OU's New Head Coach...

[jasonb56]

Was once offered to be USF's... and must have turned it down.

Bob Stoops is retiring at OU, effectively immediately, a source told me Wednesday, confirming a Daily Oklahoman report. Lincoln Riley is set to take over the program. The 56-year-old Stoops led Oklahoma to the 2000 national title and took the Sooners to 10 Big 12 titles, including in each of the past two seasons. He won Big 12 coach of the Year honors six times. The Sooners went 60-30 (.667) against AP Top 25 foes during his tenure—the highest winnning percentage against ranked teams of any school during that stretch. His teams also went 25-11 against its two biggest rivals (14-4 vs. Oklahoma State and 11-7 against Texas).

In 1999, Stoops took over a proud program that had gone five years without a winning season and by his second season, he coached the Sooners to the national title. In 18 seasons, Stoops produced seven Top 5 finishes and 11 in the Top 10.

The 33-year-old Riley won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach in 2015. The Texas native, who has spent seven seasons as an offensive coordinator, is the latest in a run of Sooner coaches who took over the program in their 30s.

Legendary OU coach Bud Wilkinson was 31 when he was promoted to the head coaching job. Chuck Fairbanks was 34 when he took over at Oklahoma. Barry Switzer was 36 and Stoops was 39 when he was hired in Norman as the new head man. Three of those four head coaches won national titles at OU, and the fourth, Fairbanks, led the Sooners to three top three finishes in his six seasons there.

Riley has passed on several FBS head coaching opportunities in recent years, including at Purdue, USF, Cincinnati and Houston. OU brass has been grooming him for this opportunity for over a year. Last fall, OU began working on an unprecedented three-year deal for an assistant.

In 2016, QB Baker Mayfield and WR Dede Westbrook finished third and fourth in Heisman Trophy voting, while Westbrook was a unanimous All-American and OU’s first recipient of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver. The Sooners averaged 7.5 yards per play, second-best in school history (7.6 in 1971).

[Azmodi]

The real question here is, why is Stoops out?

[BullyPulpit]

Just now, Azmodi said:

The real question here is, why is Stoops out?

Pure speculation on my part, but the reason a coach with his history and relative young age would leave a position like this is either health (his or a loved one's) or scandal. Time will tell. 

[Triple B]

1 minute ago, Azmodi said:

The real question here is, why is Stoops out?

Doesn't seem to be an unexpected departure. You don't start grroming someone to take over for a 56 year old coach.

[Azmodi]

2 minutes ago, Triple B said:

Doesn't seem to be an unexpected departure. You don't start grroming someone to take over for a 56 year old coach.

True but, what's the reason? You usually get something ambiguous from the school if it's family or health related. I'm still waiting to see what it is. maybe this is the Big 12's attention getter this year you know, like expansion was last year.

 

Please note my sarcasm and cynicism.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Azmodi

[Skingraft]

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/06/07/bob-stoops-reportedly-retiring-as-head-coach-at-oklahoma/

 

[Azmodi]

Do you smell that? It smells NCAA Investigators in the waters.

This close to the start of the season? something is amiss.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Azmodi

[bullsfan27]

I read somewhere that stoops said something to the fact he would retire once all his kids graduate high school which his youngest just did. Kinda odd timing to announce this so I wouldn't be surprised if there is some sort of scandal that's about to be uncovered. 

[BullyPulpit]

2 minutes ago, Azmodi said:

Do you smell that? It smells NCAA Investigators in the waters.

I endured the comments section of an ESPN article to try to glean some insight from OU fans. One theory, even if it isn't likely, is that Stoops really wanted Lincoln Riley to be his successor, but wasn't certain the AD/Boosters would allow it, so he decided to retire a year early, 2 months before camp starts, so that OU had no choice but to have Riley run the show for at least one season and improving his chances of remaining on as head coach. Not sure that is the case, but it is at least a possibility. 

[Azmodi]

1 minute ago, BullyPulpit said:

I endured the comments section of an ESPN article to try to glean some insight from OU fans. One theory, even if it isn't likely, is that Stoops really wanted Lincoln Riley to be his successor, but wasn't certain the AD/Boosters would allow it, so he decided to retire a year early, 2 months before camp starts, so that OU had no choice but to have Riley run the show for at least one season and improving his chances of remaining on as head coach. Not sure that is the case, but it is at least a possibility. 

Plausible but doubtful. I'm not hoping anything is going on but a Head Coach doesn't just up and retire 2 months before the season starts without a serious illness or something else looming.