Mark Stoops made major changes to the Kentucky football roster this offseason, but for the sake of continuity, only one coaching change was made, and that was out of the head coach’s hands. That only applied to full-time assistants. Stoops has made multiple off-field moves, and the latest is an eye-opener.
The University of Kentucky announced three new additions to the support staff on Tuesday, most notably the addition of Kevin Barbay. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he once called plays against the Wildcats.
Barbay has been an offensive coordinator for four of the last five years. He rose through the ranks alongside former Florida coach Jim McElwain, leading him to Appalachian State in 2022. When Zach Arnett was forced to take over the Mississippi State program following the tragic death of Mike Leach, Arnett brought in Barbay to revamp the Bulldogs’ offense. The abrupt change from the Air Raid did not go according to plan, and Barbay only spent on season in Starkville. He landed at Houston and called the plays for 11 games before Willie Fritz elected to go in a different direction.
Barbay is in need of a career reset. He’s bringing a ton of experience to Bush Hamdan’s staff ahead of a season where the second-year offensive coordinator desperately needs the Cats to take a big step forward.
“We are excited to add so much experience and knowledge to our coaching staff. Barbay has been an offensive coordinator at several great programs and is a solid addition to our offensive staff,” Stoops said in a statement.
Two Other Kentucky Coaching Hires
Kentucky added another coaching veteran to the defensive staff. Brad Lambert has 38 years of coaching experience, including eight years as the head coach at Charlotte. He was the defensive coordinator for the last three seasons at Wake Forest, and prior to that was a co-defensive coordinator on Jeff Brohm’s staff at Purdue. Lambert was Brad White’s linebackers coach at Wake Forest and the two worked together with Dean Hood when the Demon Deacons went to the 2006 Orange Bowl.
The resume is not as long for Paul Rodriguez. The Ohio native played two seasons in Lexington before a medical issue forced him to retire last summer. Unable to play, he stuck with the Cats as a volunteer student assistant. He has been elevated to a graduate assistant, tasked to help Eric Wolford on the Kentucky offensive line.
The post Former SEC Offensive Coordinator Joins Mark Stoops’ Kentucky Football Staff appeared first on On3.