Bob Stoops can flat-out coach, as illustrated by his Arlington Renegades XFL excellence.
Just in case you were wondering, Bob Stoops is still out there coaching ball at a high level, man.
The legendary former head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners just won the XFL championship as the face of the Arlington Renegades franchise. Stoops retired from coaching in 2017 before getting back into it with the XFL right before COVID. In the midst of being an Urban Meyer Big Noon Saturday sandwich chock full of Jacksonvillian disappointment, Stoops left the studio set last year.
I'm not saying he should go back to the college ranks, but maybe these five college football programs could do better at head coach? Wouldn't it be something if Big Game Bob came on back?
Bob Stoops can still coach, and probably better than what these five teams got
Money isn't an issue for Texas A&M Aggies football, but Jimbo Fisher sure is
Let's just say 2023 would be a great year for the Texas A&M Aggies to double their win total from the year prior to get back to a most respectable 10 games. It went to hell in a hand basket for Jimbo Fisher, alright. His offense resembled frozen molasses, as one five-star recruit left after another. Texas A&M was the first SEC program to be eliminated from bowl eligibility last season…
Even though Texas A&M is paying an absurd amount of money to keep Fisher around, that is what a drill is for. There is enough oil out there somewhere in The Lone Star State to fix this snake oil grease fire. Hiring Bobby Petrino to be your offensive coordinator is like putting a band-aid over cancer. I was born at night, but not last night. Oh, this is so going to be a festering dumpster fire…
So why Stoops? Well, he is already in Texas and Arlington isn't that far from College Station. By hiring Stoops, Texas A&M regains a level of credibility it has been losing over the last two years under Fisher's watch. Despite being a defensive-minded head coach, he has a keen eye for up-and-coming offensive talent. With big boosters backing him, Stoops could win big at Texas A&M.
The dollars and cents have to make sense first, but if money was no issue, go get you a Stoops!
If Dana Holgorsen proves to be too unstable, then Bob Stoops is the way to go
Part of the allure for Dana Holgorsen to strangely leave Power Five West Virginia for a shot at Group of Five glory with Houston was he believed U of H would be going Power Five one day soon. Well, that day is now. Although he had decent success at WVU, the entire dynamic of the Big 12 is changing. Holgorsen may be able to win prolifically at Houston, but expectations have risen, aight.
Simply put, maybe 8-4 seasons aren't going to be tolerable at U of H now that it has arguably the deepest pockets of any program choosing to stay in the Big 12. There is so much talent per capita in Harris County that Houston is just dying to be a new-age college football behemoth. Holgorsen may want to see this through more than anything in the world, but he has to start winning games.
This is a critical year for him at Houston, as the Cougars were thought to be a serious threat to win The American and go undefeated out of the Group of Five last season. They stumbled pretty much right out of the gate, as Tulane, of all teams, won the conference and thus, the Group of Five. Since Stoops has shown he can win professionally and in a mega Big 12 market, Houston kind of works.
This fit may not be perfect, but don't be shocked if Houston unloads so much financial capital now.
The best way to solve Billy Napier woes is to hire the Head Ball Coach's favorite
We are only one year into the Billy Napier era of Florida Gators football, and a lot is left to be desired. He has more support staff than any man could possibly ever need in his entourage, but he's no Aquaman, and he's most certainly no Vincent Chase. Easy E does it, but I think we may need to give the Head Ball Coach a call and see what he thinks about his favorite, Bobby Stoops.
Prior to changing the Oklahoma program for the better, Stoops was Steve Spurrier's top flight defensive coordinator during the height of the ole Fun 'n Gun. Florida has been underwater for a reason since Urban Meyer retired from the coaching profession for the first time. It has everything to do with recruitment and facilities, two things that have allowed arch rival Georgia to lap them.
Not to say Stoops has the youthful energy to keep up with the maniacal Kirby Smart, but his presence could help galvanize boosters. Of course, he may just want a lazy river built at the team facility and go full-blown Mark Richt back at Miami on us, drifting away into the semi-retired life. It may not work out, but he would beat his little brother's team regularly enough to go around 10-2.
If anybody can turn Florida into Bob Stoops Oklahoma, it would have to be Bob Stoops, am I right?
What if I told you there is a chance Oklahoma could give Bob Stoops his job back?
Even though is son Drake is one of the Oklahoma Golf Boys, who says you can't go home if you're Coach Stoops? He's like the best thing to ever happen to them. Stoops is beloved in Norman, and he actually knows how to win games. If Brent Venables figures it out fast, then sure, he'll be fine like Mike Norvell is at Florida State. But if they go 6-7 again, Stoops can fix this John Blake mess…
Oklahoma may be joining the SEC, but Stoops would be more than ready to handle all that comes with the gauntlet of a new league. He did work at Florida before. His two younger brothers are chopping it up in Lexington, and doing a mighty fine job of it in the Bluegrass State, if you ask me. Of course, Oklahoma could become an even further west version of Auburn. Does he want that?
See, reaching into one's past to solve a current problem is never a great idea to begin with, but Oklahoma could be lambs for slaughter in the new SEC. This was the preeminent program in the Big 12 for decades … because of Stoops! Switching leagues takes OU from a top-three job in the country to maybe the sixth-best gig in a 16-team league SEC. Whatever, this is Big Game Bob!
If Joe Castiglione has seen enough, he might get the Boomer Sooner boosters to circle the wagon.
The only way to kill rampant nepotism is to bring back a Stoops boy to save them
It's like watching an episode of Hoarders, but instead of old man holding on to mildewy newspaper clippings from the 1960s, he's holding onto his bottom-tier offensive coordinator son. This isn't a mom-and-pop operation; it's Big Ten football, dude! Kirk Ferentz can develop linemen and watch Phil Parker do the lord's work on defense, but my goodness, the Life of Brian Ferentz is madness!
The only way to solve this besides reanimating the late, great Hayden Fry is to hire a Stoops brother. Not Mike, though. Only a Bob or Mark will do. When the oldest Stoops walks into Gary Barta's office on one whimsical Iowa City afternoon this summer, he'll ask how the Hawkeyes' athletic director is doing and he will hit him with a "Not great, Bob!" like an episode of Mad Men.
Because Stoops has awareness, he will recognize that Iowa's offense is defense. He could lean into it like he did in Arlington with the XFL's Renegades, but he could also do, I don't know, hire the next great branch off the Mike Leach (RIP) Air Raid coaching tree! He did hire Leach away from Hal Mumme and did find college football's next great offensive rockstar in Lincoln Riley over at ECU.
I want to see the Stoops-led Hawkeyes do The Kinnick Wave ranked No. 5 heading to Indianapolis.
