Longtime Kentucky coach Marrow's resignation method revealed

Vince Marrow. Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Longtime Kentucky coach Vince Marrow's resignation method revealed

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Jun 30, 2025 9:01 PM ET

Fans of Kentucky football may not ever forgive long-time coach Vince Marrow for the way he left the Wildcats.

It was already bad enough for Kentucky. Marrow had been with the school for the entirety of the Mark Stoops era and he was known as one of the better assistant coaches in the SEC. Not to mention, he's highly regarded as a recruiter.

A few weeks ago it was announced that Marrow was leaving Kentucky, though, and to make things worse, his new program was the in-state rival Louisville Cardinals.

Marrow was hired as Louisville football's executive director of player personnel and recruiting.

It was a tough loss for Kentucky with the salt in the wound being that Marrow left for Louisville. It's now being reported, though, that Marrow left in quite an unbelievable way.

After 15 seasons with Stoops and the Wildcats, he announced his resignation via text. This is according to Lyndsey Gough of WKYT Sports.

Through a FOIA request, @wkytsports obtained Vince Marrow's resignation to the University of Kentucky, which came via text message to UK Deputy Athletics Director Mark Hill. This came the same day UofL announced Marrow's hiring. Marrow spent 12 years on the UK staff. #BBN pic.twitter.com/GW2r7cNxOY
— Lyndsey Gough (@LGonTV) June 30, 2025

To be fair to Marrow, two-week notices aren't really a thing in the world of college football, but this is still quite an informal, and potentially disrespectful, way to leave a place in which Marrow had become an institution.

He, of course, didn't owe Kentucky anything and the Cardinals likely made him an offer he couldn't refuse to cross enemy lines. Still, this seems like it could have been handled a bit better.

The text messages reveal that Kentucky deputy athletic director Marc Hill seems to have had an idea that this was coming, but this still had to have been a shock for the entire Kentucky program. To that point, it was reported at the time that Kentucky leadership did not know of Marrow's decision until they saw it via a Pete Thamel tweet.

It's another added wrinkle to an already heated rivalry. Marrow may not have many friends left in Lexington.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

More must-reads: