The House of Blue

I think the difference is ... you've got to get someone with head coaching experience ... to prove that they can handle a head coaching job in the SEC. That's what Joker didn't have and can't do.

How about Kirby Smart, the d-coordinator at alabama? I think that he would be a smart hire with good recruiting ties.

You seem to like the "do it now" phrase, but do you really think UK ( or any school) can hire another team's coach in midsession? If Joker is fired now. The only possible in-season replacements are other guys on the current staff or guys who are unemployed. They're not getting a coach from another staff in the middle of the season

While I don't claim to be the next Donald Trump, I do know enough about business to know that if someone needs to be fired, you don't wait around. In the words of Clint Eastwood, "if someone is not doing the job, you gotta let em go", period. So yes, DO IT NOW and let the chips fall where they may.

Its been done before, there are candidates available now. Name an interim, and start the search sooner rather than later.

TrueUK, I see what you are saying. I'm a Joker supporter. But in saying that you just can't argue with the fact that Taggart and Strong both inheiritied programs on the downswing and Joker got one on the upswing. In three short seasons both UL and WKU have both made great strides. Are they powerhouses? No. But there headed in the right direction where as Joker and UK have done the exact opposite. Sometimes you have to cut ties even though you really don't want to.

I get so tired of hearing this "microwave society" comment from the Joker apologists. The fan base has been more than patient, and you would have to either be blind, or be a blind loyalist, to not see what has happened to our football program. To have "confusion on the sidelines" is a telling indictment of this staff.

Where do you get off accusing us of "bile and hatred"? We all loved Joker as a player and love him now as a person. But this decision should not be one of emotion, nor is it. It is about saving this football program from further decline.

3 years isn't patience, well 2 and 1/6. he changed D coordinators and tried to go to the 3-4, you have to recruit to that system, which we have had 2 years to do, NOT ENOUGH for it to work. There are 99 problems with the football team and administration right now and the HC is not one of those 99. Fix the problem, not the symptoms.

He had more than three years. He hand picked most of these players and staff.

Any noteworthy examples?

Things are certainly not going well at the moment, and no one on either side of this argument can say that isn't so.
I want to believe there is always a calm before the storm, only in this case the exact opposite may be the rule. Either way, there have been some staff changes, and while we do have some very young players(not an excuse, just stating a fact), and while the product on the field at this moment is certainly not awe inspiring, it is not the end of the world either. To see if this situation is going to get better Barnhart has to give Joker Phillips a minimum of 4 years, maybe even 5 years. Now why do I say that? Most of these players that are actually on the field for us right now are freshmen, red-shirt freshmen, and sophomores. Yeah, a few juniors and seniors, but mostly freshmen and sophomores. These are the kids that he and his staff have been bringing in, with the emphasis on moving the program upward. Now, while we're not seeing that right now, I have to believe that perhaps by this time next year, if everything and everyone stays in place, that we may see the benefits of Joker's plan start to reveal itself. But that's just me, from my perspective.
I refuse to believe the kids on defense are this bad and can't be coached. I know it doesn't seem like it right now, at this moment, but there is talent there, and most of them have only been playing within Minter's system for 2 years now, some for only 1 year. And while I do agree with many on here that they look a lot more lost than competent at this time, only time and playing, getting actual game experience, will cure this problem.
We are already seeing the benefits of recruiting on the offensive side of the ball, and a very marked improvement on that side as well. We have a very good QB in Max Smith, good RB's, much improved WR's, and I believe we're starting to see some improvement in how we're playing offensively and will continue to see that to happen. And again, most of these players too are freshmen and sophomores. Not all, but a great number of them.
Now, what do we have to look forward to for the remainder of this season? Truthfully, we may only see one or two more wins the rest of the way, this season. Is that going to placate the fanbase? Not just no, but hell no. But what it is going to do is make these players work a little harder for next season, and the season beyond that. Will that be good enough? Only time and success tells that story, but at this point what else is there to do but let these players grow into the situation and work toward that success. But for that to happen, they have to be given the chance, the opportunity to make it happen.
That all said, yes, there certainly are problems with the 'overhead', as it were. I honestly feel that the UKAA and the current administration want to do everything on the "cheap" and are perfectly happy to have Kentucky football remain mediocre. They're not really interested in Kentucky being more than a good member in standing in the SEC, and if that is correct, then what good is it going to do Kentucky to change its coaching staff yet again when the current staff hasn't been given enough time to get it done their way?
While I just do not like what I am seeing right now, when you look back at the last 2 seasons we are certainly miles ahead of where we were. And while I have no doubt that this may very well end up being a 3 or 4 win campaign for this season, I also see the potential for a lot of improvement in the next couple of seasons......... if Joker and staff are given the time to see this thing through. I know there are many other opinions about this out there, but something just tells me that if we let this situation play itself through, that we will see the rewards of the efforts of staff and players.
JMHO. Yours may differ.

thankfully your viewpoint is so extreme and on the fringe of our fanbase that your murderous prescriptions for UK football are not going to occur. keep this staff around a second after the UT game will be throwing a crashed wrecked program off the cliff to never survive.

oh woe is me, the current players who arent good enough to be competitive with UL or defeat sunbelt Western Kentucky might bolt for the doors? And the 14th ranked recruiting class will as well? Whatever will we do? Field a team that can't score a touchdown in the 1st quarter since Nov 2010, 16 games and counting? One that will be universally ranked 14th in the conference in every national ranking come Monday morning? The horror, the horror.