By Holly Ratliff * Host Communications
Rich Brooks has nearly 40 years of coaching experience on the football field. He’s coached at the highest level for 10-plus years in the National Football League and even helped lead the Falcons to a 1998 Super Bowl appearance. But now, Brooks is set for a new experience. After two years away from the gridiron and coaching altogether, Brooks returns to the helm and will open his UK coaching career with one of the richest rivalries in all of college sports – Kentucky vs. Louisville.
The Louisville game is one that fans in this state don’t take lightly. It not only signifies the opening of the football season, but also the dramatic beginning of another year of passionately supporting the Blue and White. Brooks obviously knows of the intrastate feud and understands just how much the season opener means. In his first eight months in the Bluegrass, he’s gotten a good taste of what it means to be a UK fan as well as a football faithful.
“I’m very impressed with the fan base and the fan support of this program,” said Brooks. “You hear everybody talk about it being a basketball school. But, in my estimation, a basketball school doesn’t fill Commonwealth Stadium with minimal results. These fans have been very loyal and very supportive. The facilities here are outstanding as well. With those two things in place, what we need to do as a coaching staff is give our fans something to get really excited about like Tubby Smith has with the basketball program.”
While the football tradition at UK may not be as championship-filled as the hardwood Cats, Brooks likens the program to his previous teams at Oregon.
“There’s not much difference because Oregon hadn’t won in several years,” said Brooks. “I believe there are some similarities between my start at Oregon and my start here. The difference is the fan base and the fan commitment to football is a lot better here. There are a lot of things in place here to be successful.
“I know from everywhere I’ve been, this can and will be a successful program. I was faced with the same problems at Oregon where USC and UCLA were walking all over Oregon, similar to Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia walking over Kentucky. Let me tell you – it can and will change. It’s happened everywhere in the country … Kansas State, Maryland … they have turned their programs around. Kentucky’s turn has arrived.”
With new coaching staffs for both UK and Louisville, there are a lot of unanswered questions about the two teams we’ll see today. This rivalry game is something that Brooks and his staff would rather see later in the season, but will do their best to prepare for in the opener.
“I would prefer it (the game vs. Louisville) to be the second or third game of the season, in order to evaluate some of the younger players before you play a game of that magnitude,” Brooks said. “But it’s the same for both schools, so be it. They have to prepare for it and so do we. We just have to get ready and get rolling.
“I expect we’ll play hard and I think we’ll play well. I know it’s an extremely important game and we’re working very hard to prepare for it. We just have a lot of questions unanswered. With both staffs being new, it adds a different wrinkle because you don’t have a lot of game film to go on to see and to prepare. So, you’re doing a little guessing on game planning on both sides.”
Today also marks a return to coaching after a two-year hiatus for Brooks. He knows that the opening game will be one that the fans will remember for years to come. The Cats will look to earn some bragging rights through today’s showdown as well.
“Game day is what you coach for and what you prepare for,” Brooks said. “As a coach, you’re only judged in this season 12 times. We know we have 12 opportunities to go out and prove ourselves as a team and Louisville will be the first one. It’s a very important game to win for the right to live in this state.”
Brooks is short-spoken when asked what he enjoys about game day – something that’s not surprising for a man who’s done this for four decades.
“I just enjoy going out in the pre-game workout and the kickoff and getting it going,” Brooks said. “All I’m thinking about is beating Louisville. My goal for this team is to get into post-season play. Having said that, now I’m going to focus on one game at a time, and now we are going to go get ready for Louisville. Obviously, if we can beat Louisville, we’ll be one step closer to achieving that goal.
“I’m encouraged about the outlook of the season. I know the players are ready to stop beating on each other and beat on someone else.”
