Mark Stoops, almost defiantly, told Kentucky fans he wasn’t going anywhere following Saturday’s 41-14 loss to Louisville.

“Everyone wants to replace me right now, but I am not going anywhere,” he told reporters after the game. “My butt will be in my office tomorrow. Anyone who wants me to be gone anywhere is wishful thinking. My butt is going to work I am sorry I disappointed folks. But I am optimistic we will turn it around”

Kentucky fell to 4-8 with the loss to Louisville, finishing with its worst record in a season since 2013 — Stoops’ first year in charge. The 1-7 record in conference play is also the worst since 2013.

Stoops has been at Kentucky since November of 2012. With Nick Saban retiring this past offseason, Stoops officially became the longest-tenured coach in the SEC.

During the Louisville game, a number of fans on social media expressed a desire to move on from Stoops, but such a move would be difficult for UK. Stoops’ buyout sits at $44 million, according to the USA Today coach salary database.

Unless a white knight comes through, Kentucky is likely stuck with Stoops.

To his credit, Stoops believes he can still right the ship.

“We’ve done good things in the past and we know how to do it. I feel like we have a good plan to move forward here,” he said. “There will be a lot of moving pieces here in the next 2, 3, 4 weeks and that excites me and motivates me.”

Stoops had won 5 straight over Louisville. He had gone to 8 straight bowl games. With those streaks over, Kentucky has to be honest about what caused them to end. Stoops said Saturday afternoon that this year’s team wasn’t tough enough or consistent enough — not like his past teams have been. The ‘Cats have serious work to do this offseason.

“I understand the frustrations completely,” Stoops said. “We’re not very happy as well. I can promise you we’ll get back to work. We’ll get it fixed.”