Coaching at Kentucky is obviously his dream job. This might be his only chance, and it won't be easy.

The fans are demanding and already skeptical.

He doesn't have a compelling resume. Being on a national champion team at Kentucy isn't super unique (there are 8 such teams). Being a former NBA player who played at Kentucky isn't that unique either (there are 132 such players). Coaching at UVU and BYU with 0 NCAA tournament wins doesn't help.

Other probably more qualified candidates have turned down the opportunity (presumably for good reasons).

He can't bring many assistants, players or recruits with him because most he's been working with aren't at the level Kentucky demands for their program.

In short, he's in for a HUGE uphill battle just to avoid getting run out of town in 2-3 years.

BUT...he had the guts to go for it anyway. I have a LOT of respect for that, and I hope he succeeds beyond his wildest dreams. It will take a ton of work, and he'll have to take some good-sized lumps along the way as he finds out what he's really gotten himself into, but having the guts to try is just SO impressive.

Am I disappointed that he didn't send a nice public farewell letter to BYU on the way out? Maybe.

But it sounds like the relationship might have been a little rocky already, and any farewell was going to be awkward no matter what. If 90% of the grumpy fans who read his letter didn't change their minds about him anyway, what's the point? Maybe it just felt like a 50/50 decision, and he decided to do a few private goodbye's instead and call it good. Can I live with that as a fan? Yeah, I'll be fine.

Am I disappointed he's recruiting some of our best players? Maybe, but if any of them are good enough to play at Kentucky then if they're smart they'd be hitting the portal after the season regardless, and <insert new Kentucky coach name here> recruiting them to Kentucky doesn't surprise me at all.

Thanks Mark for doing your best while you were here, for being a great ambassador for what makes BYU unique, for making a huge splash in the Big 12 in year one, and for setting the program up for future success.

Go Wildcats.