Oklahoma football: Bob Stoops to the XFL? Probably not
Bob Stoops’ name seems to make its way to the conversation every time a major head coaching vacancy comes up and now some websites are reporting that the longtime Oklahoma leader is interested in an XFL job.
WWE owner Vince Macmahon is bringing back the professional football league after an ill-fated one-year run in 2000. The new iteration will have teams based in Dallas, Houston, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington D.C.
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But fans of the man in the visor hoping for a return shouldn’t get their hopes up. All indications say Bob Stoops isn’t isn’t likely to return to any sideline anytime soon.
He has said as much
Bob Stoops has repeatedly told the media he has no intention to return to coaching.
“You never know what the Lord has in store for you, but it’s not my intention to coach (again),” Stoops said during an interview in Dallas in 2018.
Stoops said according to 247 sports:
"“I will say, regardless of what you might hear out there in the papers, if I intended again to coach that would have been part of my statement. I would have said, ‘I’m stepping away here now for this time for myself, but when it comes in the next year or two, I look forward to getting back in it. But that’s not what I said. You won’t see me on a college sideline or a pro sideline. A lot of people act like they know, and there will be more than a few jobs out there. But that isn’t at all what I’m looking to do.”"
Stoops’ mentor doesn’t see him returning either. Steve Spurrier won a National Championship with Stoops as his defensive coordinator and still talks with his former assistant on a regular basis.
“He didn’t want to go from the sidelines to the graveyard,” former Florida coach Steve Spurrier said to ESPN about Stoops. “He pretty much was able to go out on top.”
The proud ‘grandparent’
Bob Stoops has called himself a “grandparent” when it comes to his current role with the program. Per a quote from an interview in Dallas from 2018.
"The way it all transitioned it’s like I can be a grandparent play with all the children and whatever. Get around and see all the players and coaches and whatever and then leave, just like a grandparent does. And there’s no responsibility."
Did we mention Stoops gets paid to be a grandparent? Stoops’ current position at Oklahoma is Special Assistant to the Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletic Programs and Director of Athletics.
It is a vague job title for a vague position. According to the Tulsa World, Stoops makes a cool $325,000 to schmooze and play golf with some boosters and help with marketing and public relations.
Though Stoops certainly approaches his new position with the same work ethic that helped lead the Sooners to 10 Big 12 titles during his tenure as head coach, it is far less demanding of his time than his previous spot.
Stoops: The Next Generation
Having an office on campus in Norman gives Stoops a chance to check in with his twin sons, Drake and Isaac. Isaac is a student at Oklahoma and Drake a walk-on wide receiver. Drake Soops caught two passes for 16 yards last year during extremely limited action before coaches decided to redshirt him. He is already a crowd favorite.
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Bob Stoops got to watch his sons’ high school games during their senior year, something that was often sacrificed when coaching took up so much of his time. Now he’ll get to see one of them come up through the same program he helped build. That’s something he would surely like to do in person. Though the XFL is a spring league and wouldn’t preclude Bob from seeing Drake’s games in person, we all know that coaching is a full-time job with no real offseason and Bob’s commitment to winning would certainly cut into his free time to see Drake play.