• Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops promoted Derek Shay to tight ends coach, replacing Vince Marrow.
• Shay has served as a senior offensive analyst for the Wildcats since March 2024 and has previous coaching experience at multiple universities.
• Shay’s hiring has been praised by current Kentucky tight end Josh Kattus as well as former LSU coach Ed Orgeron.
• Shay’s hire was one day after Marrow left Kentucky to join rival Louisville’s staff.

LEXINGTON — Mark Stoops didn’t take long to find his new tight ends coach. Nor did he have to look far.

Stoops, entering his 13th season as Kentucky football’s coach, named Derek Shay to the position Friday. The announcement came one day after Vince Marrow, who had served in the role for the first 12 years of Stoops’ tenure, switched sides in the Bluegrass rivalry, becoming Louisville’s executive director of player personnel and recruiting.

Stoops didn’t need to leave the Joe Craft Football Training Facility to find Marrow’s replacement: Shay already was part of the Wildcats’ staff.

Here’s what to know about Shay, UK’s newest assistant coach:

Shay has been part of UK’s support staff since March 2024. He worked as a senior offensive analyst/run game specialist the last 16 months.

Prior to joining Kentucky, Shay was Marshall’s tight ends coach (2023-24).

He also has worked for Missouri (senior offensive analyst; 2022-23), LSU (graduate assistant/tight ends; 2020-22), McNeese State (tight ends/offensive tackles; 2019-20), IMG Academy (co-offensive coordinator/offensive line; 2017-19), Warren Central High School in Indianapolis (co-offensive coordinator/offensive line; 2015-17), Bowling Green (graduate assistant/tight ends; 2014-15) and Eastern Illinois (student assistant/tight ends/offensive line; 2011-13).

An Illinois native, Shay started his college career at Western Illinois, where he played on the offensive line. He later transferred to Eastern Illinois. Shay received his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois in 2013 and earned his master’s degree from LSU in 2021.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity that coach Stoops and (offensive coordinator) coach (Bush) Hamdan have given me,” Shay said in a statement. “There is a good mix of experience and young talent in the tight end room and I’m looking forward to coaching them. Additionally, being a part of the Big Blue Nation is truly an honor and I’m ready to get to work and represent this incredible fanbase in this new role.”

“We are fortunate to have someone already on our staff who has coached tight ends at a high level and led those rooms successfully,” Stoops said. “He is familiar with coach Hamdan’s system and I’m very confident in his abilities.

“His versatility, football IQ, and on-field toughness will be a valuable addition to our offense.”

“We get to see every day how coach Shay operates and the intensity he brings, and we are excited to have him leading our room. He knows our system inside and out, and he’s incredibly passionate about the game and coaching. Adding him to our room is a seamless transition.”

— Josh Kattus, Kentucky senior tight end

“Derek is a very knowledgeable coach with an outstanding work ethic. Our players and coaches at LSU loved him — not just as a coach, but as a man. He’s an outstanding recruiter with tireless energy and a passion for developing young talent. Additionally, he’s a great family man who brings character and integrity to everything he does. The University of Kentucky is getting a great one. He’s a great hire.”

— Ed Orgeron, former LSU head football coach

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack. 

On Saturday, June 14, demonstrators will gather across the Bluegrass State.

It’s the same day a massive military parade is set to take to the streets of Washington in an elaborate showcase of troops, tanks, weapons and aircraft.

The parade, estimated to cost $40 million, coincides with both the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.

In response to the extravagantly costly display, a mobilization of “No Kings” protests have been organized nationwide.

Here’s what you should know.

What are ‘No Kings’ protests?

The protest organizer’s website describes “No Kings” as a “nationwide day of defiance” in response to Trump and the military parade, saying, “we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism.”

With an emphasis on nonviolent activism, the website outlines the movement’s broad appeal, “from city blocks to small towns,” and makes a promise to battle Trump’s “ego” in a fight for democracy.

“On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t – to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings,” the website reads.

Story continues below gallery.

When and where are protests in Kentucky?

The locations of the June 14 protests scheduled in Kentucky can be found below. Exact locations and more details can be found after signing up on the “No Kings” website.

• Louisville: Noon-4 p.m.
• Bowling Green: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Danville: 10-11 a.m.
• Elton: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Frankfort: Noon-2 p.m.
• Franklin: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Hazard: Noon-3 p.m.
• Henderson: 5:30-7 p.m.
• Hopkinsville: Noon-1:30 p.m.
• Jackson: 5-7 p.m.
• Lexington: Noon-3 p.m.
• Madisonville: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Morehead: Noon-3 p.m.
• Owensboro: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Paducah: 1-2:30 p.m.
• Shelbyville: 1-3 p.m.

When and where are protests in Southern Indiana?

• Madison: 10 a.m.-noon
• New Albany: 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Evansville: 1-3 p.m.

When are ‘No Kings’ protests in the Cincinnati area?

Find more Ohio protests at nokings.org.

• Cincinnati: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and noon-4 p.m.
• Hamilton: Noon-2 p.m.
• Loveland: 3-5 p.m.
• Mason: Noon-2 p.m.
• Middletown: Noon-2 p.m.
• West Chester: Noon-2 p.m.

This story was updated to add a video.  

Mark Stoops did not wait around to find a replacement for Vince Marrow. A little more than 24 hours after his move to Louisville became official, Kentucky announced that Derek Shay will be the Wildcats’ next tight ends coach.

“We are fortunate to have someone already on our staff who has coached tight ends at a high level and led those rooms successfully,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said in a statement.

“He is familiar with Coach (Bush) Hamdan’s system and I’m very confident in his abilities. His versatility, football IQ, and on-field toughness will be a valuable addition to our offense.”

Shay is familiar with Hamdan’s system because it’s not the first time the two have coached together. They first interacted when Shay was a member of the Missouri support staff, working alongside Hamdan. Shay is one of the only people Hamdan brought with him to Kentucky. He sat next to the offensive coordinator in the booth throughout the 2024 season.

In between stints with Hamdan, Shay served as the tight ends coach at Marshall in 2023. He also coached in the LSU tight end room as a GA. That’s where his high-major coaching career began, a year after the Tigers won the National Championship.

“Derek is a very knowledgeable coach with an outstanding work ethic. Our players and coaches at LSU loved him—not just as a coach, but as a man,” said former LSU head coach Ed Oregeron.

“He’s an outstanding recruiter with tireless energy and a passion for developing young talent. Additionally, he’s a great family man who brings character and integrity to everything he does. The University of Kentucky is getting a great one. He’s a great hire.”

Shay has a lot of talent to work with this fall. The Wildcats took two transfers, Henry Boyer (Illinois) and Elijah Brown (UCF), who can be road-graders in the run game. Willie Rodriguez showed a ton of promise during his freshman season and true freshman Mikkel Skinner was the highest-ranked player in the Wildcats’ 2025 recruiting class. Rodriguez and Josh Kattus have worked with Shay for the last 16 months, and the latter is fired up to see Shay in a more prominent role.

“We get to see every day how Coach Shay operates and the intensity he brings, and we are excited to have him leading our room. He knows our system inside and out, and he’s incredibly passionate about the game and coaching. Adding him to our room is a seamless transition.”

You can hear more from other players and coaches who worked with Shay as he takes the next step in his coaching career.

Derek Shay Coach Record