BREAKING: Texas A&M Aggies NOT Hiring Mark Stoops, Despite Early Reports

Despite reports circulating that the Texas A&M Aggies would be hiring coach Mark Stoops, those reports have now been debunked by multiple insiders.
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Things are officially getting weird in College Station. 

Just hours after reports swirled that the Texas A&M Aggies would be hiring Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops to replace Jimbo Fisher, those rumors have now been debunked, with Stoops now staying put - for now - in Lexington. 

"I am told by a very good source that Mark Stoops is staying at Kentucky," Kentucky insider Matt Jones tweeted. 

That report was quickly followed by another from ESPN insider Pete Thamel, who also shot down the rumors. 

"Kentucky's Mark Stoops will not be the next Texas A&M coach, ESPN can confirm," Thamel tweeted.

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman also confirmed that Stoops will not be heading to College Station.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops reacts during the third quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Kroger Field.
Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops reacts during the third quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Kroger Field / Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

The reversal was reported not long after the reported hiring of Stoops by multiple Texas A&M outlets.

Those reports were then quickly met with massive amounts of ire from the fanbase on social media, including pleas from current players to keep interim head coach Elijah Robinson in place with the program. 

This bizarre turn of events comes just hours after the Aggies were connected by insiders with the likes of Clemson head coach Dabo Swinny, Ohio State's Ryan Day, Utah's Kyle Whittingham, UTSA's Jeff Traylor, and Arizona's Jedd Fisch. 

The Aggies, who were entering the weekend looking to put an end to their coaching search ahead of the Early Signing Period, are now seemingly going back to the drawing board and will continue their search for a new face of the program. 

REPORT: Aggies Expected to Name Mark Stoops As New Head Coach; Deal Not Done

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. 


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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.