The Kentucky Wildcats’ defense was a disaster down the stretch of the 2017 season, but the man calling the shots will keep his job.
According to SEC Country, Matt House will be retained as UK’s defense coordinator for the 2018 season. However, the report does not yet specify if House will continue to call the defense or if Mark Stoops will go back to doing so, just as he did in 2016 when the defense had its best stretch of football during his tenure.
It’s not a surprise to see House remain, given that he was in just his first year as the defensive playcaller in Lexington. Still, as bad as the defense was down the stretch, you’d like to think there will be some big changes next season on that side of the ball.
Hopefully, those will come in the form of several position coach changes on defense. This unit struggled far too much to keep everything the same in 2018.
Then again, this has been a consistent theme under Stoops’ watch, especially when it comes in these November collapses we’ve become far too accustomed to seeing.
In 18 November games vs FBS schools at UK, Stoops' defenses have allowed 37-plus points on 11 occasions. Three times they didn't were against Vanderbilt. ON eight occasions, they allowed 42-plus points.