Steve Clinkscale to be Kentucky Wildcats' Secondary Coach

It looks like the Kentucky Wildcats have found their next secondary coach.

Ever since Derrick Ansley left for Alabama to be their secondary coach, Mark Stoops has been searching for a replacement at all levels of football, including a run at Red Reed, who opted to stay with the Buffalo Bills.

Now, multiple media reports say that Cincinnati Bearcats co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale will be UK's next secondary coach. Scout.com's Patrick Loney first reported the news Saturday night.

Clinkscale, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, joined Tuberville's UC staff in 2013. Clinkscale also has coached at Illinois, Toledo, Western Carolina and Ashland University. He rose to the title of UC's co-defensive coordinator in 2015.

As a player, Clinkscale was a four-year starter and a team captain at Ashland. He played in the 2000 Snow Bowl, the Division II all-star game. Since then, Clinkscale has slowly rose up the coaching ranks, and this will be his first shot at being a coach in the SEC.

Other candidates for this job were former South Carolina secondary coach Steve Brown and current Texas A&M secondary coach Terry Joseph.

Brown reportedly drove to Lexington to interview for the job on his own dime, but it looks like Stoops was never strongly considering him for the secondary coaching job.

As for Joseph, there was contact between he and UK, but it's unclear as to how far it got before talks broke off. He may have simply been using UK as leverage to get a raise at A&M, or UK may have simply passed on pursuing him further.

In the end, Stoops found his man in Clinkscale, so hopefully he comes in and keeps the Wildcat secondary improving the way it has every year under Stoops.