Two things were made certain Monday morning at Commonwealth Stadium.One, Rich Brooks is 100 percent sure this time he is retiring. Two, the most successful rebuilding project in program history has come to a close.”I have decided that it’s time for me to step away and turn this program over,” Brooks said, “Hopefully it will not only be competitive but reach the heights that I failed to get to. That is my biggest regret is not having broken more of the streaks that needed to be broken.
“We did get quite a few of them. We did achieve some things, and I can’t leave without saying thank you to a great group of players who dedicated themselves to coming here and making Kentucky football respectable on a yearly basis, to a great group of coaches who have really done so much for this program, not only on the field but off the field.” With an anticipated, yet nonetheless somber news conference Monday morning at Commonwealth Stadium, Brooks announced his official retirement. After seven seasons at the helm of the Kentucky football program, Brooks will step down and hand over the reins to current head coach of the offense, Joker Phillips.”Rich Brooks changed the culture and the direction of the University of Kentucky football program,” UK President Dr. Lee Todd said. “He was willing to take the heat and face the critics in the early years and build our program the right way. His no-nonsense, high-integrity approach earned the respect of his players, our fans and the media.”It has been a pleasure having Rich as our football coach because I always knew that whatever decisions he was making were in the best interest of the program and his students. The University is grateful for his impact on our program and for paving the way for future success.”Brooks will best be remembered for transforming a probation-riddled program into a respectable Southeastern Conference contender. Despite inheriting a team burdened by the effects of NCAA probation, Brooks turned the program around and led it to four straight bowl appearances for the first time in school history.The seven-year UK head coach will end with a 39-47 record at UK despite a difficult first three years. The former Oregon and NFL coach went 30-22 in his final four seasons with the Wildcats. He will finish with a career record of 130-156-4.”The University of Kentucky cannot begin to express its thanks to Rich and Karen Brooks for their contributions to the Wildcat football program,” UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. “Rich took a program from a very difficult time and raised it to respectability on a national level, all the while doing it with dignity and class.”His toughness was a trademark for the program he put together. The foundation that he has laid will give those that follow an opportunity to experience success on a conference and national level. I wish him all the happiness he deserves in his retirement and look forward to continuing our friendship for many years to come.”Phillips, who was announced as the future of the Kentucky program nearly two years ago, will take over as the head coach.Brooks emphasized his confidence in Phillips taking over the reins of the team. He said the program needs to continue to move forward and will need additional improvements, namely facility upgrades and a rise in coaches pay, but none of that would have changed his decision to call it a career.Even if he would have received everything he asked for, Brooks said he would have likely still been at the podium.”I just felt that it was time to make the change,” Brooks said. “The losses take their toll. It’s very, very frustrating to be close to something and not be able to grab it. I didn’t want my frustration to change the direction of the program. I think a younger person that has been through it can be a better position to take the program forward.”A strong contingent, one made up of players, friends and families, strongly wanted Brooks to stay. “None of them wanted me to give it up,” Brooks said. “They all thought that I would miss it a lot, that I could come back and ride out on the white stallion next year and have victories over all those teams we hadn’t beaten and everything would be wonderful.”The “only sane one,” as Brooks described it, was his wife, Karen.”She just wanted me to do what I wanted to do,” Brooks said.The end of Brooks’ career at UK will end a 25-year college coaching career.”This is the end of the road of the old man’s coaching career,” Brooks said. We will have additional posts this afternoon, including video from the news conference. A full news release of Brooks’ retirement is now available.
