Kentucky
Mark Pope reflects on when he first wanted to be the Kentucky coach
Mark Pope wasn’t always going to be a basketball coach. Once he decided to make that career choice, though, Kentucky was always the job that was the apex on that path.
Pope spoke about wanting the Wildcats’ head coaching job during the first edition of his local radio show on Monday. He started by explaining why he, a Rhodes Scholar and medical student at Columbia University, was best off to step away from the profession in favor of returning to the hardwood.
“I think I actually made this comment. I love talking about this,” Pope prefaced as he laughed. “The truth is is that, when I dropped out of medical school, the entire medical community rejoiced. Survival rates multiplied exponentially. That was probably my greatest gift to the healthcare profession.”
That decision led Pope back to the basketball court at several jobs over the past 15 years. It included assistant roles at Georgia, Wake Forest, and BYU before becoming a head coach at Utah Valley and, most recently, at BYU.
However, the opening of the gig at Kentucky was a whole new ball game for him. It was a seat that John Calipari had filled for a decade and a half. It was also one that the program was quickly considering new options for.
Still, once the coaching search got to Pope, it became the realization of an aspiration for him to return to his alma mater and take, in his opinion, the best job in college basketball.
“I think, my whole life after that, the unimaginable dream of someday being able to be associated with a staff at the University of Kentucky? I mean it is the ultimate in college basketball,” said Pope. “This is the best job. This is the best school. It’s the best team. It’s the best fanbase. It is the pinnacle of college basketball. It also is at the core of everything in my being, my whole heart.”
Pope played for the Wildcats back from 1993 through 1996 under Rick Pitino. That included his senior season where he was a captain on The Untouchables, a team that won the national title in ’96.
Becoming a coach at Kentucky, let alone the head coach, was something that was beyond belief at times for Pope, which the initial fan reaction to his hire evidenced. Still, it’s now very much his reality as the new leader of the Wildcats and the Big Blue Nation.
“It seemed like something that would be unapproachable – yet here we are together,” smiled Pope.
The Kentucky Wildcats are getting ready to start a new era of their football program. In his 13 seasons as head coach, we have all become accustomed to seeing Mark Stoops teams at Kentucky play a certain way. This has been both on defense and on offense, the Wildcats have had a similar blueprint of winning games and finding success. Now, both sides of the ball will look a lot different in terms of scheme, so we will start on the defensive side and what differences you will see in 2026 under new coach Will Stein.
Old: Conservative 3-4
Mark Stoops and defensive coordinator Brad White had a lot of success in their 3-4 defense with a conservative play style, but it had plenty of weaknesses as well. With a nose tackle head up on the center and two defensive lineman playing on the inside shoulder of each offensive tackle, the defense would create pressure but couldn’t consistently finish to make them sacks. This defense required a guy like Joshua Hines-Allen to win one-on-one blocks on the edge in a dominant fashion to thrive as a defense. Since 2020, Kentucky finished top five in total sacks in the SEC just once, in 2023; every other team finished ninth or less in the conference in team sacks.
This conservative 3-4 defense allowed Kentucky to stay in similar personnel throughout the game. The conservative nature had a bend-don’t-break philosophy of keeping everything in front and making tackles. Kentucky rarely switched things up and rolled the dice with blitzes or had pre and post snap coverage rotations on the back end. It was cover 3 and cover 4 heavy, while not disguising coverages and typically sending four pass rushers at the quarterback.
New: Aggressive 4-2-5
The new scheme under defensive coordinator Jay Bateman will be the entire opposite of the old regime. This scheme will be primarily out of an even front, and we have highlighted current players on the team that will benefit from a change in technique. Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace will switch to a traditional edge rusher lining up outside of the offensive tackle, whereas Tavion Gadson will move to a true three technique on the outside shoulder of the offensive guard and both of these players played in the same technique in the previous scheme. Both Humphrey-Grace and Gadson should have more production moving to techniques they more accurately fit.
Kentucky’s defense will utilize five defensive backs for a majority of snaps, which is beneficial with most offenses living in 11 personnel with three wide receivers on the field. This scheme’s success in year one will heavily rely upon the experienced safety duo of Ty Bryant and Jordan Castell. Coach Bateman will have a lot more safety rotations in this scheme and switch up coverages a lot, disguising a particular coverage pre-snap before switching it post-snap. This defense will have a ton of eye candy to try and keep offenses off balance.
This aggressive scheme will not only roll the dice more on passing downs, playing more man coverage. However, it will also be more aggressive in terms of blitzing the quarterback or sending simulated pressures. Simulated pressures are shown as four defensive lineman rushing, but one will drop into coverage with a back seven player blitzing, still sending four at the quarterback while finding creative ways to do so. This amount of disguise and blitzing can create more havoc in the passing game, but it can also allow players to get out of position in the run game.
This schematic change will greatly benefit Kentucky against pass heavy teams, but it remains to be seen how that will be a benefit or a detriment to the run defense. In theory, this scheme should be able to create more havoc plays like sacks and tackles for loss, which can also provide more turnovers. Will Stein mentioned in a press conference, as an offensive minded coach, he wants to steal possessions on defense to get the ball back for his offense. This aggressive style is built towards a common theme of the new regime, which is they will try to win football games on offense rather than on defense.
WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Wilson County leaders are looking to introduce guardrails on data centers during a meeting Monday night.
The commissioner that introduced the idea said they are looking to mirror an ordinance that passed about an hour north in Warren County, Kentucky.
“We have thought about it significantly, and that’s why today is about protection,” said Warren County Judge/Executive Doug Gorman during a Warren Fiscal Court meeting on June 11.
Where to put data centers has become a global conservation, including here in Middle Tennessee.
“Over the past several weeks, I’ve watched Metro Council deal with the potential of a large data center next to the Nashville Zoo. I want to avoid being in that situation in Wilson County,” District 18 Commissioner Lauren Breeze said during a commissioner meeting last week.
Breeze said there are currently no requirements when and if a data center wants to move to town. So, she is working on a zoning amendment for data centers that mirror regulations that were crafted just an hour north.
“Bowling Green and Warren County, Kentucky, will have the gold standard of ordinances for data centers in America,” Gorman said.
Planning leaders in Warren County and Bowling Green spent eight months drafting an ordinance that they hope will protect their community from potential data center developments.
“Everyone and their brother are calling and asking what this ordinance says,” Gorman added.
The ordinance has strict standards on location, design, utility protections and even decommissioning.
For example, the data centers would need to be set back 1,500 feet from homes, schools, and hospitals, as well as look discrete—like an office building. It’s language Wilson County is looking to mirror.
“In my neck of the woods, we have a lot of warehouse and really big warehouses that honestly could be turned into one,” District 11 Commissioner John Gentry said.
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While some communities, like Cedar Hill, passed moratoriums, which put a pause on data centers, the Wilson County attorney said a moratorium might not hold up in court. However, in Warren County, Kentucky, leaders said their regulations will legally protect them.
“What we are doing is making sure to tighten the rules up enough so when they want to look at us and have to jump through seventeen thousand hoops to get done what they want done, chances are they will move on to somebody else,” another leaders expressed during the Warren County meeting.
The Warren County zoning ordinance will go through a second reading.
Meanwhile, the Wilson County Planning and Zoning Committee will meet at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 22. Data center regulations, as well as a moratorium, will be discussed during the meeting.
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