A Brief Farewell to Rich Brooks

Today, a clearly conflicted Rich Brooks announced his retirement in a predictable way: with his signature wry sense of humor and class.

Just like his tenure at Oregon, Brooks’ time at Kentucky ends with a less than stellar record (39-46 and 16-39 in conference). However, Brooks leaves UK just as he left Oregon: with the program in the best shape in has been in recent history. Now, we can only hope that the ‘Cats take more steps forward under the next regime, which is exactly what Oregon has done.

Brooks took over a football program in Lexington that was in a bad, bad place. Brooks built things the right way. He didn’t compromise his integrity by going for a quick fix and he didn’t promise anything he couldn’t deliver. He made it clear that his first few years would be tough, and they were. Three years in, Brooks was embattled, but the administration made a decision to stick by their coach.

They were rewarded, and so too was the UK fanbase, even though we likely didn’t deserve it with the way we didn’t believe in Brooks.

The story of the last four years is well-known. Four bowl games, three bowl wins, 30 wins. No, it’s not exactly BCS bowl caliber, but it’s an achievement nonetheless, and the program is in a position where Brooks’ successor, Joker Phillips, can take it to the proverbial “next level”.

The relationship between us UK fans and Brooks has been a perpetually strange one. I believe that the rocky start has left some negative vibes below the surface, making us always expect a little more than we probably should.

I’ve never seen a fan base with such a bipolar attitude toward a coach. One game (see wins over UGA and Auburn this year), we are lauding him for being the savior of the program. The next game, we are wondering what’s keeping us from taking things to the next level. I can only hope that we can be more consistently positive with Joker Phillips.

Obviously, when we think back on Brooks’ tenure, we will remember the bowl wins, the LSU upsets, and the many close calls, but one thing I know I’m going to always remember is the way that this transition is taking place. From the second Phillips was named coach in waiting, Brooks has been constantly concerned about Joker and the transition, wanting to put him into a position to succeed.

In my opinion, the best bosses are the ones who want to help their employees become more successful than them. That is exactly what Brooks has always done. The retirement is taking place at point where the cupboard at the skill positions is as full as it has been since Woodson and company left campus and the schedule sets up better than it has since UK’s first recent bowl season.

Brooks understood that Joker Phillips would have work to do to win over fans, so he put down the whistle right before a season full of potential. Not only that, but Brooks will stick around Lexington to help with the program (and tend to his tomato crop) and continue to lobby for continued upgrades of UK facilities.

The University of Kentucky was lucky to have called such a classy, tenacious, honest, tough leader of the program. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out what we’re going to name after him.