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.
The 2020 season, affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic, saw Kentucky play a 10-game, All-SEC regular-season schedule. Despite a 4-6 record, Kentucky was still able to be invited to a bowl game, specifically the
2021 Gator Bowl against No. 24 NC State. Stoops led Kentucky to victory in the Gator Bowl 23-21, making it three straight bowl victories for the team.
yup you right still he was 12 and 29 or something like that and they wanted to fire the guy