Next Kentucky Football Coach Odds: Who Replaces Mark Stoops?

By Steve Bittenbender Dec 1st, 2025 3:56 PM EST

The Kentucky Wildcats will have a new leader for the 2026 season. (Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal/USA Today Network)

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Mark Stoops, who has more victories than any Kentucky football coach ever, was fired as Wildcats head coach on Sunday after 13 seasons.

Stoops guided Kentucky to two of its four 10-win seasons in program history. But back-to-back losing seasons, as one of the highest-paid college football coaches, led to his dismissal.

The Wildcats are taking applications and Bookies.com created these next Kentucky football coach odds. These odds are for infotainment purposes only. You won’t find them at any licensed US sports betting operator.

Next Kentucky Football Coach Odds

Over the next few weeks, college football betting will be centered around the College Football Playoff and other bowl games. But Kentucky won’t be in the postseason, having failed to reach bowl eligibility for the second year running.

Breaking Down Kentucky Football

Kentucky’s decision to move on from Stoops came just hours after Jon Sumrall, a former Cats player and assistant, agreed to become the coach at Florida. Had Kentucky not waited as long as it did, the school might have gotten him. Now, their top choice is a former Louisville quarterback, but he does have ties to Big Blue Nation.

Will Stein is the mastermind behind one of college football’s top offenses. The Oregon Ducks have averaged 38.2 points per game, ninth-best this season, and 465.2 yards of offense, 13th-best. Stein was a backup signal-caller for the Cardinals. But his father, Matt Stein, played at Kentucky in the early 1980s and Stein was a UK fan growing up. So it might not be that hard to convince him to take his first head coaching job and perhaps someday catch the attention of sportsbook apps for futures betting.

Brian Hartline also has ties to the program; his brother Mike played for the Cats and was the team’s offensive coordinator this past season. However, with the Buckeyes the favorites to win the College Football Playoff for the second straight season (odds of +160 at BetMGM Sportsbook), it might be harder to get Hartline to Lexington.

Other coaches on the board are long shots, but their odds could shorten if Stein passes on the chance to return to the Bluegrass State.

What’s Next For Wildcats?

Stoops’ contract contained a clause that his nearly $40 million buyout must be paid within 60 days of his termination. It was the primary reason many people thought he’d be safe at least until next season.

That was until the embarrassing 41-0 season-ending loss Saturday to a Louisville team with several key players injured. The humiliating defeat made the school’s decision elementary. It also helped that Stoops reportedly agreed to take his buyout over a longer period.

Whoever gets the Kentucky job will have a challenge. The SEC is deeper now than when Stoops had his best seasons in Lexington, but if Vanderbilt can compete with the top teams in the conference, then so can Kentucky. However, the school and its supporters will need to provide the next coach with the resources he’ll need to compete for a College Football Playoff spot.

Stein and Hartline have never been head coaches, but they’re both considered prime candidates to land a top job. Getting either would likely boost morale among Big Blue Nation and lead to an increase in support for the team. They are the most probable candidates to build upon the foundation Stoops laid, have the most success in Lexington.

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