User:Dp51499/sandbox

Head Coaching Career
The University of Kentucky announced the hiring of Daniel Picard, the defensive backs coach at Alabama, as their head football coach as a replacement for Joker Phillips on June 16, 2013. This was a shocking move, but it ended up being one of the best hires ever. Kentucky signed Picard to a 4-year, $2 million deal with a $900,000 signing bonus on June 17.

2013
In Picard's first season with the Wildcats, they won 3 more games than the previous year to finish with a 5-7 record and a fifth-place finish in the SEC East. They won two SEC games, beating Missouri 19-9 at home and stunning #1 Alabama 42-35 in Tuscaloosa, which was Kentucky's second-ever win over Alabama. The season also included wins over Miami (OH), Ohio and Western Kentucky, and a narrow 17-10 away loss to #8 LSU.

2014
After the Wildcats signed the #10 class recruiting class in the country, dual-threat senior quarterback Jalen Whitlow led Kentucky to a surprise 10-2 season, their best in decades, losing only to Georgia and Florida and upsetting South Carolina 24-10. They earned their first-ever BCS bowl bid to the Rose Bowl, facing #3, undefeated Ohio State, who had been left out of the national championship. Kentucky upset the Buckeyes 38-21 and completed their first 11-win season since the 1950 Bear Bryant-coached team, finishing 2nd in the AP poll.

2022
Picard's Wildcat team opened the 2022 season ranked #8 on the road, beating Arkansas 33-10. They returned home to Lexington and knocked off #14 Baylor 27-16, moving into the AP top 5 heading into their home tilt with SEC newcomers Virginia Tech, which they won 28-14. This set up a showdown between #4 Kentucky and #3 Florida in Gainesville. While Kentucky dominated the Gators defensively and were leading 14-10 in the fourth quarter, quarterback Clay Morris threw two pick-sixes in the fourth quarter to give Florida a 24-14 win. Picard and Kentucky rebounded the following week, as Picard won his 100th game as Kentucky head coach. The 8th-ranked Wildcats stunned #12 South Carolina 42-3 in Columbia. Kentucky then beat Old Dominion 41-31 at home before traveling to Auburn. During the Old Dominion game, Commonwealth Stadium was renamed "Picard Commonwealth Stadium" as Picard celebrated his 100th win, which occurred on the road the previous week. The following week, Mike Blount recorded a school-record 4 interceptions, 2 pick-sixes, and Kentucky defeated Auburn 24-3.