Keith Taylor Explains How He First Reported UK’s Offer To Scott Drew

Veteran sportswriter Keith Taylor is happy that Mark Pope got the job at Kentucky. (Vicky Graff Photo)

I’ve never been one to seek the spotlight. It’s just not my style when it comes to my job as a publisher and sportswriter for Kentucky Today. Those who know me will testify to that fact.

Last week, my name was attached to the biggest job opening in college athletics. No, I didn’t apply to become the 23rd head coach at the University of Kentucky, but I knew who was first in line to be offered a chance to succeed John Calipari, who just completed his 15th season as coach of the Wildcats.

Less than five hours after Calipari sent his resignation letter to Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart at 2 p.m. on April 9, I spent a couple of hours reaching out to my anonymous sources with ties to Baylor coach Scott Drew. At 5:22 p.m., I also sent out a message on X, formerly Twitter, that read, “I have every reason to believe that Mitch Barnhart will target Scott Drew in the next 24 hours.” Then at 6:47 p.m. on April 9, I took to social media on my X account once again and typed the words, “Scott Drew has been offered the job at UK.”

Shortly thereafter, national media pundits followed suit and said Drew was indeed the one candidate for the Kentucky vacancy. Despite knowing first-hand what was going on less than five hours following Calipari’s departure, many doubted the nine-word single sentence I typed for the world to see. Even one popular radio host in Kentucky didn’t believe that Drew had been offered and he knows I don’t just put information out there for the sake of being the first to report something as big as a coaching search at Kentucky.

Now in my third decade of covering sports at Kentucky as a sports journalist, it wasn’t my first rodeo. I’ve covered coaching searches before and broke the news in 1997 that Scott Perry was leaving the University of Michigan to coach at Eastern Kentucky University. Three years later, when Travis Ford took over for Perry, I was the first to report on Ford’s hiring before the official press conference.

Although a seasoned journalist with integrity and a rock-solid reputation for honesty, there were plenty of naysayers on social media during the two days that followed April 9, which happened to be the day before my 53rd birthday.

Behind a keyboard and screen, people can be rude and crude. I knew that, but found out even more how cruel people can be on a computer screen with a real or fake name. Some of the replies were spam but others were true human beings, including one individual who said I was “just playing the Vegas odds” and another posted a photo of Charlie Farquharson of KORN on “Hee Haw.” I have to admit I laughed out loud on that one because I grew up watching “Hee Haw” and simply replied, “yea, that’s where a true journalist gets his information. Carry on!”

Another one said, “Me when I lie for clout.” What? I just said, “I don’t need clout and I don’t lie.” One posted a reply that had an American flag and the Israel flag attached to his name that read, “Sure … the guy with 3,700 followers whose link is an online paper for Kentucky Baptists got the biggest scoop in UK history. Sure” with a meme of a guy nodding his head, saying, Sure …”

I thought to myself, “Wow, just because I don’t write for a national outlet or one of the big names here in Kentucky doesn’t mean I can’t break news with credible sources.” If you doubt my work, I’ll humbly be glad to show you my trophy case.

Later, as news of Drew’s ties to the opening surfaced, I was given the proper credit for first reporting the break by most media outlets locally and nationally — thank you — and appeared on a radio station in Waco, Texas, with John Clay of the Lexington Herald-Leader. I went on the air in between eating dinner and dessert on my birthday at David’s Steakhouse in London.

On Thursday, Drew released a statement on social media that he would remain at Baylor. From there, the search continued until word of Mark Pope’s interest and eventual hiring surfaced on the same day Drew made his announcement.

I covered Pope when he was a player here at the beginning of my journalism career and couldn’t be happier for Pope and his family.

I’m just glad the search is over so I can watch “Hee Haw” reruns and KORN to get some more ideas on how to cover breaking news.