It looks as though another member of Nick Saban‘s ensemble of analysts is about to get back onto a sideline. Mike Stoops is reportedly close to heading to Kentucky, where he would take on an assistant coaching position for his brother, Mark Stoops.
A report by Football Scoop on Wednesday says Mike Stoops is expected to take on a portion of the defensive secondary coaching responsibilities for the Wildcats. He would be sharing those duties with Steve Clinkscale, who will also be adding the title of pass game coordinator for Kentucky, according to Football Scoop.
Stoops coached defensive backs throughout his coaching career, beginning in 1991 with Iowa and continuing in 1997 at Kansas State. After two seasons coaching the defensive backs for Kansas State and taking on the role of co-defensive coordinator, Stoops headed to Oklahoma, where he was a member of his older brother Bob Stoops’ staff. Mike stoops was named the head coach of Arizona after the 2003 season and coached the Pac-10 (at the time) program for eight seasons. He returned to Oklahoma in 2012 and stayed with the Sooners for seven seasons before Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley moved in a new direction with his defensive staff.
Stoops then surfaced at Alabama taking on a role as a defensive analyst for Saban. As tends to be the case, analysts working for the Crimson Tide find ways back to coaching after a brief step away from coaching.
The addition of Stoops to the Kentucky staff is expected to be awaiting official approval from the school’s board of trustees, which is why Kentucky officials have not commented on the potential staff addition in Lexington.
