Joker

[Caveman Catfan]

Gabriel aired an interview he did with Joker yesterday on 590. Man, that guy is a class act. Who could not like him?

I want this team to succeed as a fan, but I really also want it to succeed for Joker. He is modest and gracious and seems to be a quality person. Brooks is a good man to give him this chance at his alma mater. I sure hope the offense clicks for him this year!

[CATHYnKY]

I had the pleasure of having some one on one time with Joker at the women's FB clinic. I was so impressed. He was so genuine and sincere. He loves this team and he is a true fan of the BIG BLUE!!!

[F4F]

I have known Joker since he and Bill Ransdell were room mates on the team. I could not agree more. If I am not mistaken, Joker's was first UK job was as an assistant in recruiting. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that hire.

[poodoo]

CATHYnKY wrote: I had the pleasure of having some one on one time with Joker at the women's FB clinic. I was so impressed. He was so genuine and sincere. He loves this team and he is a true fan of the BIG BLUE!!!


I know, Cathy. Reading about that made me wish all the more that I could have been at the women's clinic with you gals. :)

Joker is indeed impressive. As you say, he is genuine and sincere and truly loves UK. Like Caveman Catfan, I cannot imagine anyone's not liking Joker Phillips. Also, like Caveman, I would love for the offense to be successful this season AND for Joker eventually to be the head football coach at UK.

By the way, I did get a couple of hugs from Joker when I talked with him at Fan Day (after having talked with him a couple of other times in previous yearsand having written back and forth a few times). That just made Fan Day all the better, too! :)

[EricBigNally]

I don't know him personally, actually, I have never even spoken to him, but from what I can gather from reading various articles about him, he is a stand up man. I still stand by my theory of him being a head coach of the Cats sometime in the future. I'm not saying necessarily that Brooks will be gone next year. Somewhere along the lines of college football, there will be a head coach named Joker Philips at UK. It could be years before it happens, but I see it happening.

[F4F]

If Brooks fails I don't think Joker will get the opportunity to coach UK. If Brooks is a success, and I think he will be, Joker is a very likely transition in the future. Nonetheless there are a lot of bridges yet to cross.

[poodoo]

F4F wrote: If Brooks fails I don't think Joker will get the opportunity to coach UK. If Brooks is a success, and I think he will be, Joker is a very likely transition in the future. Nonetheless there are a lot of bridges yet to cross.


Absolutely, F4F. Anyone who wants Joker someday to be UK's head football coach certainly needs to be pulling for Coach Brooks to be successful. That is likely the only way Joker someday becomes the head coach at UK.

Again, personally, I would love to see it happen. Joker, besides being kind, personable, principled and fair,truly lovesthe University of Kentucky. If he ever attains the position, I feel sure he would not choose to leave UK, regardless how successful he became here. Further, having Joker Phillips as the head coach would surely be beneficial to UK's recruiting.

Presently I pull hard for Coach Brooks to be successful. WhenCoach Brookseventually retires, Joker's becoming head coach would bring a huge smile to my face. :)

[TheMadCatter]

Actually, I can see a scenario where Joker gets a chance even if Brooks doesn't make it, though I sure don't want to live through it. If at some point the wheels come off again midseason and Brooks steps aside (voluntary or otherwise), Joker could be elevated to "interim" HC to finish out the season. I think in that situation Archer's experience would make him the more logical choice, but I suppose I'd be pulling for Joker to get the chance and show what he could do.

Of course, when we're making our bowl travel plans this winter this discussion will be long forgotten.:cool:

[lotsaloans]

Don't get me wrong, I like the job that Joker has done so far. Let's just not get too far ahead of ourselves. Joker has been instrumental in attracting the better talent that is now on the field, there's no doubt about that. However, he is just going into his second year as OC and strictly looking at the numbers from last year they were mediocre. With time Joker could very well move into the head coach role down the line, say five to seven years of continued growth from now to then. But if it's two to three years we are talking about, I would feel that you would possibly be setting him up unintentionally for a fall. Then again, there exists a strong, experienced staff in place already to support him so it's a coin flip.