OT: Bob Stoops is back, coaching the Sooners
Bob Stoops is helping Lincoln Riley . The Sooners were short coaches due to Covid , so Stoops stepped in to help . Must be nice to have someone like that , that you can go to for help.
Now the question we are all asking is, will this reignite the passion for coaching in Stoops ?
https://sports.yahoo.com/oklahoma-coach-riley-taps-stoops-help-depleted-staff-194937159--ncaaf.html
December 1st, 2020 at 6:47 PM ^
I feel like this is against some rule. Not that it particularly matters but "coach available to help but not counted against the official limit" feels like a loophole that shouldn't exist.
December 1st, 2020 at 6:51 PM ^
Article says he’s an “assistant AD specialist” or something. Like Dantonio (think they stopped him due to covid) or Meyer at OSU. It’s legal as a paid employee of the Athletic Dept.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:24 PM ^
I don't know if it was a temporary rule passed this year, but the NCAA has a rule that only current athletic department employees can fill in for on field coaches in the case of Covid or other circumstances. Its meant for people like analysts. Stoops however, was given a cushy "special assistant" job the moment he retired a few years ago. Therefore, he's allowed to coach on a temporary basis.
Its a loophole in the sense that I don't think the NCAA planned on a athletic department having a HOF coach just casually hanging around.
December 1st, 2020 at 8:39 PM ^
Oh come on. Have you ever looked at our list of “support staff?” It’s like 50 people long. The Purdues of the world don’t spend nearly as much as we do on the football program, and you are going to whine about a substitute coach during a covid season?
December 1st, 2020 at 11:50 PM ^
Like I said, it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but for the Purdues of the world it sorta sucks that in addition to all of the other advantages bigger programs enjoy they can also whip out a former championship coach from an office and have him fill in without it being counted against this artificial headcount schools are required to follow. Honestly, I'd rather schools just be allowed to have as many coaches on staff as they can reasonably manage; there's a natural limit to how many people you can have in places of authority anyway before they become a negative. But Michigan having 50 "support" staffers who are basically coaches feels like a cheat, as if stuff like Stoops, Dantonio, Meyer, etc. being emeritus coaches who can have real impact on teams they don't currently coach
December 1st, 2020 at 6:50 PM ^
Hard pass on Stoops either way. The guy is 60. We need an infusion of youth in this program, not another old retread.
December 1st, 2020 at 6:55 PM ^
I agree but he seems to have a pretty good eye for coaching talent. I’m not going to say there aren’t other good options out there but most of the names I’m hearing thrown around whilst good coaches don’t particularly excite me. Anyway don’t really think he’s a realistic option so whatever
December 1st, 2020 at 7:27 PM ^
His good coaching eye has gotten inflated a bit because of the Lincoln Riley hiring. That was a grand slam in the strongest sense for sure, but some of his other hires before him were iffy at best.
The biggest knock was running Brent Venables out so that he could replace him with Mike Stoops, who ended up being the worst coordinator in the past five years of CFB.
December 1st, 2020 at 8:31 PM ^
Bob Stoops taught Venables from a young 20 year old football player until he moved on to Clemson. He hired Lincoln Riley. His coaching tree looks like this:
Mike Stoops, Mark Mangino, Mike Leach, Chuck Long, Bo Pelini, Brent Venables, Kevin Wilson, Jay Norvell, and Kevin Sumlin. He was a defensive coordinator turned head coach that had multiple heisman trophy winners on offense. Josh Heupel also apparently is a part of Bob Stoops coaching tree.
I mean that is an insanely impressive list of people who he helped bring up that are now head coaches or elite coordinators. I don’t see how you can look at that list and see “iffy”. Maybe as head coaches some of them are mediocre, but all of those guys listed were elite as coordinators.
Also I don’t know what in the world your on about, but how was Stoops the worst coordinator of the last 5 years? Venables rankings at Oklahoma in conference went 3rd, 3rd, 4th, and 2nd in conference. Stoops went 4, 1, 5, 1, 5, and 4.
Should he have been 5th and then 4th in the conference defensive rankings his last two years? Not at Oklahoma, but obviously he was not the worst coordinator in football at the time. Also Saban hired him almost immediately after he was fired and has kept him around. Saban thinks very highly of him.
Oklahoma has ranked 101 and 64 without Stoops. The year he was let go they were 68. The year before 69. They were 29th the year before that. So yes the defense did get worse, but Stoops wasn’t some crazy bad coordinator. They are ranked 28th this year for what that matters in the year of Covid. Point is Stoops wasn’t the worst coordinator in football. That’s extremely far fetched and Stoops tree is light years better than the entire Michigan tree over the last 50 years.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:11 PM ^
He could be to us what Urban Meyer was to OSU. You get 6 good years and a successor. He's got at least 6 good years in him. I'd take Stoops in a heartbeat.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:12 PM ^
Sorry. Why does age matter ?
December 1st, 2020 at 7:15 PM ^
Age ain't nothing but a number
December 1st, 2020 at 7:17 PM ^
It doesn't matter to the older crowd, but these gen y and z'ers blame everything on us.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:17 PM ^
Because I don't want more of having to see a lifeless corpse on the sideline like we've been getting with Harbaugh. A 60 year old Stoops probably isn't going to put the same kind of energy and fire into every aspect of coaching like he did when he was winning a national championship at 40.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:41 PM ^
Age usually equals energy and shelf-life
If anyone doubts what fiery energy brings to your program, look at the difference in Michigan between intense 2015-2016 Harbaugh and 2017-present Harbaugh. Not to mention look at the Lincoln Riley, Ryan Day, and and Matt Campbell's of the world. All have been incredibly effective and all are under the age of 42.
CFB coaching is quickly becoming a younger man's game with the way recruiting is these days.
Now lets say Stoops is the Saban, Mack Brown level outlier. How many 70 year old coaches do you see out there? and of those coaches, how many have walked away from a national title contender because they lost the passion? Stoops wouldn't be around for a while, and what we have all found out is that replacing a coach isn't an easy thing to do. You would be back in the same shoes as you are in now.
Give me the young energetic guy thats going to be around for a while.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:23 PM ^
Amen to that.
FWIW I know the popular choice here is Campbell but one thing we don't really talk about is the NFL's potential interest in him. Last year there were many here in Cleveland lobbying for him as the Browns HC so don't be surprised if he moves directly to the pros.
In my fever-dream scenario Jim steps down immediately and they promote Gattis as interim HC so we can actually see his offense and not the bizarre love child of man ball and the spread. I don't think as long as Harbaugh roams the sidelines with a playsheet we'll ever know what the guy can do.
He would be on my short list for replacements.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:38 PM ^
He turned down interviews with pro teams last year. Based on comments from a reporter that covered him in Toledo, he doesn’t have a big interest in the NFL.
December 1st, 2020 at 8:21 PM ^
I heard he’s just picky about “next stops”. Isn’t a guy that wants to jump every few years. He’s a loyal guy who builds solid bonds with his coaches/players. We don’t know “his list”, but think he’s set on getting an NFL or college job he will stay for a while.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:40 PM ^
I couldn’t agree more. Gattis is being held back by Harbaugh. He has the youth, energy, drive and recruiting chops we need desperately. Bring Partridge back to replace Don Brown and stock the coaching staff with young guys, with tons of energy, who can recruit the lights out. Sherrone Moore would qualify, but nobody else currently on staff.
December 1st, 2020 at 8:08 PM ^
So we’ve got excuses ( maybe valid, maybe not. Not commenting on either way) for Gattis but very little in actual accomplishments and we want to hand him the HC gig just to see what his offense can be? What has he done?
December 1st, 2020 at 8:25 PM ^
Would you have given the keys to a blueblood power 5 team to a guy with THIS resume?
2003–2005 Texas Tech (SA)
2006 Texas Tech (GA)
2007 Texas Tech (WR)
2008–2009 Texas Tech (IWR)
2010–2013 East Carolina (OC/QB)
2014 East Carolina (AHC/OC/QB)
2015–2016 (OC/QB)
That's Lincoln Riley. I mean what had he done prior to getting the HC gig at Oklahoma when Stoops stepped down?
December 2nd, 2020 at 8:05 AM ^
Gattis is not the answer. M grow wiser.
December 1st, 2020 at 9:50 PM ^
He's one of the people I would call and ask for his thoughts on up-and-coming coaches though. Just have a good 45 minute phone call and pick his brain. Same with Nick Saban
December 1st, 2020 at 11:48 PM ^
Terrible take by the guy who wanted to fire John Beilein. As already said, I would take Stoops as a stabilizing force to set up the next guy, but short of a Jon Gruden type deal it isn't happening.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:15 PM ^
I'd take Bob
December 1st, 2020 at 7:22 PM ^
But, would you take Bob Loblaw?
December 2nd, 2020 at 3:09 AM ^
Only if he brings his Law Blog.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:20 PM ^
I always shake my head when people mock Stoops as "Big Game Bob" largely because he lost quite a few title games. So many don't even get there..
December 1st, 2020 at 9:19 PM ^
He didn’t earn the nickname because he lost big games. It is exactly the opposite, he got the nickname because his teams won big games early in his career.
The results became much more mixed later in his career.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:21 PM ^
In terms of your question, No. Stoops is not, and will not get back into major CFB coaching on a long term basis.
The passion for on field coaching has never went away with Bob. Its the recruiting, booster politics, keeping your players out of trouble and going to classes, the traveling, the expectations, and the hours that Stoops has lost passion for. Coaching the local XFL team, and being an interim emergency coach allows him to scratch that itch without having to do all the other BS.
Not to mention, Stoops son plays for OU, and he's been pretty involved with other projects in and around the OKC area.
The only reason he's doing the interim coaching is because OU players and coaches have been devastated by Covid as of late (its rumored defense has had almost all of it outside of the HB) and Stoops is elgible to coach since he's already under athletic department contract (he's an AD "special assistant")
Also, why do people want Stoops? He's 60 and would be a short term option at best. You would be back in the same shoes you are in now very fast.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:57 PM ^
Stoops has said he hasn’t ruled out coaching college football
December 1st, 2020 at 8:53 PM ^
He's technically coaching college football now. It doesn't mean he's wanting to be a head coach somewhere.
December 1st, 2020 at 8:26 PM ^
I can’t speak for others, but if we get past Campbell, Fickell, Hafley, and maybe Cristobol sign me up. Not top 3, but If those guys say no I am all about Bob vs. any other up and comer we know little about.
The fact some around here even throw Gattis’ name out shows how clueless some people are on here. Gattis might not be qualified to be a OC, let alone a head coach at a power 5, let alone a school like Michigan.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:26 PM ^
Watching the CFP selection show, only because it's in between basketball games, and Herbstreit throws out a wild accusation that Michigan will opt out of playing Ohio St because they don't want to get beat. Of course Pollack jumps on board and talks about it being better than getting beat down and might as well beat them someway. Reece calls Kirk on it and asks for clarification and Kirk backtracks saying he knows other teams have done this because they didn't want to take whatever team they had in there and play another team so they used covid. Said he didn't know Michigan's situation. Reece then says well if any team does that and ducks someone they are cowards and aren't teaching kids any lesson. I love how Michigan is irrelevant as hell and these talking douches get to bag on Michigan with wild conspiracies and trash them further.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:29 PM ^
Mack Brown is doing pretty well at North Carolina so im not sure why age has anything to do with it. Id take whatever coach regardless of age and get a good 5 years at least from them and work on a succession plan.
December 1st, 2020 at 7:36 PM ^
Sweet! Now precedent is set. Special assistant Beilein has a nice ring to it.
December 1st, 2020 at 8:03 PM ^
I like it.
December 1st, 2020 at 8:51 PM ^
Would rather call him and let him say no than have Urban (who will say no) and Fickell reject our job. Let him bring in whoever he wants as HC in waiting and just groom a young guy.
December 1st, 2020 at 9:08 PM ^
no moar oHiO coaches pls
December 1st, 2020 at 9:24 PM ^
Wow, the maize colored glasses that some have on this board is ridiculous. Every football program utilizes loopholes in the rules to its advantage and Michigan is just as guilty of it as any other. Harbaugh hires the father of a prized recruit as an "Analyst" or some other BS position to make sure the kid comes here. MSU and Dantonio, Urbz and OSU, if the rules don't say you can't programs are gonna do it.
Everyone does it to some extant. EVERYONE including Michigan. This Michigan Arrogance thing has gotten way out of hand.
December 1st, 2020 at 9:38 PM ^
You are 100% spot on. Harbaugh has done his share of things such as hire the head coach, Chris Partridge, of the #1 recruit in the country. Yes, he was hired before Gary but you’d have a hard time convincing me that it was not in large part because of Gary. The university hired the mother of a DB transfer very early in his career (the players name escapes me but he largely did not play).
December 1st, 2020 at 10:25 PM ^
Wayne Lyons
December 2nd, 2020 at 9:43 AM ^
Yes, thank you!
December 1st, 2020 at 11:58 PM ^
It's not arrogance my friend. It's the new uneducated Millennials who can't tell you that Florida is south of Georgia unless they have their phones in hand to ask.
December 1st, 2020 at 11:55 PM ^
Glad someone is coaching somewhere because NO ONE is coaching in AA right now. UM better hope that Stoops doesn't replace Ferentz in January. If he does and UM extends Harbaugh then Michigan will get another annual ass kicking by Iowa to join MSU and OSU each year.
December 2nd, 2020 at 8:00 AM ^
When Lincoln Riley goes to the NFL.