Mark Stoops is back in football.
24/7 Sports’ Chip Brown reports the former Kentucky head coach has joined Texas as a special assistant under Steve Sarkisian.
Stoops, 58, was fired by the Wildcats last December after 13 seasons in Lexington. Kentucky was 5-7 in 2025, posting back-to-back losing seasons following three winning campaigns. Officially, the 2021 season goes down as an 0-3 campaign with the school having to vacate its 10 wins as a penalty for fielding ineligible players. He finished his tenure with a record of 72-80 with a 4-4 mark in bowl games. Stoops was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2018.
A native of Youngstown, OH, Stoops is the younger brother of Bob Stoops, who coached Oklahoma to a National Championship in 2000.
Prior to Kentucky, Stoops served as defensive coordinator at Florida State (2010 to 2012) and Arizona (2004 to 2009), as well as spending time on the staffs at Miami, Houston, Wyoming and South Florida.
