate.

Speaker 1 (01:03:13):
Talent without question.

Speaker 17 (01:03:14):
We have a backup. We have a backup quarterback making
one point five million dollars in the SEC.

Speaker 1 (01:03:21):
We are screwed up. We screwed up our evaluations, We
screwed up. I mean, Devin Leary I think was okay,
but probably not a good fit for our Liam Cohen
at the time. Brock Vandergriff was a whiff, Zach Cauzida
was a whiff. And they're not the only ones. We
have a lot of money sitting on the bench while
we play freshman. I think this season is a perfect example.

(01:03:42):
We got a lot of money sitting on the bench
that are not playing because they didn't evaluate the transfer
as well. And the guys that were surprisingly good were
actually dudes that we recruited and developed. I wonder if
Mark Stoops is a dude that's like kind of like
Dabo Sweeney in the sense that he's really good. He's
good at recruiting and developing, but he's not either w well,
he's willing to take transfers, but he doesn't pick the

(01:04:02):
right ones.

Speaker 17 (01:04:04):
And look into the future. I mean, we're we've heard
all off season about how you know, the portal was
used to add depth, depth, depth, and then Stoops after
the game today all he talks about is how we
have a lack of depth.

Speaker 1 (01:04:19):
Well, it's true, extremely concros Well, they also don't have
a consist appreciate the call. They don't have a consistent
philosophy of what they want to do. I mean, last okay,
so go back two years ago twenty twenty three. The
theory was, let's go get guys who are super talented
and can come plug holes. But then they ended up

(01:04:41):
getting a lot of guys. And then the next year
it was like, well, they're not talented enough, so let's
go get dudes who were backups at the big programs.
But then that didn't work because they didn't have a
good attitude. Then this year it was like, all right,
let's go get guys who were big time contributors at
small programs, and then that has really works. So now
like they're saying, let's go get Juco guys, Billy, it's

(01:05:05):
almost like they don't know what to get. They don't
have a philosophy.

Speaker 2 (01:05:09):
Yeah, you gotta pick one.

Speaker 1 (01:05:10):
You gotta have a philosophy. You know, you got to decide. Okay,
what is what am I going to do? Because they've
had like four different philosophies, which tells me they don't
know what to do. Let's go to Paul. Paul, go ahead,
Paul Stock, Carla all right, Carl.

Speaker 21 (01:05:30):
Matt first time, forever, long time?

Speaker 1 (01:05:34):
Who are.

Speaker 11 (01:05:37):
Who are?

Speaker 3 (01:05:37):
Okay, what we're talking about earlier?

Speaker 5 (01:05:39):
The recruit, I mean, why is why stupid? Is even terrible?

Speaker 1 (01:05:52):
You know what? I give him credit for knowing it
wasn't going well, you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:05:58):
Yeah, admitted when he was down and he.

Speaker 1 (01:06:00):
Realized, so I'm just gonna stop. I give him credit
for that. He knew when to fold them. Like, let's
do six more of them. We'll call it a night. Jake,
go ahead, Jake, Hey man, how are you doing this?
This is Jake. I can't believe you got through this.
Is the phone lines. This is the closest I've ever

(01:06:22):
seen to like the moment we hang up Billy, another
one rings like it's is it always like that? Big
games yet unbelievable?

Speaker 12 (01:06:30):
Go ahead, Jake, Hey, I was curious what you have
to say about the fan like me that hasn't seen
the the lowest and the highest things. I just saw
what David Leary did and what Brock did and what
the what we did this year. But I'm not really
really ready to get rid.

Speaker 3 (01:06:49):
Of Mark yet.

Speaker 1 (01:06:50):
Okay, So why is that?

Speaker 12 (01:06:53):
Well, because I haven't seen it. I haven't been where
you guys are right. I haven't seen the worst that
he's done, and I haven't seen the best he's done.
What do you mean does that make it?

Speaker 5 (01:07:06):
Well?

Speaker 12 (01:07:06):
I haven't wait. The ten and two season that was
was in twenty twenty one. If I'm doing my mask correct,
there was two of them, one of the tenant that
was the first that was one that was one of them,
and he was and he was a coach then.

Speaker 1 (01:07:22):
Right, yeah, but you were a fan then, Jay.

Speaker 12 (01:07:27):
No, I wasn't. I wasn't listening to the games yet.

Speaker 1 (01:07:30):
Oh I didn't realize that. Okay, So you when did
you smart?

Speaker 12 (01:07:36):
Uh? When I when I called you back in twenty
twenty three, Wow, I.

Speaker 1 (01:07:40):
Feel like you've been calling a lot longer than two
or three years. I didn't realize that. Okay, all right,
so you're well that means you've only seen a struggle. Yeah, okay,
all right, Well, Jake, I thought you've been around a
lot longer than two or three years.

Speaker 12 (01:07:58):
No, when I when I called you back in twenty
twenty three, wanted to get the wanting to get the
iHeart app was when I first started to listen to
this to the games.

Speaker 1 (01:08:07):
Billy, Did you know it's only been a couple of
years for I did not.

Speaker 2 (01:08:10):
I thought he'd well, you make.

Speaker 1 (01:08:11):
Quite an impression in those couple of years, Jake. Well,
I appreciate the call you. We will put you down
as a vote for keeping stoops. Okay, yes, sir, all right,
now that's a shock to me.

Speaker 2 (01:08:24):
I didn't think you'd get a shock. In the last
segment of the tonight's postgam.

Speaker 1 (01:08:28):
The biggest shock in the history of KSR was when
I saw how old Madison was. That's the biggest shock.
But Jake, only having called for two years, I don't
even know if I believe him.

Speaker 2 (01:08:42):
He's so genuine.

Speaker 22 (01:08:44):
Yeah, I do, all right, Jordan, Go ahead, Jordan, Hey,
Matt is really quick.

Speaker 18 (01:08:51):
What sort of emotions do you feel when on every
single broadcast they show Mark Stoops, longest tenured head coach.

Speaker 5 (01:09:00):
The SEC Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:09:01):
I don't know if I have emotions, I will say
I had today. I definitely had emotions of kind of
sadness because it felt like to me, and now I
can only speak for me personally that for me, it
was like, Okay, the last remaining hopes that I had

(01:09:22):
that this could be turned around, it's kind of over.
And so that made me sad because I like, I've
always liked Mark, and I also think this has been
a really good time and I'm hoping we don't have
what I'm worried is gonna happen, which he's gonna dig
in and stay Mitch is gonna feel like he can't
raise the thirty seven million, then he doesn't get rid

(01:09:45):
of him, and we have this situation where the fans
are against the coach and a relationship that was really
good turns like toxic in a way that's really not
healthy for everybody.

Speaker 18 (01:09:59):
Yeah, I kind of leaning more toward like you know,
a couple of years ago before I guess he was
the longest coach and you know, before saving retired, it
was like, oh, yeah, we've we've held onto our guy.
You know, we kept him from going to you know,
Texas A and in and I think Michigan State at
one point was maybe tossed around. It was like, yeah,
we've held onto our guy. We've we've had him for
a while. But now it's almost like, you know, just

(01:10:20):
looking at it in hindsight, it feels.

Speaker 5 (01:10:22):
Like his career has done.

Speaker 3 (01:10:23):
A bell curve, you know, like it, yeah, that's peak.

Speaker 18 (01:10:26):
With the two ten and two seasons and now it's
just sort of on the way down. And if it
was a stock, when would you sell it?

Speaker 6 (01:10:32):
Kind of thing?

Speaker 1 (01:10:33):
Yeah, And that's a really great way to put it.

Speaker 7 (01:10:35):
I agree.

Speaker 1 (01:10:37):
I had a stock once during the whole post COVID
thing where I was like, made a lot of money
and I should have sold it then, but I kept it.
And then I was like, well, I'm not gonna I mean,
it's I can't it's on its way down. I can't
let it go now because what if it bounces back
and I kept letting it and it Billy just kept
going down and down and down, and then it was like, oh,

(01:10:58):
I should have cut my losses a couple of years before.
It just feels like the stoups things going down, and
I appreciate the caul. I don't know who out there.
I mean, Bill, do you think there are people out
there that are confident this will turn around for the positive?

Speaker 2 (01:11:15):
Sure there's somebody out there.

Speaker 1 (01:11:17):
Like, what's the case give me the case for not
just he should be back. I do think there's a
case for that, but what's the case for things are
going to be better in the coming years?

Speaker 2 (01:11:32):
You know, new offensive coordinator?

Speaker 1 (01:11:34):
But I mean how many times are we going to
have that? I mean, like, like, how many times.

Speaker 2 (01:11:37):
Are I mean, you're right require here.

Speaker 1 (01:11:40):
I mean how many times can we do that?

Speaker 6 (01:11:42):
You know?

Speaker 2 (01:11:44):
Yeah, Brad White, he's been around for a while too,
and that defense was abysmal these last two weeks. I
get they had injuries, but that's embarrassing. It's a fifth
string running back doing that again.

Speaker 1 (01:11:54):
It's a walk on, a walk on freshman. Those playing
against Corbin last year.

Speaker 2 (01:12:01):
Your metaphor was they were staying together for the kids. Well,
this seems pretty detrimental to the kids, if you're standing together.

Speaker 1 (01:12:07):
You know, that's exactly right. I meant to say that
in my little thing. When you stay together for the
kids because you think it's for their best interest, you
might actually make it worse for the kids. And I
do wonder if, like you know, this will be worse
for the if we do this again next year, it
will be even worse than it is now. Who wants that? Dan?

(01:12:33):
Go ahead?

Speaker 5 (01:12:33):
Dan?

Speaker 11 (01:12:36):
Hey, Matt, first time, long time? So you know, I
go back to one of your first points where you know,
you talk about how you know it was clear that
the team had just quit in the second half, specially
you know that that starts at the top. I mean,
you know, kids, kids are watching their coaches, they see

(01:12:57):
the attitude of their coaches. I just got to have
a big question of about that. You know, I grew
up in Columbus, came to the UK and decided that
I was all in as a UK fan, and to
this day I still catch hell about it from my dad.
But you know, I got to think that what we
see today, and as for all the good things that

(01:13:17):
Mark Stupents has done for the program, you know, we
we appreciate it, but everybody's got a timeline.

Speaker 1 (01:13:23):
Everybody has. Everyone has. That's a great way to put it.
Everybody to use a different point. Everyone has an expiration date, right, Yeah,
for a job.

Speaker 11 (01:13:35):
I'm saying Mark, I.

Speaker 1 (01:13:36):
Can't still be a coach, but his expiration date for
this job has it exactly.

Speaker 11 (01:13:43):
And you know, not say you know, we're going to
go out and find a Ryan Day or whoever it is,
but we might find a guy who is going to
be a Ryan Day someday. Yes, and maybe that's with us,
and there's no reason why we can't do that. And
I just hate the kind of the attitude to the
program thinking that, or at least seeming that they think

(01:14:05):
that we can't make that happen.

Speaker 1 (01:14:07):
I didn't think we can make it happen, but I
do now because the world has changed, and the college
football world, I appreciate the call has changed. It is
nil has made things possible that weren't possible before. Go
ass Texas Tech, Go ask Indiana, go as Vandy. It's

(01:14:29):
different now. You can do different things. And the traditional
powers are not guaranteed success. They certainly have a leg up,
but they're not guaranteed success. So you have a shot.
And everything has an expiration day. That's right. You can
have a perfectly great gallon of milk, Billy, that was great,

(01:14:54):
but when it hits the expiration date, no matter how
great it was, it'll be worse. Yes, it's a good
That guy's analogy is good. Are you making fun of
him in that?

Speaker 2 (01:15:08):
That's a good in that when's the last time you've
had milk?

Speaker 1 (01:15:10):
Okay, that's a different point, but the point, but this
is about his analogy. Let's go to James.

Speaker 22 (01:15:14):
Go ahead, James, Hey, guys, I'm calling from Louisville, and uh,
first off, a guy shout out, Ryan Lemmon, go Kentucky
Wesleyan down here in Knownsboro.

Speaker 5 (01:15:25):
But uh, you know.

Speaker 3 (01:15:26):
We made Mirler Moss look like a Heisman contenaor today.

Speaker 21 (01:15:29):
And I'm tired of that.

Speaker 5 (01:15:31):
But how long do y'all think stupid is gonna be here?

Speaker 3 (01:15:34):
Man?

Speaker 16 (01:15:34):
He's the longest SEC coach, the longest tim you're SEC coach.

Speaker 5 (01:15:38):
I'm tired of that, and uh we we gotta quit that.

Speaker 16 (01:15:41):
But I will say next year when we play him
down there and down down here in Lexington, it's not
gonna be forty one nothing, because it's gonna be forty
four to nothing. We're gonna we're gonna lose bigger because.

Speaker 17 (01:15:54):
Go go cards.

Speaker 3 (01:15:56):
Little brother.

Speaker 1 (01:15:57):
You got it was a good, a good, good attempt.
I appreciate the call. Uh you think Ryan Lemon is
still it is? Still don't mean interesting? Should we end
with a Ryan Liman what he thinks? Yeah, okay, I'll
tell you what call get Logan next and quickly call

(01:16:19):
Ryan Limit and see if he'll I mean he answers any.

Speaker 2 (01:16:22):
Call, answer the hotline number.

Speaker 1 (01:16:24):
Uh, text him and say you're gonna call here. All right,
open the lines. Let's take one more person, so you
have two calls to get Ryan Liman plus that was
a card fan. He doesn't count eight five, nine, twenty
two eighty seven, and we'll take one more. Then I'll
have two calls and then Ryan. So we'll do Logan.
All right, you got one right there to stop. Okay,
come on, okay, Logan, go ahead, Logan.

Speaker 9 (01:16:45):
Well, first of all, you put me on after the
Cardinals stand tell that dude to get lost.

Speaker 1 (01:16:49):
Yes, they don't.

Speaker 9 (01:16:51):
Beat us hardly error. We'll give him his we'll give
him a zoo. But my second, actually my first question
to you is is does the Board of Trustees not
also review those contracts they.

Speaker 11 (01:17:02):
Do, Garnhart approves they do, and we can't.

Speaker 5 (01:17:05):
We can't put all this on Mitch because I think he's.

Speaker 9 (01:17:07):
Done a great job overall.

Speaker 1 (01:17:10):
Now those two, I mean, I'm gonna hold all right.
So here's the thing. When you have had a lot
of success. My guess and I don't know this, I'm
not at the Board of Trustee meetings, but my guess is,
because Mitch has done so well, they give him. They
have given him a lot of difference over the years,
and he's earned it, right, And so it's on you,

(01:17:30):
you know what I mean. I mean, there are things
iHeart lets me do with my show that no other
host probably gets to do. But that means if it
messes up, it's on me. And I think that's probably
how this is with Mitch.

Speaker 5 (01:17:48):
All right.

Speaker 9 (01:17:48):
My second question is, so this is college football is,
especially in il Era, is a rich man's game. So
you get your donors like Craft, for example, You think
this didn't get under his skin a little bit like
I think in the background right now, there's a ton
of conversations going on, phone calls being made. I just

(01:18:13):
don't think you can lose your arrival and get shut
out like that and embarrassed and not stir up a
hornos new Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:18:19):
Well, I can't speak for Joe Craft. I appreciate the call.
I mean, he has a big he plays a big
part in all this. I mean he is a huge donor.
I don't think he makes the final decision by any means,
But I don't know what he thinks, to be honest
with you, I really don't. But he's certainly very very
involved in football, and it's without question probably the person

(01:18:42):
that has had the most impact financially on the football
program during the Stoops era. Adrian, go ahead, Adrian, all right.

Speaker 21 (01:18:51):
So Matt, I think you hit it right on the nail.
When you started out, Mitch was far behind being able
to keep up with the new way college athletics were. Stutes,
even in his comments later on, said hey, we're just
going to keep recruiting, We're going to develop. Well, that's
just not the way it works. His system works that way. Unfortunately,

(01:19:12):
we're not in that error where we have a year
or two for that to happen.

Speaker 1 (01:19:17):
It's a really good point. It's like it's like you're
like Jim Beheim running the zone defense when everybody learned
to shoot thirds, you know what I mean, Like that
system just doesn't work anymore.

Speaker 21 (01:19:26):
That's right, and we have to find somebody who can
adjust and adjust on the fly swords speak. Unfortunately, if
this was let's just look at it in as basketball,
you had some of the greats walk away because they
couldn't keep up with it. You had Coach k you
had Roy Williams. Now, let's go to Sabing and well.

Speaker 1 (01:19:47):
Let's use the better analogy. Let's use the better analogy
because those guys were old. Think about Tony Bennett and
Jay Wright. Okay, those those were guys that still had
years left in them that just decide this isn't for me.
And while I didn't like that they quit right before
the season, I do think with both those guys, they
were just acknowledging what I do may not work.

Speaker 21 (01:20:10):
Now, that's right, that's right, And that's where UK is
right now. And that was the point I think you
were trying to make earlier in the show that some
people may have missed.

Speaker 1 (01:20:20):
Yeah, I appreciate the coch That's exactly if I wasn't clear,
that's what I meant. Now, Ryan's here, because I started
with my Okay, it's time to change. Ryan was of
the opinion he was the most adamant on the show
last week that you bring him back after back to
back drubbings to Vandy and Louisville and back to back

(01:20:41):
years of Louisville. Ryan, are you still in the same spot?

Speaker 13 (01:20:45):
Well, you know, I mean my dad was a coach
and who got fired one time. And I've been you know,
I've been through that with your coach Blues the dougspar
So maybe I definitely admit I had a longer lease
that I probably should have when it comes to issues
like this.

Speaker 23 (01:21:01):
The man, you know you sat right beside me. I said,
I changed my tune after Cal lost to Oakland last year,
And to be honest, I changed my tune after this loss.

Speaker 5 (01:21:09):
Today today you've changed.

Speaker 1 (01:21:11):
Now you're you think he shouldn't be the today flipped you.

Speaker 3 (01:21:16):
I think the program needs to change.

Speaker 23 (01:21:18):
It's sad for me they have to fire a coach,
But you can't run it back next year, won't There
will not be anybody lining up for season tickets, there
won't be anybody lining up for nil donation. The program
needs a change, and to me, I changed today.

Speaker 1 (01:21:34):
Wow, So Billy, he said last week, nothing would change.
It was that bad today, don't you think it was?

Speaker 5 (01:21:42):
I mean, that was an embarrassing I.

Speaker 1 (01:21:43):
Mean because I didn't think you would have flipped like that.
But to me, if you flipped, then I don't know
who's left.

Speaker 23 (01:21:53):
Like I said, I think, I admit I probably have
a longer lease than most people, and I wanted to work.

Speaker 15 (01:21:58):
And to be honest, man, I'm a little sad.

Speaker 3 (01:22:00):
I'm sad.

Speaker 1 (01:22:03):
I'm sad, without question, and I'm sad in part because
I hate to see it in and in part because
I think it's not going to end.

Speaker 15 (01:22:12):
And I think we're going to have who's going to
be buying season tickets next year if they try to
run it back again.

Speaker 1 (01:22:18):
You know, I don't know if anybody is, but I mean,
do you think I mean, look, we'll know. Let's put
it like this. I'll ask the two of you, will
Mark Stoops to be the coach Monday morning when we
do KSR because if he's a coach Monday morning, he'll
be the coach. So is he a coach Monday morning? Yes?

Speaker 23 (01:22:34):
Ryan, I'm going to say no because I think if
a change has to be made and it's got to
be made quickly, so it probably happens tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (01:22:44):
But it's Mitch that's making that decision. That's Mitch's guy.
He's about to ride off in the sunset himself. Now
he's going to make a whole new coaching search. Yeah,
I just don't see that happen.

Speaker 1 (01:22:55):
Okay, let me be very clear, I do not know.
I'm going to spend been preparing for this show and
dealing with the show, so I've done no phone calls,
no looks, no anything, So I have no notion. Now
there's something though that sort of tells me that I'm
kind of like with Ryan, I wonder if maybe it's

(01:23:17):
gonna happen. The only reason I say that is I
expected after that intro Ryan, you know how it goes
like already blowback and I haven't.

Speaker 3 (01:23:32):
Gotten nothing yet.

Speaker 1 (01:23:34):
Now that doesn't mean I won't get.

Speaker 21 (01:23:36):
It, but sign nobody's reached out, nobody.

Speaker 1 (01:23:39):
Said anything or not even like said anything. But like
there's you. Sometimes there's people who would be like, Matt,
I can't believe you did that because that ain't gonna happen,
and how you know, like none of that Now that
maybe that'll come, But that hasn't come yet, so that's
the only reason I think maybe. But if he's the
coach when we come on Monday morning, then he he's

(01:24:00):
the coach. So we'll find out. Stay tuned tonight and
especially tomorrow. We'll see all right. Thank you guys, Ryan,
thank you for coming on. We will see it later.
Thanks to everybody listening today. Terrible end of the season.
We'll see what happens. This has been the local Toy
Dealers KSR postgame show
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Host

Matt Jones

Matt Jones

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