[Stardust]

For the people who do not like the Joker Phillips hire, who exactly did you want to get the job? Who would have been a better hire than Phillips? None of you Joker haters have even mentioned another name. You just continue to crack jokes and hit on a couple of bad play calls he made this past season.

I want UK to beat Tennessee and all of these other SEC teams as bad as any other UK fan, but let's get real here. The first three years Rich Brooks was the Commonwealth's Coach, he went 4-8, 2-9, and 3-8. His last four seasons he went 8-5, 8-5, 7-6, and 7-6 with three bowl wins and four bowl appearances. That's astoundingly better if you ask me or any other realistic football fan.

As Joker said in his press conference yesterday, "Rich Brooks got us here by doing things the right way." Joker Phillips is a Kentucky boy who has learned a lot under the Rich Brooks era and he will continue to lead the UK program in the right direction. Mitch Barnhart is smarter than you people think. Phillips was named the coach-in-waiting in early 2008 because we all knew the day was soon to come of Rich Brooks retirement. Barnhart (as well as myself and any other realistic UK fan) recognized the success we have had with three bowl wins and four bowl appearances in four years and wanted to continue having this success under the guy that would know it best: Joker Phillips.

To have success in football, and Joker said it yesterday, it boils down to recruiting. Kentucky has gotten some better recruits in recent memory. Who do you think has been our primary recruiter? Joker Phillips. Joker will continue to sell Kentucky to these 4* recruits and it will only get better for UK football in my opinion.

I'm 100% in favor of this hire. Joker had an emotional press conference yesterday showing his love for Kentucky football and how he has dreamed to be in this position his whole life.

So let me ask this question again. Who do you Joker haters want as your head coach? Who could UK hire that is better than Joker? I'll be surprised if I get one realistic name.

Kevin Sumlin - Houston: Proven recruiter, great X's and O's guy and can get us the Texas HS 4* players. Had no interest in UC, but an SEC job is a different animal.

Greg Schiano - Rutgers: another coach who has built a program. Prior to Schiano's arrival the Rutgers program had 1 bowl appearance ever. Now the Scarlet Knights have been to 3 straight bowls, and should make it 4 this season. Schiano is a great defensive coach who had jobs on the Bears and at Miami. Schiano has won multiple coach of the year awards, all of them in 2006. Schiano has also established himself as one of the best young coaches in the game, and when Joe Pa retires expect Schiano to take over

Jim Grobe - Wake Forest: is yet another coach who has piloted a subpar program to new heights, and the future looks bright as well. Grobe is 46-39 in 8 seasons at Wake, but that doesn't tell the whole story. The past 2 seasons Wake has 1 BCS bowl appearance, and a 20-7 record. Grobe has established Wake as a program to watch out for in the ACC, using his unique redshirting system, that ensures there are more veterans on the field. I think Grobe has done a magnificent job of getting the best out of average talent.

Jim Leavitt - South Florida: In fact if you put Leavitt #1 on the list you would have a valid point. Leavitt is the only coach USF has ever had, and has been wildly successful their. In 4 seasons under Leavitt the program became division-1-a, and then in another 4 seasons joined the Big East. Leavitt has led the program to an impressive 79-47 record, which is astounding when you consider how quickly he has done it . Leavitt is a very underrated recruiter, he may not sign the big name guys , but he gets players who later turn into stars

Top 5 Coordinators in College Football that I would have taken in a hearbeat over Joker
1. Norm Chow, UCLA
2. Chip Kelly, Oregon
3. Dan Mullen, Florida
4. Will Muschchamp, Texas
5. Bud Foster, Virginia Tech

Need more?????