John Clay: No reason to believe Joker can't fix what ails UK football

Keeping with my contrarian nature, I'm here to say some positive things about Joker Phillips.

Tuesday night, before the Kentucky-Auburn basketball game, it was Joker Phillips who showed up in the media room to say some positive things about Joker Phillips.

Or, well, about Kentucky football. The head coach said he felt good about things for next season. He insisted his Cats were "not that far away" from being wildly successful. He smiled that Joker smile.

This, no doubt, was to deflect a not-so-great thing. There has been plenty of lemon-sucking since Kentucky's 27-10 loss to Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass Bowl on Saturday. The loss gift-wrapped UK's first losing season since 2005. In large part, the negatives have been laid at the feet of Phillips.

"I understand that," the coach said Tuesday.

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