Bob Stoops wasn’t anywhere near Dallas this week for Big 12 Media Days, but with all of the plaudits and glowing words of appreciation he received from the other conference coaches, it was as if the former Oklahoma football coach was very much front and present.
It was a terrific send-off for the winningest coach in Sooner football history and the man who led the Crimson and Cream t 10 conference championships in his 18 seasons on the Oklahoma sidelines.
But this week wasn’t about Stoops, not as far as Oklahoma football is concerned, anyway. It’s Lincoln Riley’s show now, and the Sooner football leaders who accompanied their new head coach to Dallas this week were all on the same page in expressing a strong vote of confidence that he is the right guy for the job and especially under these circumstances.
The poise and confidence that the 33-year-old head coach of the Sooners exuded in his short time with the media gave anything but the impression that he is a first-year head of one of the country’s most prestigious college football brands.
Here are the five big takeaways we got concerning Oklahoma football and the season just ahead from the two-day Big 12 media gathering earlier this week at Jerry Jones’ The Star complex in the northern Dallas suburb of Frisco.