BoFlex

June 7th, 2017 at 3:22 PM ^

I wouldn't be surprised if Oklahoma asked Stoops to retire, so they can lock down Lincoln Riley long-term. Everyone was talking about how Riley was going to be the next big name, and due to jump to a primer head coaching position soon.

AJDrain

June 7th, 2017 at 9:43 PM ^

Riley was in the position to be snagged by somebody and they wanted to make sure it was OU. And with his age, he could be there forty years. Gets handed a recruiting moster, tons of talent, storied program. I see little drop off coming. 

Blueblood2991

June 7th, 2017 at 3:29 PM ^

Kind of shitty timing by Bob. The Oklahoma softball team just won back to back National Titles last night and were finally getting a little limelight. Now no one cares.

I'd understand if it was for health reasons, but wait another few days other reasons.

mGrowOld

June 7th, 2017 at 3:41 PM ^

Owns home in Chicago and has always wanted to coach in NFL.  Takes one year off and when the Bears clean house at the end ouf the season (cause Trubinski is going to get everybody fired) he takes over.

bronxblue

June 7th, 2017 at 3:55 PM ^

Crazy day in sports.  I assume it's a family issue or something personal.

Because I'm petty, this does piss me off because it gives OSU an easier early-season game.

cp4three2

June 7th, 2017 at 3:55 PM ^

I laughed at the time my insiderish buddy told me that, but this makes me reconsider. He said that Stoops was just ready for a change. I bet he's at Tennessee in 2018. 

DrMantisToboggan

June 7th, 2017 at 4:39 PM ^

I think a lot of enviable jobs will come open next year, Notre Dame and Tennessee are both great possibilities. Florida is a possibility if McElwain regresses this year and the AD thinks the program has stagnated. I wouldn't rule out Saban retiring if he wins another title - he'll turn 66 this Halloween because he's the fucking devil. There could be 4 blue bloods or semi-blue bloods looking for coaches next winter (though I think Dabo is a shoo-in for the Bama job when it opens). It certainly wouldn't be unprecedented (Meyer) for a coach to suddenly leave a school and wait a year knowing that a job he wants (and has been told through back channel communication) is soon to come open.

 

Yet, somehow, I think Stoops might actually just want to retire. As someone else in the thread mentioned, he has heart problems in his family, and he has been coaching for a long time. He has a massive home in Norman. I think he might just want to take a reduced role with the program and spend more time with the family. 

JonnyHintz

June 7th, 2017 at 5:03 PM ^

But none of the teams you mention are in as good of a situation as OU. OU has established success, they're the alpha dog on the Big 12 right now, they're a top 5 team heading into next year with a Heisman level QB. There's absolutely nothing about Tennessee or ND that stacks up to that.

cp4three2

June 7th, 2017 at 5:25 PM ^

and yet he retired. From what I heard, and I admit this is just from one insderish guy, is that he had gotten sick of being treated as a failure for not winning the title every year. 

 

The thought of him at ND is scary, but that makes more sense than Tennessee.

S.G. Rice

June 7th, 2017 at 4:03 PM ^

Gents, the obvious reason for the retirement is that he found out that the Prevail and Ride guy retired after last season and wasn't going to be doing any more MS Paints.

 

(edit:  Search for Prevail and Ride at your own risk, that **** is quite NSFW)

cletus318

June 7th, 2017 at 4:10 PM ^

Weird timing to be certain. I know there's a tendency to call Stoops overrated, but realistically, is there any reason OU should be a great program in this day and age? They don't have a natural recruiting base (and you can check their recruiting classes for confirmation), and they don't, lets go with "care," about football like Bama does. Basically, they should be what Nebraska is, and yet they've consistently been a top program for nearly 2 decades. It's a very strong argument he overachieved.

cletus318

June 7th, 2017 at 5:15 PM ^

Yes, they can recruit Texas, but everyone recruits Texas. OU can't go into Texas and just get its pick of talent. They aren't going into Texas and getting 10-12 top 300 level players annually. There's a reason Oklahoma looked completely overwhelmed athletically against Clemson and OSU.

doggdetroit

June 7th, 2017 at 6:31 PM ^

You have no idea what you are talking about. Oklahoma and Michigan are almost identical programs. Both have storied histories and tradition, both have strong institutional support (Michigan probably has a slight edge here but nothing that OU can't overcome), both have to recruit outside their respective states to make up for the relative lack of instate talent. Both have to compete against a lower profile in state school. 

The only real difference is Michigan is the far superior school, which probably helps Michigan recruit certain players. OU makes up for that by being in a much better recruiting location (just 3 hours from Dallas, Michigan is almost 3 hours from Cleveland for example). They are worst case the third option for recruits in Texas, which produces the most recruits in the country, far more than what the Midwest produces. If you combined the entire B1G footprint Texas still produces more. I mean, there is a reason why Harbaugh's Sattelite Camps are located primarily in the South. And by the way, they finished with the 8th ranked class in 2017, higher than A&M and Texas. So not sure what you're talking about when you say they can't go into Texas and recruit at a high level. 

In short, if you think there is no reason for OU to be good, you must also think there is no reason for Michigan to be good.

Heywood_Jablome

June 7th, 2017 at 7:06 PM ^

Take off the homer glasses.  Oklahoma has 7 national titles in the modern era. Michigan has 3. They also dominated decades like the 50's and 70's.  And were still really good in the 2000s. Michigan has never dominated a decade outside 1900-1910.  i.e. no one is alive that can remember it.

Tired of people on here trying to square a circle with records from 100 years ago.  NO ONE CARES...except for us and Notre Dame.  Using that logic, I guess Yale and Princeton are better football programs than Michigan.

Oklahoma is also like #2 (behind only OSU) for #1 AP appearance.  

The Brady Hoke hire told you all you needed to know about where Michigan really ranks on the list of most coveted football jobs (hint: it's not in the top 5).  If Harbaugh didn't play here, there is no way we land someone like that. Some people on here need to look at things more objectively.

cletus318

June 7th, 2017 at 7:57 PM ^

I never said Oklahoma shouldn't be good, but nice non-sequitur nonetheless. I said it has geographic disadvantages, which is supported by tons of evidence. The 2017 class was Oklahoma's first top 10 class since 2010 per 247. You look through a lot of those classes, and it's a surprisingly high number of JUCO players for a blueblood. The 2016 class was 19th. Houston signed more four stars out of Texas in 2016 than Oklahoma. So did TCU. LSU routinely gets more top 100 players out of the state than Oklahoma. Ohio State raids Texas now. As deep as the talent pool is in the state, that depth only goes so far when everyone swims in the pool.

If you want to compare Michigan and Oklahoma (and even your post acknowledges Michigan has built-in advantages), we've seen over the last decade that winning here isn't quite as easy as previously believed, which is probably something to remember in the post-Stoops era.

doggdetroit

June 7th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^

You said "is there any reason OU should be a great program in this day and age?"

I'm saying yes. If you are saying no (and I assume that's what your point was), then I'll ask you "is there any reason Michigan should be a great program in this day and age?" Because both programs are in virtually the same boat.


 

cletus318

June 7th, 2017 at 5:29 PM ^

To a certain extent that's true, but even with Michigan not being a super talent-rich state, it's still a much better situation than Oklahoma. Michigan also has less competition for players in the wider Midwest than OU does in Texas. I get that everyone recruits nationally, but you still want the best players in your backyard. Michigan, while not having the in-state advantages of OSU or LSU, is a lot farther ahead in that regard than Oklahoma.

JonnyHintz

June 7th, 2017 at 10:36 PM ^

And Texas alone has more talent available than the entire Midwest. "The wider Midwest" is great and all, but you still have ND, OSU, and PSU to compete with as big names. There may be fewer teams to compete for talent with, but there's also an awful lot less talent WORTH fighting over. What does Michigan REALLY get out of the Midwest? The in-state kids, yes. Aside from that it's an uphill battle getting kids out of Ohio for the most part, and you pick up a kid or two from Indiana or Illinois every year. It's all national recruiting from there. Oklahoma is a premier program (both currently and historically) with a talent rich neighboring state. It doesn't get much more comparable than Michigan's situation.

JonnyHintz

June 8th, 2017 at 5:03 AM ^

It's a combination of a lack of quality high school coaching compared to those states, the south can play year round, and Michigan lacks a real organized youth football league. The closest would be the PAL in Detroit. Kids in Michigan seem to be introduced to the game at a later age and without much in terms of quality coaching. Hell, my school district had its own football league and tackle football wasn't allowed until 8th grade. Meanwhile, if you've watched the show Friday Night Tykes you'd notice kids in PA and TX are playing tackle at 7-8 years old. On top of that, the coaches are all guys who played in high school and college and not just some kids dad (although most are parents). If the state of Michigan had a state sponsored youth football program, it would go a long way in developing talent for the future.

ElBictors

June 7th, 2017 at 4:19 PM ^

Per Feldman, Stoops' Dad died of a heart attack at same age while coaching. Died on way to hospital and Bob said, he wanted to "live life" now. Being a powerhouse CFB coach is a rigorous lifestyle. Best to him. And pending NCAA probably

MadMatt

June 7th, 2017 at 4:18 PM ^

Good coach.  He stayed at the same program long enough to become no-longer-trendy, and many forgot how good he was.  He reminded us last season, and now he retires on an up note.

Coach Stoops, you were a creative force in the sport and it's been a pleasure watching your teams.  Here's hoping you move on to broadcasting where you can make almost as much for less than half of the work schedule.

LSAClassOf2000

June 7th, 2017 at 4:38 PM ^

I heard this while in the car headed away from a meeting about an hour ago - I was actually pretty stunned by it, I can honestly say that I wouldn't have imagined him leaving right now for any reason really. Still, almost twenty rather successful years and you've still got plenty of time to enjoy other things? I would probably think about it myself if it were me. 

GhostofJermain…

June 7th, 2017 at 5:03 PM ^

Not sure if they are really giving this guy a chance.  32 years old, never coached before - and now you need to run OU and all that comes along with being a head coach, as well as call the plays.  This has disaster written all over it.  Other thing is OU has a good team coming back with a heisman trophy candidate, something smells here....