[Strikeout King]

Joker Phillips was introduced as the new Kentucky football coach Wednesday, nearly two years after he was named as Rich Brooks' eventual successor.


Phillips has a long history with UK football. He lettered as a Wildcats receiver from 1981-84, and served as an assistant under three different UK coaches: Jerry Claiborne (1988-90), Bill Curry (1990-96) and Brooks (2003-2009).


Brooks promoted Phillips from receivers coach/recruiting coordinator to offensive coordinator in 2005. And while Phillips took on a new title of head coach for offense last January, he was still responsible for calling plays.


UK's most prolific offense under Phillips was in 2007, when a unit loaded with skill-position talent such as Andre Woodson, Keenan Burton and Rafael Little averaged 36.5 points per game.


The Wildcats have failed to match those numbers the past two seasons but have been plagued by injuries and inexperience. In 2008, Phillips had to operate the second half of the season without his top running back (Derrick Locke) and top receiver (Dicky Lyons Jr.), who both went down with knee injuries.


This past fall UK lost its starting quarterback, Mike Hartline, to a knee injury in the South Carolina game and was forced to pull the redshirt off true freshman Morgan Newton in the season’s sixth game.


Without much of a passing attack, Kentucky relied on the running game and was able to earn a fourth straight bowl bid for the first time in school

history.


Phillips' elevation to head coach means that all three Football Bowl Subdivision programs in the state now have African-American head coaches, as he joins Louisville's Charlie Strong and Western Kentucky's Willie Taggart. Phillips is also the 12th African-American head football coach among the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision schools.





http://www.kentucky.com/817/story/1085010.html