Mark Stoops addresses coaching pursuit by Texas A&M football and Ross Bjork

Mark Stoops demures when asked about Texas A&M football job; “I’m at Kentucky”

What Texas A&M football fan doesn’t have fond memories of the Mark Stoops era? Though it was but brief, it was memorable. We laughed, we cried, we complained on Twitter, we learned whether or not a memorandum of understanding was legally binding—truly, halcyon days.

If you’re Stoops, you had to know some questions were coming about this whole deal at SEC Media Days. Especially so considering that Kentucky and Texas A&M were scheduled to speak on the same day. Of course, when Stoops took the podium, inquiries were made.

You can really tell how unsure of what to say that he is in this clip. He ends up bringing it back around to his desire to remain at Kentucky, but it almost sounds like he wanted to say something else at first.

He confirms that Texas A&M football pursued him, which we all knew, of course. But then, he seems like he may have been going a very interesting direction before he almost interrupts himself: “out of respect for everybody involved—I’m at Kentucky.” From there, he goes on to discuss how he enjoys being one of the longest-tenured coaches in the league, et cetera.

If things went down the way they seemed—that Stoops had at least verbally agreed to come to College Station, which is usually the case when things get as widely reported as they were in this instance—it would make sense that he feels a bit stung or upset over how things ended up being handled. It wouldn’t help matters at all that the fanbase was so vocally against his candidacy, but this really did seem like a mismanagement by former AD Ross Bjork more than anything else.

Indeed, it really appears that this was a nail in the coffin of the aforementioned Bjork, who is now at Ohio State after leaving Texas A&M. The fans, at least, were done with him for the most part, laying the blame for this mishap at his feet. 

We’ll probably never know for sure what exactly went down from the horse’s mouth until Stoops is done coaching, but I’m sure there are some details he’d love to share from his side. I’d be interested to hear when that day finally comes, but for now, I’m glad the Aggies ended up with Mike Elko.