It won’t be the same without Vince Marrow on the sidelines this season.
Marrow, who had been on coach Mark Stoops’ staff since he was hired in 2013, left last week to become general manager of Jeff Brohm’s staff at the University of Louisville. The timing of the move was surprising, but the decision to move on by Marrow was not such a shock, considering Brohm had been seeking Marrow's services for a long time.
For Marrow, the opportunity provides him with the chance to remain in the Bluegrass and likely offers more job security. Stoops is facing a make-or-break season after going 4-8 a year ago, and the upcoming schedule isn’t doing the longest tenured coach in the Southeastern Conference any favors.
It’s not known the true reason for Marrow’s departure, but there likely was some disconnect behind the scenes. A longtime assistant and one of your top assistant coaches doesn’t leave just for the sake of it, with practice scheduled to begin in just a few weeks. Former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino moved back to Kentucky after a short stint in the NBA, but found out not everyone in Big Blue Nation embraced his status as coach of the Cardinals.
Marrow's sudden move is different, but a lot of Kentucky fans aren't going to be his No. 1 cheerleader, either. That's the nature of the beast when a coach or player switches to a rival program.
The loss of Marrow is a blow for the Kentucky football program, and his departure won’t be easy to recover from, considering his impact on the recruiting trail. On the other hand, Marrow starts over at Louisville in a winnable conference and doesn’t have to venture out of the state.
The scenario reminds me of former University of Kentucky men’s basketball assistant coach John Robic, who was former coach John Calipari’s top assistant when Calipari was hired at Kentucky in 2009. Robic was instrumental in helping lead the Wildcats to the national championship in 2012. When Robic transitioned into a role within the athletic department, things began to take a turn for Calipari, who resigned to take a similar post at Arkansas at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Like Robic, maybe Marrow sensed it was time to move on and wanted to make a move before the season to guarantee job security instead of wavering through a season of uncertainty. Maybe he just saw the writing on the proverbial wall, but again, Stoops has proved over and over again his ability to overcome adversity.
It remains to be seen whether Stoops can recover from a losing season and the loss of one of his top assistant coaches. The best thing Stoops can do is wish Marrow the best and not look back.
After all, their future depends on it.
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