Kentucky coach Brooks retires
January 4, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)—Kentucky coach Rich Brooks has announced that he isretiring after seven seasons coaching the Wildcats.
Brooks made the announcement on Monday. He will be replaced by offensivehead coach Joker Phillips, who agreed to become Brooks’ eventual successor twoyears ago.
“This is the end of the road of the old man’s coaching career,” Brookssaid.
Brooks finishes his career with a 39-47 record at Kentucky. He went130-156-4 overall in 25 seasons overall at the collegiate level. Brooks posted a13-19 record coaching the NFL’s St. Louis Rams in the mid-1990s.
The 68-year-old Brooks said following Kentucky’s 21-13 loss to Clemson inthe Music City Bowl he was “80 percent” sure he’d retired. Despite calls fromformer players and his own children suggesting he stay on, Brooks said he knewit was time to step aside.
“The only person that was comfortable with this decision was me,” he said.“When it’s time, it’s time.”
The Wildcats were an NCAA-sanctioned mess when Brooks took over before the2003 season. The Wildcats struggled during his first three years, going just9-25.
He began his media day press conference before the 2006 season by joking,“I’m back.” The year began with the Wildcats’ first real steps towardrespectability in the Southeastern Conference. Kentucky went 8-5 that season,beating Georgia and then Clemson in the Music City Bowl.
Another 8-5 season followed in 2007, including an upset of eventual nationalchampion LSU. The Wildcats scratched out a 7-6 year in 2008 despite majorproblems on offense and posted another 7-6 season this year, including road winsover Georgia and Auburn.
Still, Brooks lamented the near misses the Wildcats suffered during histenure, including another tough loss to rival Tennessee in the season finale.
“It has been a good ride, a very bumpy ride,” Brooks said. “The start ofit was really, really bumpy. The end of it had some bumps because we were closeto achieving some things that I feel unfilled at this point not havingachieved.”
The rebuilding project at Kentucky was the second of his long career. Herevived a moribund Oregon program after taking over in 1977, eventually leadingthe Ducks to the Rose Bowl in his final season in 1994.
His success with the Ducks helped him land a shot coaching the Rams, but wasfired after two underwhelming seasons.
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