Eddie Gran had second thoughts about Kentucky; Reese Phillips transfer may have caused

The Kentucky Wildcats may not be getting Eddie Gran after all.

It looked as though the Cincinnati Bearcats' offensive coordinator was set to come to Lexington after UK parted with Shannon Dawson last week. Gran has a strong history with UK head coach Mark Stoops, and it seemed like a perfect fit.

That is, until backup quarterback Reese Phillips decided to transfer last week, and on his way out, took some not-too-subtle shots at Stoops and fellow quarterback Drew Barker. In an interview with The Chattanooga Times Free Press, Phillips, a Tennessee native, said Stoops "wasn't real happy" with his decision to leave UK and claimed to not remember previously talking to Phillips about the possibility of a medical redshirt in 2015 while also taking issue with Stoops' decision to name Barker the starter for next year.

"That wasn’t really fair to Pat or to me. Drew is a friend, but speaking honestly, he didn’t do anything special those last two games and Stoops still gave him the job. That wasn’t fair," Phillips said. "I’m not the type to make excuses, but I never got beat out. If I get beat out wherever I go from here, I’m man enough to admit that I got beat out."

It wasn't just Phillips transferring and his parting shots though that had Gran worrying about the situation at UK as much as also not having much depth at that position. If Barker gets hurt, UK suddenly could go from a 5-6 win team to a 2-3 win team if there's no capable backup.

The good news in all of this is that, while Gran did begin having second thoughts about coming to Kentucky, it appears he no long is thanks to UK A.D. Mitch Barnhart, as KSR reports:

It wasn’t until yesterday that things got back on track, when Mitch Barnhart intervened. KSR has learned Barnhart swooped in and convinced Gran to get back on board, and that is where the situation is today. The two sides are close to an agreement and it could be a done deal as soon as tomorrow.

If that's the case and UK does end up closing the deal on Gran, good work by Barnhart on the assist.