Kentucky Wildcats Being Deliberate in Offensive Coordinator Search

The Kentucky Wildcats are taking their time in hiring a new offensive coordinator. While this may worry some people, head coach Mark Stoops simply cannot miss on this hire, so he is taking his time to make sure he gets the right person for the job.

Also, it appears that one of the prime candidates for the job is Lincoln Riley, currently offensive coordinator for the East Carolina Pirates. Riley is still with ECU and plans to be there to coach the Pirates in the Birmingham Bowl on January 3. It might be awkward for Riley’s current team if he is coaching them while recruiting for another program.

Kentucky has an opening for an offensive coordinator after former coordinator Neal Brown left the Bluegrass to become the head coach at Troy. Brown tried to install the “Air Raid” system in Lexington, but never had good enough personnel to make it work.

Stoops appears to be headed in the same direction with his new hire. Riley likes to make his offense go fast, and he likes to throw the ball, even more than Brown did.

That brings up another part of this conversation. With a new offensive coordinator bringing in a new system, the job as starting quarterback is really open again. Riley, or whoever the new offensive coordinator is, does not have to choose Patrick Towles, just because he started this season. The fact is, Towles was really good for the first half of the season, but he also struggled mightily down the stretch.

A new coordinator could mean that both Reese Phillips and Drew Barker will be given a shot to win the job. That would seem to be only fair, since none of the three have ever run the new system that will be coming to town.

This is a very important hire for Stoops. He is known as a defensive coach, so that side of the ball should continue to improve. But if the Wildcats are to make strides as a team, the right offensive coordinator must be on the staff.

Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.