Didn't think I would be the first to post. Can't say I saw this coming. Did I miss something?

All I've heard is that he's clarified that it isn't health-related.

Absolutely true - and I'm absolutely shocked. I thought surely he wanted one more run with this great recruiting class and *then* hang it up. I'm just stinking speechless. I was looking forward to Stoops vs Hermann in Dallas this year.

Unreal. Absolutely unreal.

http://kfor.com/2017/06/07/source-ou-head-football-coach-bob-stoops-to-retire/

Wonder the percentage chance OU will pull an Urban Meyer and "un-retire" in a few years and coach Notre Dame or Miami or something.

Great coach. Going down as a legend and he deserves it. "Bob Stoops is the all-time winningest coach at Oklahoma, compiling a 190-48 record and taking the Sooners to bowl games in all 18 of his seasons"

I have it on good authority that he's joining the Golden State Warriors to get another ring.

Personally, I'd like to see Stoops take the FL job and turn around and beat Meyer in the swamp. I can dream, can't I?

Having been around a high school AD who had a coach leave at a similar point in the year with no notice, this kind of is a dick move UNLESS he had already been working and Lincoln was already identified prior to this announcement. But generally leaving a program in June, not such a nice thing to do.

Just throwing it out there....he did just buy a house in Chicago.

Wow... Timing is very strange... A couple months before the season starts with a top ranked team and maybe the best player in college football (Mayfield).

I have it on good authority that he's joining the Golden State Warriors to get another ring.

Excellent! LOL

Wow... Timing is very strange... A couple months before the season starts with a top ranked team and maybe the best player in college football (Mayfield).

To ensure Lincoln got the opportunity?

Yep. The timing of this is completely f**ky.

Just throwing it out there....he did just buy a house in Chicago.

And the Bears went 3-16 last year...

And the Bears went 3-16 last year...

Another good point

The more I think about it, the more I cannot reconcile the timing of this retirement. I cannot help but wonder if there's another player behavior issue getting ready to surface, and he just didn't want to deal with those issues anymore. Or perhaps there's some sort of NCAA allegations getting ready to come down the pike.

A coach like Stoops, who very much wants/wanted to win a second national title, and with a *really* good team coming back, just doesn't quit 90 days before the season on a whim. I wonder if this has been brewing for a time and it was used as leverage to get some of the more recent/bizarre recruiting flips that have happened in the last month or so.

13914

Too soon?

The more I think about it, the more I cannot reconcile the timing of this retirement. I cannot help but wonder if there's another player behavior issue getting ready to surface, and he just didn't want to deal with those issues anymore. Or perhaps there's some sort of NCAA allegations getting ready to come down the pike.

i thought that i read somewhere that stoops would retain some sort of position with the university... assuming that stoops jumped ship to avoid dealing with issues, wouldn't you think that the university would sever ties with him?

All I've heard is that he's clarified that it isn't health-related.

That's strange because I've heard just the opposite.

His official statement:

http://www.oudaily.com/sports/bob-stoops-on-retirement-i-feel-the-timing-is-perfect/article_b8a41308-4bbc-11e7-8484-238692897fa4.html

Maybe he's just tired of the job and wants to enjoy his millions? I think even a guy like Bob stoops can get tired of doing the same thing every year for 20+ years. Plus, this is a chance to help Lincoln.

I wonder if it has anything to do with Mike Stoops? I could see them wanting Bob to fire his brother due to performance and he didn't feel comfortable doing so, so he retired instead.

From what I can gather, although he's not in any imminent danger with his health, he does have heart issues and his own father died on the sidelines at age 54. Bob is now 57 and heart trouble runs in his family (as it does mine and I'm about his age, so I know how these things go).

There is never a good time for this sort of thing and for some reason I'm not totally surprised.

18 years at that level in that profession is almost unprecedented in modern college football, and for good reason. It's a super intense 24/7/365 job, always recruiting, always worrying about some bonehead 18 year old college kid.

I also think Lincoln Riley has come along faster than expected, so Bob probably feels comfortable handing off the baton (as he put it).

I'm sad but also somewhat happy for Bob. His twin sons are going away to college, he has more money than he could ever spend, he's accomplished about as much as anyone can... Time to enjoy all that while he is still young and in decent health.

The latter can change overnight, and he knows it.

They've had his statue for a while, now they can put it up.

Will be very interesting to see if the timing of this is ever fully revealed.

For example, the regents have to approve big hires like Lincoln Riley, so when exactly did that happen? Public statements indicate approval has already been obtained.

Also, it seems obvious that Berry Tramel leaked this story before Stoops or the school wanted it out, as Bob wanted to first meet with the players, etc.

In this day and age, it's almost impossible to keep a secret more than an hour.

Sad to hear this but at the same time glad to see Bob and his wife will be staying in Norman and out of the pressures of the HC job. Best of luck to him he has been a great coach. :(

Latest ESPN ticker says Bob will be "Special assistant to the AD" at OU. Not a position you'd give someone if there were any funny business we don't know about.

...In this day and age, it's almost impossible to keep a secret more than an hour.


Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.--Benjamin Franklin

Bob Stoops has made it known that he didn't want to stay as the OU HC for the long-term. Thought he would make this decision at the end of last season or at the end of 2017-18.

High profile collegiate & pro head coaching jobs are brutal. Wish Bob & his family the best; thanks for his 18 seasons of service.

This makes me very sad. I was so looking forward to Gundy taking the visored one down a notch this year. I mean yeah it will be awesome to see Riley start off 0-1 against the pokes but it just won't be the same. I wish Stoops all the best.

This makes me very sad. I was so looking forward to Gundy taking the visored one down a notch this year. I mean yeah it will be awesome to see Riley start off 0-1 against the pokes but it just won't be the same. I wish Stoops all the best.

Unless his magic mullet was going to take him over the finish line this year, Gundy's 2-10 record against Stoops definitely didn't put the odds in his favor.

Just throwing it out there....he did just buy a house in Chicago.

Actually, he has two houses purchased about a decade apart in Chi-Town but who's counting.

https://www.wearefine.com/mingle/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/unnamed-111.gif

Literally my face when Joleen Chaney preempted Jeopardy with this shocking news..

Man, what a legacy! He only lost 9 home games. You will be missed, but I'm excited to see what Lincoln Riley has to offer!

I bet LandThieves is going crazy right now...

I bet LandThieves is going crazy right now...

You're probably correct, Dustin. The traffic to that site will cause a shutdown.

Bob exits at the right time, with bowl wins over the SEC rivals Alabama & Auburn.

The Oklahoman's website all but crashed in the 20-30 minutes after the story broke.

This may be obvious but I think Stoops was ready to go 3-4 years ago. He was ready to pass the baton to Huepel. All Huepel had to do was continue the momentum after the Alabama win and the job was his. Lincoln getting that OC job forced Stoops to stick around longer than he wanted in order to pass it to Lincoln.

As an OSU graduate (a looooong time ago) I would like to thank The Oklahoman for printing the Stoops articles in my paper with orange backgrounds instead of that awful crimson and cream. OK, I know the colors don't always come out right on the printed version but I still got a laugh out of it today.

This may be obvious but I think Stoops was ready to go 3-4 years ago. He was ready to pass the baton to Huepel. All Huepel had to do was continue the momentum after the Alabama win and the job was his. Lincoln getting that OC job forced Stoops to stick around longer than he wanted in order to pass it to Lincoln.

There was a lot more going on behind the scenes than just Heupel at OC being a mistake. There were some other coaching hires that didn't work, some big recruiting missteps from which we're only now recovering. That led to the housecleaning from a couple of years ago.

Unless his magic mullet was going to take him over the finish line this year, Gundy's 2-10 record against Stoops definitely didn't put the odds in his favor.

:Smiley181

It's certainly sad to see Bob go, but is there any chance he is stepping down to help his boys reach their full potential? I wouldn't be surprised if he comes out of retirement to coach one or both.