The will he, won’t he is over as Matt House is officially leaving Kentucky for the NFL.

If you missed the saga extending back to last week, Kentucky’s defensive coordinator was set to leave the program to become the new linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. That move was later nixed for some reason and Kentucky announced House would be returning. Now, House to Kansas City is back on.

That news was first reported by Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio Tuesday morning which was followed up by a KSR interview with Mark Stoops. House had been on staff in Lexington for three seasons, serving as defensive coordinator the previous two years with Kentucky.

During his appearance on the program, Kentucky’s coach stressed that his relationship with House was still strong despite the assistant’s departure to the NFL. Quotes come via Nick Roush of Kentucky Sports Radio:

“This is what everybody needs to know. Matt and I are great friends. We’ve been friends throughout this process. We’re great friends, we always will be and ultimately things worked out. I’m happy for him and his family and what he wants to do and the lifestyle he chooses. Matt’s a great coach and he busted his tail here for the three years he was here and I greatly appreciate him.”

So if the relationship between Stoops and House remains strong, why the decision to leave Lexington for what could be deemed a demotion, at least in terms of position on a football staff? According to Stoops, it came down to the commitment level it takes to succeed in the SEC.

While he didn’t touch on recruiting, that’s the key difference between college and NFL at the moment, as recruiting never takes a break for coaches that want to get ahead and do their part when it comes to pursuing the next crop of high school players each SEC program is interested in signing.

“You’re going to see more of this. It’s coming down to lifestyle. You can never blame somebody for wanting more (free) time. This job will absolutely consume people. We have no downtime.”

That prediction could soon turn into a reality for the Florida Gators, too, as defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is currently interviewing to become the coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals.