Mark Stoops is new Kentucky coach Kentucky has hired Florida State defensive coordinator Mark Stoops as the Wildcats' football coach. Stoops replaces Joker Phillips, who was fired Nov. 4. Phillips went 13-24 in three seasons at Kentucky and the Wildcats were 0-8 in the Southeastern Conference this year. Stoops, 45, will be introduced at a news conference Sunday. 13 Florida State (10-2) plays Georgia Tech on Saturday in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Stoops' hiring concludes a quicker-than-expected coaching search by the university. After Saturday's season-ending loss at Tennessee, Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had said he had no timetable to find a replacement for Phillips. But it didn't take long for Barnhart and the Wildcats to make a move. The decision makes Stoops a head coach for the first time in his career. Stoops is the younger brother of Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops and former Arizona Coach Mike Stoops. Johnson out at Southern Miss Southern Mississippi has fired coach Ellis Johnson after one disastrous season that saw the program plummet from Conference USA champion to the worst record in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Athletic Director Jeff Hammond announced the decision on Tuesday morning, three days after the 0-12 season ended with a loss to Memphis. "At Southern Miss we expect to compete hard and succeed both in the classroom and on the field," Hammond said in a statement. This is not the exception. This is in fact the standard, the norm, our identity and who we are. The decision wasn't unexpected, though it will cost the Golden Eagles. The 60-year-old Johnson is due a $2.1-million buyout over the next three seasons. Illinois Athletic Director Mike Thomas said Tim Beckman will return as coach after a 2-10 season that finished with nine consecutive losses. Beckman replaced Ron Zook, who was fired after going 7-6 last season. Florida gave Coach Will Muschamp a contract extension through 2017 before the season started. Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder still believes the Big 12 should ultimately expand to at least 12 teams, creating two divisions and a conference championship game. Snyder said Tuesday that "there are a number of programs in our conference who have and would profit from that type of system," pointing out that teams with multiple losses would generate more interest late in the season by still having a chance to play for a championship. Mississippi has been fined $5,000 by the SEC after "fans entered the competition area" following the football team's 41-24 victory over No. 25 Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Saturday.