Mike Stoops Officially Named Inside Linebackers Coach

The Stoops name is becoming more and more prominent with the Kentucky football program as Mark has hired his brother Mike to take over the role of inside linebackers coach. This has been reported for over a week and was all but confirmed when Mike was spotted at Saturday's basketball game, but Kentucky made it official today with an announcement.

Stoops will be taking over the position formerly claimed by Jon Sumrall, who was recently hired to be the new head coach at Troy.

The last time Mark and Mike walked the same sideline was in 2009, when Mike was the head coach at Arizona and Mark was the defensive coordinator.

Mike brings some recent SEC experience to the table as he was on Nick Saban's staff during the 2019 and 2020 seasons as an analyst.

From an outsider's perspective, this may seem like a case of a brother looking out for his brother. In this instance however, the hire of Mike Stoops is a very good one. Stoops has been coaching collegiate football for 35 years and has power five experience at Iowa, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Alabama.

Replacing Jon Sumrall will be a tall task considering all he brought to the table in recruiting and coaching, but the Stoops bloodline is one that never backs down.