Who is Bob Stoops; How Did He Get From NCAA To The XFL

Bob Stoops A.K.A. Robert Anthony Stoops is The Head Coach & General Manager of the planned Dallas-based XFL Team. He was The Head Football Coach at The University Of Oklahoma from 1999 until he announced his retirement on June 7th, 2017. During The 2000 season, Stoops led The Sooners to an Orange Bowl Victory and a national championship.

Before The University Of Oklahoma

Prior to coaching at Oklahoma, Stoops held various coordinator & position-coach positions at Iowa, Kansas State & Florida. In 2000, Stoops led his team to three consecutive wins over top-tier teams including Texas, Kansas State & Nebraska. Stoops was awarded The Paul “Bear” Bryant Award in 2000 & The Walter Camp Coach Of The Year Award in 2000 & 2003. Stoops has been nicknamed “Big Game Bob” by both supporters and detractors.

Stoops Growing Up

Stoops is one of six children born to Ron Sr. & Evelyn “Dee Dee” Stoops in Youngstown, Ohio. He is a 1978 Graduate Of Cardinal Mooney High School, where his father was The Long-Time Defensive Coordinator Of The Football Team. Bob & his three brothers (Ron Jr., Mike, & Mark) were all coached by Ron Sr. at Mooney. During a game in 1988 against the team coached by Ron Jr., Ron Sr. began experiencing chest pains. He was placed in an ambulance following the game and died en route to the hospital. Stoops was also a Four-Year Starter and One-Time All-Big Ten Selection At Defensive Back at The University Of Iowa. He was named Iowa’s Team MVP in 1982.

Stoops Coaching Career

After graduating with a marketing degree in 1983, Stoops began his coaching career as a Volunteer Coach & Graduate Assistant in The Iowa Hawkeyes Program under Hayden Fry. He was an assistant at Kent State University under Dick Crum in 1988 and joined The Coaching Staff at Kansas State University the following year. Stoops was named Co-Defensive Coordinator at Kansas State under Bill Snyder in 1991 & Assistant Head Coach and Co-Defensive Coordinator in 1995. During his tenure on The Wildcats Staff, Stoops played a key role in their impressive turnaround, helping take what many considered to be the worst program in Division 1-A to national contention. During his final four seasons there, KSU was 35–12 with three bowl appearances.

He then left for The University Of Florida and landed a three-year stint as Steve Spurrier’s Defensive Coordinator. Hired after Florida gave up 62 points to Nebraska in The 1996 Fiesta Bowl, he was given full powers over The Gators Defense and was part of The Gators’ National Championship Win over Florida State in The 1997 Sugar Bowl. It was with The Gators that the spotlight found Stoops and made him one of the hottest coaching names in the profession. Stoops’ success at Kansas State & Florida launched him to the top of the list of assistant coaches primed for head coaching positions in 1999.

The University Of Oklahoma named Stoops it’s head coach in 1999. Stoops won seven games in his first year, taking The Sooners to their first bowl game since The 1994 season. In his 18 years as Head Coach of The Sooners, Stoops has a combined record of 190–48. On November 16th, 2013, Stoops notched his 157th win as Oklahoma’s Head Coach with a victory over Iowa State, tying him with Barry Switzer for the most wins in Sooners History. A week later, on November 23rd, 2013, he surpassed Switzer’s record with a 41–31 victory over Kansas State. Stoops accumulated a home winning streak of 39 consecutive games from 2005 to 2011. The streak was ended on October 22nd, 2011 when Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma 41–38. He also had the most wins of the decade of any BCS school with 110 (2000–2009). Along with Switzer, Bud Wilkinson & Bennie Owen, he is one of four coaches to win over 100 games at The University Of Oklahoma (no other college football program has had more than three coaches accomplish such a feat). Overall, Oklahoma was 4–6 in BCS games and 9–9 in bowl games under Stoops.

Stoops then led The Sooners to The 2000 BCS National Championship and finished the season undefeated, outscoring 13 opponents by a combined 481–194. His Oklahoma Teams again earned the opportunity to play in The BCS National Championship Game in 2004, 2005 & 2009, losing to LSU, 21–14, in The 2004 Sugar Bowl and to USC, 55–19 in The 2005 Orange Bowl (a win which USC was later forced to vacate by The NCAA) and Florida, 24–14, in The 2009 BCS National Championship Game. Under Stoops, Oklahoma had four BCS National Championship Game appearances, a record shared with Florida State. Stoops’ teams finished the season ranked in The Top 10 of the polls for 11 of his 18 seasons, seven times finishing in the top five.

Under Stoops, The Sooners won ten Big 12 Conference Championships, the most of any Big 12 Team. Oklahoma is also the only team to win back-to-back-to-back Big 12 Championships. Stoops had won 98 Big 12 Conference Games as of The 2012 season’s end, the most conference wins of any then-current Big 12 Coach. In his 18 seasons as The Sooners’ Head Coach, Stoops was 11–7 against The Texas Longhorns in The Red River Rivalry. During a five-game winning streak in that rivalry from 2000 to 2004, his Sooners handed The Longhorns two of their worst defeats in school history, 63–14 in 2000 and 65–13 in 2003. Since then, he led the team to additional large-margin wins of 55–17 in 2011 and 63–21 in 2012.

NFL Interest And Net Worth

Stoops’ performance at Oklahoma made him the frequent subject of head coach searches by several NFL Teams as well as other college programs, which he repeatedly turned away. He was reportedly the top-paid coach in Division 1-A Football with annual compensation in excess of $3 Million until Nick Saban was signed by The University Of Alabama for $4 Million per year beginning in 2007. However, Stoops did receive a “longevity bonus” of $3 Million at the end of The 2008 season (his 10th), making his annual salary in 2008 approximately $6.1 Million (equivalent to $7.1 million in 2018).

In The 2012 season, Stoops led The Sooners back to the top 25 and went to The Cotton Bowl, losing to The Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Manziel and The Texas A&M Aggies, 41–13. In his career at Oklahoma, several of Stoops’ Assistants became Head Coaches at other Division 1-A programs including brother Mike Stoops (Arizona), Mark Mangino (Kansas), Mike Leach (Washington State), Chuck Long (San Diego State), Bo Pelini (Nebraska & Youngstown State), Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M), Kevin Wilson (Indiana) and his eventual successor, Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma). Stoops is the only head coach in The BCS era to have won The Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl & Sugar Bowl. On June 7th, 2017, Stoops officially retired. On February 7th, 2019, Stoops announced his plans to come out of retirement as he was named The Head Coach & The General Manager of the upcoming Dallas Team in The XFL.

What Is Bob Stoops Doing Now

Due to Bob Stoops’ success, experience, work ethics and unwavering talents, it was only a matter of time before The XFL would be interested in him and eventually bring him on-board. His skills and expertise can really contribute to the success of The XFL and can be a huge help to the young players and coaches that will eventually be part of The XFL. It will be interesting to see how The XFL & Bob Stoops can work hand-in-hand for the betterment and future of The leagues’ success as well as Stoops’ career.