On Mark Stoops' departure:

I'm very proud of him. Very happy for him. He got an opportunity to go on and further his career and do what he wants to do and I'm happy for him. I'm elated for him and like I said, those are things that I think are very indicative of the players which we have that he's coached and our program."

On telling the team:

We announced it to our players. When we found out today we had a meeting and announced it to our players. Our players were very elated. And I think expected, they know that this is a part of this business and our kids were very good and they came out and responded very well.

On if he will stay through the bowl:

We haven't even talked through that yet. We've got to get through this week, it's all about Georgia Tech.

On if any assistant coaches are going with him:

None of those things have been done. We haven't even talked about those things. Were focused solely on Georgia Tech.

On if he will coach the ACC Championship game:

Oh yeah, he'll coach this game.

On why the news came out today and not later:

That's them (Kentucky) and they make the announcement…it's fine.

On looking for a replacement:

We'll start that next week. I haven't really started-I'll look at my list and see what we have and what's available out there.

On how Fisher found out:

He told me. We had a conversation.

On what about Stoops will make him a good head coach:

I think he's a hard worker. He cares about what he does. He has a lot of passion about what he does. He truly loves coaching.

On possibly advancing an assistant to defensive coordinator:

There's possibilities of that all the time.

On if it is a distraction:

It really hasn't been. You always worry about that, but they've been bang bang, yes sir. (They think it's) great for him…they understand what goes on.