January 18, 2008
Wildcats name Joker Phillips as coach-in-waiting
Kentucky offensive coordinator Joker Phillips has agreed to become the Wildcats' head coach following Rich Brooks' retirement. While no date has been set for Phillips to take over, Brooks is expected to sign a contract extension this week that will carry him through the 2011 season.
"With the landscape of college football changing from year to year, the decision to name Joker Phillips the next head coach at the University of Kentucky provides continuity and consistency for current and future players," Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. "Continuity and consistency will be a competitive advantage for UK going forward, an advantage our program has not enjoyed very often during its history."Joker is a native of the commonwealth, an alumnus of the university, a letterman, and a person who has been an integral piece of our last three bowl victories in program history. He bleeds blue and believes in the foundational principles that Coach Brooks has put in place for the program."
While it is impossible to forecast what the landscape may be whenever the changeover takes place, if Phillips were to assume the reigns at UK today, he would be the second black head football coach in the SEC.
The naming of Phillips as head coach follows a recent trend of schools naming successors in advance, including at Danny Hope at Purdue and Jimbo Fisher at Florida State.
Comments:
Zac said:
posted on January 18, 2008 4:23 PM — 205.188.116.136 — link — abuse?
Bring GatorHippy's & WarEagle's lists back. Lets pick something from them and vote on it. We gotta come up with a better title than "Coach-In-Waiting". It sounds too much like lady-in-waiting: a lady or noble woman who attends a princess or queen. College football has no room for such things!!! So, somebody please come up with a better title for this new trendiness thing that coaching staffs have begun doing, please!!!
posted on January 18, 2008 4:24 PM — 205.188.116.136 — link — abuse?War Eagle Atlanta
said:
I guess my whole slew of alternate terms to Coach-in-Waiting went unnoticed...
Coach in Waiting sounds like something out of the Princess Bride. God knows we have enough of those references on here already...
"This (term). I do not think it means what you think it means..."
Zac said:
posted on January 18, 2008 9:16 PM — 64.12.116.136 — link — abuse?
I don't know; that could be taken for a...hand? Maybe one with a birth defect, but a hand none-the-less. OK, if you count Bevo Boy, WarEagle, and myself, thus far, we've got 3 in favor of Coach On Deck. Anybody else?
(Maybe we should have done this by Robert's Rules of Order; you know, call the 2nd, etc... Hey, how many votes do we need anyway?)
posted on January 19, 2008 12:08 PM — 205.188.116.136 — link — abuse? said:
I bet Bevo likes making those handprint turkeys in school every Thanksgiving to take home to mom. You know, the type where all the fingers are 'feathers' and you draw a head and some feet on it? Wait. I think they quit doing that in high school...
Just kidding, Bevo!
Zac said:
posted on January 19, 2008 2:56 PM — 64.12.116.136 — link — abuse?
No, No, NO! Coach-On-Deck is not "pretty". Coach-In-Waiting is pretty. Coach-On-Deck is MANLY. That's what we've been shooting for; that's what we got. With your vote, the tally thus far is 4 in favor with none against. Who else???
Zac said:
posted on January 20, 2008 5:47 PM — 64.12.116.136 — link — abuse?
Thanks, Porky, for that lovely vision in Post 15. OK, it's 4:1 with a nomination for Fisher Coach. (Sounds too close to Fisher King: Visions of a naked and very hairy Robin Williams in the park shaking his...well, those who've seen the movie get the picture.)
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Bevo Boy said:
posted on January 18, 2008 4:00 PM — 205.188.116.136 — link — abuse?Who cares??? IT'S KENTUCKY!