OU football: Don’t sweat Stoops & Florida

Urban Meyer says he’s stepping down at Florida. Again. Sorry for my Groundhog Day attitude, but getting burned twice would be on me, not him.

And the same goes even if Meyer indeed steps away from college football. All the frenzy that followed over Bob Stoops leaving Oklahoma for Florida after Steve Spurrier quit, then after Ron Zook was fired, then for the 15 minutes Meyer seemed to be leaving last December, well, I’m just not going to play along this time.

Other than to throw out some questions.

during the first half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Iowa State Cyclones (ISU) at the Glaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, in Norman, Okla. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

If Stoops didn’t want to coach in the SEC even when it meant not uprooting his 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old twin boys, why would he want to coach in the SEC when it means exactly that?

And make no mistake. Stoops did not want to coach in the Southeastern Conference. Last summer, he had the chance. The SEC invited OU, and while many of the fans clamored for their school to accept the offer, the Sooners answered with a resounding no, thanks. Led by Stoops, who was very intrigued by the Pac-10 but not at all interested in the SEC.

Why would Stoops want to leave a league in which a promising quarterback with his hand out or caught in the cookie jar gets dismissed from the team, to join a league in which a promising quarterback with his hand out or caught in the cookie jar will be breaking tackles against you some Saturday soon?

Stoops booted off Rhett Bomar on the eve of August practice in 2006 when he discovered his quarterback was being paid by Big Red Sports & Imports for work not performed. Yet when Mississippi State told Cam Newton’s handlers to hit the road, even though the quarterback extraordinaire wanted to be a Bulldog, all it got Mississippi State was a date with trying to tackle Newton while playing for the Auburn Tigers.

There are all kinds of reasons why Stoops would want to keep coaching at Oklahoma and why he would enjoy coaching at Florida.

OU? His bosses, Joe Castiglione and David Boren. Norman is the only home his kids have known. His legacy, which is growing by the season. A hundred more.

Florida? New challenge. Close to the beach. He’s beloved there, for his three seasons coordinating Spurrier’s defenses. A hundred more.

But Stoops already has answered the SEC question.

51 Show / Hide Archive Comments

The following comments are archived from the original publication of this post

JD on Dec 14, 2010 @ 7:17 am

I laugh every time I hear this rumor..."stoops may be going..." A. OU, is not lacking in tradition, power or anything else compared to ANY team in football B. He is building his legacy there. How often can a coach do that? - Trust me, its' not that often a guy can go to a place, stay for as long as he wants and be written into program history. All of that is gone if he leaves C. Do we need any thing else, really?
BayonneFrank on Dec 11, 2010 @ 8:20 pm

Correction. He emailed tulsaworld.com
BayonneFrank on Dec 11, 2010 @ 8:05 pm

I would be shocked. He's building a $3M home. His kids are in their formative years. He is loved at OU and from everything I hear his family loves Norman. He texted floridaytoday.com today saying it was all BS. He is out recruiting today for OU.
David on Dec 11, 2010 @ 8:00 pm

I think Stoops is growing tired of the OU fans. I think he needs a change. I would think this would be a long shot to Florida, but I'm hearing otherwise as of today.
BayonneFrank on Dec 11, 2010 @ 7:58 pm

I love how naive the media is. Just looking to get attention anyway they can. Stoops doesn't appear in a press conference and suddenly he is finalizing his negotiations at Florida. Will this untrue garbage ever stop?
scott on Dec 10, 2010 @ 7:38 pm

How many of you experts actually went to the U of O? it appears that your lives are so boring and you are so filled with a lack of self-esteem that you choose to live vicariously throught the exploits of 18-22 year old boys. the differnce between ou fans and others appears to be simple... other schools fans own diplomas!
Ryan on Dec 10, 2010 @ 4:21 pm

Main reason he won't leave, it is easier to get to the MNC game from the Big 12/Big 10 than the SEC...Sooner or later he'll catch a year when he can play someone like FSU again. Main reason he would leave, it might be nice to get to MNC game and have people believe your team deserves to be there.
Ray Carpentier on Dec 10, 2010 @ 1:34 am

I hope stoops is better man than buck usually makes. He is very respected by fans and players and hate to see him loose sight of that during time when sooners are progressing Big sooner fan and football mom
Tomg on Dec 09, 2010 @ 11:15 pm

Only Bob Stoops knows what Bob Stoops will do...but wrt one of the previous comments about Wilkenson's 47 game streak...I would venture that Stoops number of Big 12 championships rivals that in so far as back in those days it was OU and the six dwarfs (of the big 7)...and although OU won when it did play in bowl games...the consistent level of talent that OU now faces was not there. Both were/are great coaches and Stoops will further cement his fame the longer he stays at OU...Boomer Sooner..beat Conn.
losermike on Dec 09, 2010 @ 10:59 pm

OU and U. of Fla. are comparable programs. Both arguably in the top 5 coaching jobs in the country. That being said there are compelling reasons for a coach to make a lateral move from OU to Florida, and vice versa. Reasons why someone would want to move from OU to Florida? #1 it is currently the premier program in a state with an enormous population, making recruiting much easier. Look at the recruiting rankings over the last 5 years. Florida finished #1 twice and never out of the top 5. OU finished no higher than 5 and once out of the top 25. While these rankings aren't the gospel, they do give an indication of attractiveness to recruits. U. of Florida is twice the size of OU. I have been told by an individual who has attended OU, OSU, and U. of Florida that the facilities for the student body at Florida are far superior to what OU and OSU have. University of Florida is in Florida. Sunshine state. warm year round. Those are areas in which U. of Florida has an advantage over OU. That obviously is not the only criteria one would use to choose where to work, but those are aspects that would favor U. of Florida. Bob Stoops had his reasons for turning the job down before, hopefully those reasons still apply.
losermike on Dec 09, 2010 @ 10:19 pm

I don't believe Coach Stoops is going to Florida. He is happy here and seems content to continue on has Head Coach at OU. He has turned down other jobs a number of times, including this one. But to say that U of Fla. has nothing to entice him is ludicrous. Recruiting to U. of Florida is easier than recruiting to Norman. The schools that routinely place at the top of the recruiting lists all have one thing in common. Texas, USC, and Florida are all the premier schools in states with enormous populations. I have been told by an individual who has attended OU, OSU and the U. of Florida that the facilities for the students at U. of Florida are far superior to what is offered in either Norman or Stillwater. I am also told it is a great place to live. Coach Stoops knows what it is like in Norman and he knows what it is like in Tallahassee I don't know what reasons he has had in the past to stay, but I am glad he had them and I hope they still apply today. If not, then there are compelling enough reasons to be at OU that we can attract another quality coach.
Carvan on Dec 09, 2010 @ 8:44 pm
Oklahoma has better football tradition than anyone in the country.

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next
BY BERRY TRAMEL

COLUMNIST

Follow

|
Recent articles
|
Email

Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant...

Read more

Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor and columnist.

Tramel grew up reading four daily newspapers — The Oklahoman, the Oklahoma City Times, the Norman Transcript and the Oklahoma Journal — and entered the newspaper business at the age of 17, with the Transcript in 1978. His first game assignment was the Lexington-Elmore City high school football game, and he has enjoyed the journey ever since, from high school wrestling duals and regional track meets to Orange Bowls and the NBA playoffs.

Tramel was born and raised in Norman, Okla. He and his wife, Tricia, were married in 1980 and live in Norman near their daughter, son-in-law and three granddaughters.

Read other stories by Berry Tramel

Close

Advertisement

Multimedia

Photoview all photos

Article Gallery: OU football: Don’t sweat Stoops & Florida

Berry Tramel

OU football: Don’t sweat Stoops & Florida

51 Show / Hide Archive Comments

Multimedia

Photoview all photos

Message Sent Successfully

Be Sure to Check Out Our Top Headlines