Former Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops lands job title that Butch Jones was once mocked for taking, but there’s one big difference

Former Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops is reportedly returning to the SEC.

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mark Stoops was fired by the Kentucky Wildcats in December following the program’s second straight losing season.

Stoops, who previously served as Florida State’s defensive coordinator before landing in Lexington, spent 13 seasons as the Wildcats’ head coach — an unprecedented run at a program that usually chews up and spits out football coaches.

The Ohio native finished his career at Kentucky with an 82-80 record.

Mark Stoops will be doing his best Butch Jones impression in 2026

According to multiple reports, Stoops will be returning to the SEC in 2026.

Stoops will serve as a special assistant to Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian.

“Special assistant to the head coach” is not a common job in college football, but if you’re a Tennessee Vols fan, you’ve likely heard that job title before.

That’s because former Tennessee head coach Butch Jones served as a “special assistant” to Nick Saban at Alabama in 2020.

(Gary Patterson also previously served as a special assistant to Sarkisian at Texas.)

There is actually one big difference between Stoops and Jones and the special assistant role.

Jones, who was paid around $30K annually at Alabama, took the job in part so Tennessee would have to pay his full buyout (minus the $30K mitigated by Jones’ role under Saban). Only after Jones’ buyout payments with Tennessee were complete did he finally take a head coaching job (at Arkansas State).

There is no mitigation clause in Stoops’ buyout at Kentucky, so this isn’t him trying to stick it to the Wildcats like Jones did to the Vols. Stoops is doing it simply for the love of the game, whereas Jones was being vindictive.

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