If Mark Stoops went alone, rumor has it he could go here

There is absolutely no indication that Mark Stoops is thinking about anything other than coaching Kentucky. His contract is so favorable for him that there is no reason to think otherwise. However, that doesn't mean the rumors aren't circulating, especially because Kentucky's best way out of this contract is for Stoops to do what John Calipari did: go out on his own. Let's look at these rumors.

retirement

The first is the idea that Stoops might simply retire at the end of this season or next. Take his money and ride off into the sunset knowing he made Kentucky a respectable place again. That he wants to leave before he damages his reputation.

The glaring problem is that Stoops is only 57 years old. Not usually the time when people or coaches retire. On the other hand, his brother Bob retired at the age of 57 when he resigned from the Oklahoma Sooners, which is certainly strange to see him at the same age. Mark is known for the same thing Bob was known for: he was often called “Big Game Bob” because he tended to win the big games but lose some of the smaller ones. Does this sound familiar?

Later in his life, Bob worked as a coach in the XFL and did some other TV work. So he didn't fully retire, but he used that to retire from Oklahoma. Could Mark choose a similar path? Perhaps.

Iowa Hawkeyes

The Hawkeyes currently have Kirk Ferentz as their head coach, and when it comes to retirement, he has to be close. He will soon be 70 years old and this could be his last season. Iowa is currently 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 10. The fan base is hoping for a change soon.

The Stoops family loves Iowa and Mark played defensive back there in the 1980s. It was long assumed that he would train there if given the opportunity. It also looks like fans want Stoops to be their man, at least based on recent comments on the forum.

Florida State Seminoles

Message boards are definitely the Wild West of the sports world. Similar to the message boards in Iowa, there is a group of fans who would like to see Florida State hire Mark Stoops.

Florida State has floundered this year, facing an absolutely terrible Seminoles team. They are 1-6 this year and could easily lose four of their next five. They have a great chance of going 2-10, which is terrible for a team that thought it was snubbed by not making the College Football Playoff last season.

Head coach Mike Norvell's transition is even more difficult for Florida State than it was for Kentucky to leave Stoops. Norvell would owe $66 million if he was fired by the Seminoles. Yikes.