Why Bush Hamdan and Kentucky football might be perfect marriage after constant turnover

New Kentucky football offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan is no stranger to job changes. His boss, Mark Stoops, is well acquainted with having to find a new leader of his offense on an almost annual basis at this point.

So, is there reason to believe the marriage between Kentucky and Hamdan might finally provide some stability to both sides of the relationship?

“I think so,” Hamdan said Thursday during his introductory news conference at UK. “I think there certainly had to be that commitment, I felt like, for him and I. I think it’s there.

“As you know in this day and age of college football more than ever you’ve got to take it one day at a time. That’s the biggest thing. I think today is a big day, tomorrow is a big day. I also think I understand this is the SEC. These jobs don’t come open very often, and I’m well aware of that. A lot of gratitude of having the opportunity of having this position. I know the task at hand, and I’m excited to be here.”

Hamdan comes to UK after one season as the offensive coordinator at Boise State, his alma mater. That job came after a three-year stint as a quarterbacks and wide receivers coach at Missouri. Hamdan’s resume includes multiple stops at Washington working for his college coach Chris Petersen as well as one-season stints at Colorado, Maryland, Sacramento State, Florida, Arkansas State, Davidson and the Atlanta Falcons.

Meanwhile, Stoops has had to hire a new offensive coordinator in four consecutive offseasons after losing Liam Coen to the NFL for a second time. Hamdan will be the sixth different coach to hold that title in Stoops’ 12 seasons at Kentucky.

“It’s hard because I know maybe you look at the resume and certainly there’s been a lot of moves,” Hamdan said before explaining how each job change was seen as an opportunity he could not pass up at the time. “... It’s just the nature of, in my opinion, this profession. If you’re going to be kind of into doing this thing, you’ve got to do it.”

Moving from Boise State to Kentucky will probably come with at least a double in salary for Hamdan, but he insisted the decision was still the most difficult of his career.

Boise State appears to be one of the early favorites for the automatic playoff bid that will go to the top-ranked Group of Five conference team next season.

Star running back Ashton Jeanty, the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, announced he would return to Boise State in December amid rumors of significant transfer portal interest from Power Five conference teams. Hamdan helped the Broncos sign former five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson as a transfer from USC and No. 1-ranked junior-college wide receiver Chris Marshall, a former five-star recruit who made stops at Texas A&M and Ole Miss.

“I think for me, between Mark Stoops, between (athletic director) Mitch Barnhart, their tenure here speaks of their commitment to Kentucky, what they’ve done here,” Hamdan said. “The SEC, it’s the third time I’ve been here. I know what this conference is all about. Anybody in coaching wants to be the best, and I think this conference certainly forces you to do that.

“I remember those days, I do, of being at Florida, being at Missouri and coming to Kroger Field, knowing what this place is about, knowing what the fan base is about. The mixture of those three things just made this a job I couldn’t pass up on.”

Hamdan’s offense will bring some similarities to Kentucky players since the rushing attack was built around concepts he learned with running Kyle Shanahan’s offense with the Falcons, but there will be changes too.

Unlike the pro-style offense run by Coen and 2022 offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, Hamdan’s scheme will largely operate without huddling. That decision allows him to vary tempo, possibly addressing a plodding pace of play that plagued Kentucky the last two seasons. Hamdan will place an increased emphasis on the quarterback run game — “I think he has to get you two first downs per game with his legs,” Hamdan said — and simplify some of the terminology he learned in the NFL for a college audience.

If those changes lead to a successful season for Kentucky’s offense in 2024, there is no guarantee that Hamdan will not be the target of interest for head coaching opportunities or higher profile coordinator jobs.

But even after years of constant turnover for both Hamdan and Kentucky, both sides would probably take that trade today.

“The opportunity to be here was one I couldn’t pass up,” Hamdan said. “I would say this: You make the moves, but it’s ingrained into you. Your passion for your side of the ball or your passion for coaching, the position you coach. Although you might be in different places, you never lose the constant state of improving in those areas.”

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