SEC Sports Report Nailed the Tubby Smith Story

(This was the SEC Sports Report column on 3/21/07, the day before Tubby Smith resigned from Kentucky)


By Jay Holgate
secsportsreport.com


Atlanta, GA--For six weeks, all the talk coming out of Kentucky is that Wildcats use to own the SEC but not anymore. Florida has taken over the East and the two neighbors in Tennessee and Vanderbilt from the eastern division are grabbing market share from a perenial powerhouse. Whether or not Tubby Smith leaves is totally up to Tubby.

The Story line-- In 2005, in his fourth year of coaching, football coach Rich Brooks went 3-8 in the SEC. Miserable. Hopeless. No way the program could turnaround. Athletic Director Mitch Barnhardt stood beside his head coach, they made a few assistant coaching changes and Brooks received the full blessing to conquer the East.

In 2006, Kentucky football finished the season with an 8-5 record, beating powerhouse Georgia bulldogs in Lexington and knocking off the Clemson tigers in the Music City Bowl. So....what does all that have to do with Tubby? Men are creatures of habit. Personality profiling. Athletic Director Mitch Barnhardt is raising money for the school and does not want a public relations fiasco with firing Tubby. AD Barnhardt will not pull the trigger. Its too controversial. The Board of Trustees has already determined that they were staying out of this decision.

Tubby Has All Control--If anything happens, Tubby will leave because he chooses to go a new direction. Looking ahead at next year. Tubby has been actively recruiting two stud players, who have narrowed it down to just a few schools. Randolph Morris is effectively a free agent who can finish out his senior year or go play professional basketball. Either way, life in Kentucky has gotten tougher. The entire SEC has gotten better too.

Tubby Smith is an awesome coach. If he makes a few changes on his staff, he is staying. If nothing happens, watch out. The SEC may lose one of its finest coaches.....Stay tuned....

Jay Holgate is a sports writer for SEC Sports Report.