Boo will ride again?

[Ash]

If Blake got another shot at a head coaching gig it should be at a smaller program. Some guys are just not head coaching material and some guys just can't make the jump to a big time program right away.

http://newsok.com/blake-hopes-to-lead-another-football-program/article/3242254/?tm=1210591176

[badger]

If Blake earns a second chance, he should get a second chance.

I don't think there's anybody on here that didn't want an OU alum to succeed at the OU coaching job. Blake was part of Sooner Nation, the OU family, and even had King Switzer's endorsement.

With that in mind, I'm sure there's some people that think Blake is evil and ran our program further into the ground, but despite that, I hope they still hope for all the best for an OU alum like Blake. Sure, he didn't succeed at OU, but even national championship winning Howard Schmellybourbon didn't. It's just not the right fit for some coaches.

So, anyways, Boo Blake, best of luck to ya.

[AlbqSooner]

Badger - you are a very astute observer of college football and I have respected what you have posted far more often than not. I almost always wish good things for a former Sooner athlete and/or alum. Blake, however, is different. When Stoops arrived there were no recruiting files. No information whatsoever on who had been contacted and their level of interest. Because of that, Blake can fall flat on his face over and over again and I would not care in the least.

[tulsaoilerfan]

Badger - you are a very astute observer of college football and I have respected what you have posted far more often than not. I almost always wish good things for a former Sooner athlete and/or alum. Blake, however, is different. When Stoops arrived there were no recruiting files. No information whatsoever on who had been contacted and their level of interest. Because of that, Blake can fall flat on his face over and over again and I would not care in the least.

Agreed; no way i can ever wish good will to this guy

[goingoneight]

No recruiting files? Stoops knows like three years ahead of time who he likes to recruit generaly speaking and ran completely different schemes than that of Boo. Boo left us some good players, but you'd have never known it if he was given the extension and Stoops went to say, Ohio State. Roy Williams the left tackle, Rocky Camus the running back and Brandon Daniels the QB come to mind. Stoops took Oklahoma because he wanted to land at a top program, but if we didn't come calling, he very well could have stayed at UF another year and Heupel and Marshall could have been Gators.

Boo might make a decent coach one day... similar to [hairGel] for a small program that will appreciate a 6-6-ish bowl every other year... but he was and always will be in over his head at a program with higher expectations.

[AlbqSooner]

The point is Blake intentionally attempted to sabotage Sooner football. THAT, IMHO, outwieghs all of the good he did for the program as an athlete, assistant or head coach. He purposely tried to throw this program under the bus because he got his feelings hurt by being fired for mucking it up as a head coach.

[Ash]

The point is Blake intentionally attempted to sabotage Sooner football. THAT, IMHO, outwieghs all of the good he did for the program as an athlete, assistant or head coach. He purposely tried to throw this program under the bus because he got his feelings hurt by being fired for mucking it up as a head coach.

wasn't there also a recent recruiting flap that involved blake bad mouthing OU?

[XingTheRubicon]

Is counting to eleven still important?

[XingTheRubicon]

He also sat on his fat *ss to collect the remainder of his contract w/OU and THEN got another coaching job the minute he squeezed the last dime out of his alma mater.


Not quite enough to go on 4Life's "die in a fire" list, but he can definately go **** himself.

[cb4ou]

He was able to sign Rocky because he was told that Blake would not be the coach the following year.

[SoonerDood]

He was able to sign Rocky because he was told that Blake would not be the coach the following year.

Rocky was here before Stoops. One of "Blake's players that Stoops won with."

[Pricetag]

Stoops knows like three years ahead of time who he likes to recruit generaly speaking and ran completely different schemes than that of Boo.
Heck, Boo ran different schemes than that of Boo.

[badger]

Badger - you are a very astute observer of college football and I have respected what you have posted far more often than not. I almost always wish good things for a former Sooner athlete and/or alum. Blake, however, is different. When Stoops arrived there were no recruiting files. No information whatsoever on who had been contacted and their level of interest. Because of that, Blake can fall flat on his face over and over again and I would not care in the least.

I'm not too familiar with the circumstances surrounding the firing period, because it was before my time in Oklahoma (I arrived in 2001 and the first game I saw was the OU-NU game on nat'l television in 2000). However, I can imagine that it is one thing to be dumped by a random school, but another thing entirely to be dumped by a school you played for and helped win games.

Based on my limited knowledge of the Blake years, I think that it's fair to make the following statements about John Blake:

1- John Blake recruited solid talent at OU.
2- John Blake did not win enough games while head coach at OU.
3- Any actions John Blake might have done during his three years as head coach and the period after did not and will not affect OU in the long run.

Ok, analysis time. Blake's recruited talent was stellar, but they weren't reaching their full potential under Blake, possibly because of their strange position assignments. Regardless of how much influence Blake had on the talent arriving in Norman, they arrived at OU, nonetheless.

Blake was an awful head coach. I've heard about the twister board story from NP to get players to figure out where to line up on special teams. They didn't have a winning season under Boo. About the only thing Boo did better than predecessor Howard was in reaching back to Sooner roots and traditions through a member of the Sooner family. This was something that I understand was sorely needed after Howard started minimizing OU's history and was determined to write it himself.

So, Blake might have stolen a few recruiting files (this is the first I've heard of it). So, Blake might have said that he wanted to stay around longer with his talent to see what would have happened, considering OU won the title two years after he left. What exactly were the adverse effects of Blake leaving? Ok, what were the effects?

1- We get a 'rising star' coach in Bob Stoops, even if he wasn't a "name" coach and didn't have any OU ties or have any head coaching experience.

2- We had a winning record the very next year and were bowl bound to the Indepence in Shrevport... and yes, I know we lost that game.

3- We have had stellar recruiting classes filled with four and five star talents pretty much every year and individual award winners, including the first non-running back Heisman for OU.

4- We have won a national championship (2000), conference championships (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007) and bowl championships (Orange, Cotton, Rose, Holiday).

Oh, and we have done all this while emphasizing our traditions, history and state pride. We have done all this while keeping the integrity of the university by enforcing rules and regulations and strictly punishing those that do not.

So yes, Blake did a petty thing by taking out his recruiting files on his way out the door. If I were in his position, I would have probably not done this, but rather, cry for hours and sob uncontrollably on my way out the door. It must have been such a blow to him to have the chance of a lifetime to coach a storied OU program, the one that he had his own mark on as a player and assistant, only to be fired after three seasons. I can't imagine what that must have been like to hear those words "You're fired."

But, like I said, it's not like we're cursed for now and all eternity. And perhaps this just wasn't the best situation to walk into for a first-time coach. It takes a strong person to put up with the pressure and demands that commanding a program like Oklahoma comes with. Stoops is a guy that can handle it, despite all of our "touchdown tight end, stop running the ball up the middle, why aren't we scoring half a hundred and why ain't we got eight yet?" demands. Blake was not.

I don't harbor any ill will towards Blake. He's suffered enough, let it go. We haven't suffered at all since his departure :D

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Blake's time here was a disaster from the beginning..If I remember correctly(been a while since I read the book that discussed this), he didn't choose his own assistants but they were chosen for him by the school....

[Phil]

He also sat on his fat *ss to collect the remainder of his contract w/OU and THEN got another coaching job the minute he squeezed the last dime out of his alma mater.


I don't fault him for that. Gary Gibbs did the exact same thing, although he went out and earned a ton of money selling insurance at the same time. When the gravy train from Norman dried up, he got back into coaching. He was and is a damned good football coach. Gibbs, that is. Blake, too, for that matter, at least as a recruiter and DL coach.

[rainiersooner]

His departure was messy and ugly and marked by childish behavior on his part (hmmm, actually, kind of like his tenure here too)...but that was 10 years ago...I wish him well.

[picasso]

Foyil high school.

[swardboy]

Foyil high school.

Get your kicks, on Route 66.......