Great run Bob Stoops! But now it's time for change...

[ObiKaTony]

OU lost for the 6th time as a favorite in their last 18 games, we were FAVORED IN ALL 18. Lost as a DOUBLE DIGIT favorite AGAINST TEXAS for the 2nd time in the last 3 times they've been favored by that margin. Bob had a GREAT run at Oklahoma, it's time to go.

[SoonerorLater]

OU lost for the 6th time as a favorite in their last 18 games, we were FAVORED IN ALL 18. Lost as a DOUBLE DIGIT favorite AGAINST TEXAS for the 2nd time in the last 3 times they've been favored by that margin. Bob had a GREAT run at Oklahoma, it's time to go.

Which coaching legend/genius should OU hire?

[SicEmBaylor]

Which coaching legend/genius should OU hire?

Stoops wasn't a legend when he was hired...He was just a well regarded defensive coordinator.

[SoonerorLater]

Stoops wasn't a legend when he was hired...He was just a well regarded defensive coordinator.

Fair enough. Let me rephrase. What "well regarded" coordinator, coaching legend/genius should OU hire that is better than Bob Stoops?

[graphster]

Which coaching legend/genius should OU hire?

It's always a crapshoot with these things, but there are lots of good coaches out there.

If the best case scenario for Stoops is going to be to end up with 2 losses and then pull off an upset in a BCS game where the other team isn't even motivated to play, and the more common experience is to end up with 3 or more losses and completely outside of the national conversation, then I think you can find a whole lot of coaches who could accomplish that or do better with OU's facilities, fan support, and recruiting base. You look at his salary and the rest of the coaching staff, and the on-field results dating back to 2011 have not been acceptable. The fact of the matter is that the Big 12 is not even as strong as some of the other conferences out there (SEC, Pac 12), so there's really no excuse for going 5 years without an outright conference title. If OU played in the SEC, we'd probably have ended up with 4 or 5 losses several times in the past 7 seasons.

Stoops will always be a legend for bringing OU back. After last year, I thought he deserved one more year to get things right. He decided to bring in an OC who runs a system that we don't have the personnel for right now (I think Riley is a good coach and a good OC, but his scheme is not a great fit for our current roster), and to leave the defense mostly unchanged. He knew he was going to be under pressure to win this year, and those are the changes he thought would be necessary to turn it around. It hasn't worked so far. Obviously he deserves to finish the year, and maybe they'll really turn things around the second half of the season and somehow end up in the BCS or top 10. But if things go the way it looks like they are headed (3 losses minimum), then I think it's time to make a change.

[Snrinhouston]

That Stoops needs to go is Hotels.com Captain Obvious dialogue.

Joe C. makes more than $1,000,000 a year. Look it up. It's HIS job to have a succession plan. We've heard for years about what a great AD he is. Now he can prove it.

[SoonerForLife92]

I'm not defending Stoops or the state of the program really here... But I have to wonder how different a tune you would all have if we would have pulled out a comeback and beat texas. (I doubt it'd be much different because we should have won by at least two tds but still)

[Snrinhouston]

I'm not defending Stoops or the state of the program really here... But I have to wonder how different a tune you would all have if we would have pulled out a comeback and beat texas. (I doubt it'd be much different because we should have won by at least two tds but still)

Who cares? What DID happen is that OU played lousy football for the third year in a row against its biggest rival.

[BoulderSooner79]

I'm not defending Stoops or the state of the program really here... But I have to wonder how different a tune you would all have if we would have pulled out a comeback and beat texas. (I doubt it'd be much different because we should have won by at least two tds but still)

You're so right about that! We could of easily pulled that one out by changing the outcome of just a couple of plays. But the tune here would be totally different even though the team and the program would be on the same track as before.

[SoonerorLater]

That Stoops needs to go is Hotels.com Captain Obvious dialogue.

In logic this is called a Fallacy of Presumption. It absolutely isn't obvious. Every time a coach loses a game or doesn't win as much as a fickle fan base desires, doesn't mean he needs to be fired. This was a re-building year of sorts. New OC, new system, inexperienced O-line, new QB. What exactly were your expectations? What SPECIFICALLY do you see that you think Joe C just doesn't get?

Again I will ask, who is Joe C supposed to get that will be better than Bob Stoops?

[BoulderSooner79]

Sarkisian is suddenly available.

[FaninAma]

In logic this is called a Fallacy of Presumption. It absolutely isn't obvious. Every time a coach loses a game or doesn't win as much as a fickle fan base desires, doesn't mean he needs to be fired. This was a re-building year of sorts. New OC, new system, inexperienced O-line, new QB. What exactly were your expectations? What SPECIFICALLY do you see that you think Joe C just doesn't get?

Again I will ask, who is Joe C supposed to get that will be better than Bob Stoops?
You act like this is the first year a Stoops team has played below its capabilities.

How many times do they come out looking flat in the first quarter?

Last year wasn't a rebuilding year.

I would look at the Houston, Tulsa, Utah coaches or even Justin Fuentes at Memphis.

There's a reason Texas is our biggest rival.....because it's the game everybody in your fanbase wants to win.

There is no excuse for being caught flat footed against Texas.

And it is just an accident the best player on offense is here.

[Snrinhouston]

In logic this is called a Fallacy of Presumption. It absolutely isn't obvious. Every time a coach loses a game or doesn't win as much as a fickle fan base desires, doesn't mean he needs to be fired. This was a re-building year of sorts. New OC, new system, inexperienced O-line, new QB. What exactly were your expectations? What SPECIFICALLY do you see that you think Joe C just doesn't get?

Again I will ask, who is Joe C supposed to get that will be better than Bob Stoops?

You can ask a million times. The same answer is "I don't know!" I am NOT an athletic director. I do NOT get paid more than $1,000,000 a year to monitor the college football landscape. It's not my job to recognize upcoming talent on the 100+ FBS schools.

But I do know that for the 7th!!!!!!! straight year OU is out of contention by Nov 1. I've seen enough to conclude that Stoops isn't close to competing for a national title. How many more years of second tier results do you need to see before reaching the same conclusion? Three, four, five?

[SoonerorLater]

You act like this is the first year a Stoops team has played below its capabilities.

How many times do they come out looking flat in the first quarter?

Last year wasn't a rebuilding year.

I would look at the Houston, Tulsa, Utah coaches or even Justin Fuentes at Memphis.

There's a reason Texas is our biggest rival.....because it's the game everybody in your fanbase wants to win.

There is no excuse for being caught flat footed against Texas.

And it is just an accident the best player on offense is here.


Houston, Tulsa, Utah coaches? Their individual records are

90–43
5-0
3–2

Whittingham is the only guy who has a track record and it's worse than Bob Stoops by far. If Whittingham would have produced this record at OU, people on this board would have been ready to fire him by the middle of the first year.

[Snrinhouston]

Ok, SoonerorLater,

let's hear it. What final regular season record this year would convince you that Stoops has to go?

[SoonerorLater]

You can ask a million times. The same answer is "I don't know!" I am NOT an athletic director. I do NOT get paid more than $1,000,000 a year to monitor the college football landscape. It's not my job to recognize upcoming talent on the 100+ FBS schools.

But I do know that for the 7th!!!!!!! straight year OU is out of contention by Nov 1. I've seen enough to conclude that Stoops isn't close to competing for a national title. How many more years of second tier results do you need to see before reaching the same conclusion? Three, four, five?

Right you don't know. I don't know either. That's why they hired Joe C to make these decisions. Maybe he thinks keeping Bob Stoops IS the best decision. So as you stated, if you don't know, how do you know that retaining Stoops is the wrong decision?

As far as out of contention for a national championship (though we aren't technically out of the picture). The answer for a time frame is infinity. A NC is a crapshoot in these days of parity and is just icing on the cake. If that's your expectations of an OU coach then you are being unrealistic.

[Snrinhouston]

Right you don't know. I don't know either. That's why they hired Joe C to make these decisions. Maybe he thinks keeping Bob Stoops IS the best decision. So as you stated, if you don't know, how do you know that retaining Stoops is the wrong decision?

As far as out of contention for a national championship (though we aren't technically out of the picture). The answer for a time frame is infinity. A NC is a crapshoot in these days of parity and is just icing on the cake. If that's your expectations of an OU coach then you are being unrealistic.

When did I say in this string that OU had to win a national championship? I said COMPETE for a national championship. Do you think it's a crapshoot to compete for a national championship? Then how do Meyer and Saban regularly do it?

[FaninAma]

SoonerOrLater, you would ride this program down to the depths of Boo Blake rather than admit you were wrong. Bob cannot right this ship.

[Curly Bill]

In logic this is called a Fallacy of Presumption. It absolutely isn't obvious. Every time a coach loses a game or doesn't win as much as a fickle fan base desires, doesn't mean he needs to be fired. This was a re-building year of sorts. New OC, new system, inexperienced O-line, new QB. What exactly were your expectations? What SPECIFICALLY do you see that you think Joe C just doesn't get?

Again I will ask, who is Joe C supposed to get that will be better than Bob Stoops?

Is putting a team on the field that looks prepared and somewhat motivated too much to ask for?

...or is Bob Stoops the only person in your mind that even has a chance at that?

Bob is not getting the job done - too say that the next person may be even worse does not excuse the downward slide that is ongoing, and only promises to get worse.

[SoonerorLater]

When did I say in this string that OU had to win a national championship? I said COMPETE for a national championship. Do you think it's a crapshoot to compete for a national championship? Then how do Meyer and Saban regularly do it?

Did you read what I wrote? I lead my paragraph with

"As far as out of CONTENTION for a national championship (though we aren't technically out of the picture). The answer for a time frame is infinity."

So just because we in your opinion, or in actuality, are out of contention for a championship, does not necessarily mean Stops should be fired.

If somebody knows with (as John McLaughlin would say) that we can find a coach who with "On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 representing zero possibility and 10 representing complete metaphysical certitude,...?" will deliver us a championship at about a 9 level then I say hire that guy.

[Curly Bill]

Did you read what I wrote? I lead my paragraph with

"As far as out of CONTENTION for a national championship (though we aren't technically out of the picture). The answer for a time frame is infinity."

So just because we in your opinion, or in actuality, are out of contention for a championship, does not necessarily mean Stops should be fired.

If somebody knows with (as John McLaughlin would say) that we can find a coach who with "On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 representing zero possibility and 10 representing complete metaphysical certitude,...?" will deliver us a championship at about a 9 level then I say hire that guy.

Then you're for keeping Stoops forever! Because there is no certainty how any new coach would do.

Admit you are in favor of perpetual mediocrity and call it good.

[ObiKaTony]

Which coaching legend/genius should OU hire?

So next time you are not getting the job done, tell your boss:

'Hey, who else you going to hire'. See how that works for ya

[Snrinhouston]

So next time you are not getting the job done, tell your boss:

'Hey, who else you going to hire'. See how that works for ya

I just wish I could figure out why it's working for Stoops? Does he have the right pics of the right person doing the wrong thing?

[ObiKaTony]

Which coaching legend/genius should OU hire?

So next time you are not getting the job done, tell your boss:

'Hey, who else you going to hire'. See how that works for ya

[Curly Bill]

I'm sure SoonerorLater drives the same worn out car he's had for 30 years. You know - because there's no assurance the new one wouldn't be a lemon.

[manateepower]

Which coaching legend/genius should OU hire?

Yeah, this rebuttal hasn't been answered already. Just stop.

[SoonerorLater]

Then you're for keeping Stoops forever! Because there is no certainty how any new coach would do.

Admit you are in favor of perpetual mediocrity and call it good.

What in your opinion defines mediocre? When I think mediocrity I think maybe a .500 team over five years. Should the University of Oklahoma hire another coach solely on the hope that change brings? Historically that hasn't been a good bet, especially in states that don't produce a lot of in-state talent.

[Curly Bill]

What in your opinion defines mediocre? When I think mediocrity I think maybe a .500 team over five years. Should the University of Oklahoma hire another coach solely on the hope that change brings? Historically that hasn't been a good bet, especially in states that don't produce a lot of in-state talent.

My standards of OU football and your's apparently aren't one and the same. I'd call .500 football for five years a complete and utter disaster.

I guess that explains why you want to keep Stoops around - you have remarkably low standards!

[SoonerorLater]

I'm sure SoonerorLater drives the same worn out car he's had for 30 years. You know - because there's no assurance the new one wouldn't be a lemon.

You could walk into the casino dead drunk, lay your money down and walk out set for life.....just not the way things typically work out.

[graphster]

What in your opinion defines mediocre? When I think mediocrity I think maybe a .500 team over five years. Should the University of Oklahoma hire another coach solely on the hope that change brings? Historically that hasn't been a good bet, especially in states that don't produce a lot of in-state talent.

I don't think you should factor non-conference games into that equation. Anybody with a pulse should be able to beat Tulsa and Akron, so the only hard game there is Tennessee, which OU needed a miraculous comeback to win.

In terms of teams in conference, Stoops is batting pretty close to .500 these days, with many of those wins coming against perennial cellar dwellers like Kansas and Iowa State. That's pretty much the definition of mediocrity.

Y'all act like 8-4 is some sort of accomplishment when you have a schedule with approximately 5 borderline guaranteed wins and several more games where your team is a heavy favorite.

[Snrinhouston]

SoonerorLater,

I'm sure you want what we all do-for OU to be an elite team again.

If that is what you want, I have no idea how a reasonable OU fan could conclude that Stoops' performance over the last SEVEN years indicates that he's capable of doing that. Do you consider 7 years to be too small a sample size?

[SoonerorLater]

SoonerorLater,

I'm sure you want what we all do-for OU to be an elite team again.

If that is what you want, I have no idea how a reasonable OU fan could conclude that Stoops' performance over the last SEVEN years indicates that he's capable of doing that. Do you consider 7 years to be too small a sample size?

A lot has been made of the 'good' Bob Stoops era and the Bad Bob Stoops later years. Here's a breakdown

First 8 years
-------
86-19

Last 8 years plus this year to date
-----
86-26

Slightly worse marginally on an a percentage basis but the way people here are bellyaching you would think we were becoming another New Mexico St.

[Curly Bill]

A lot has been made of the 'good' Bob Stoops era and the Bad Bob Stoops later years. Here's a breakdown

First 8 years
-------
86-19

Last 8 years plus this year to date
-----
86-26

Slightly worse marginally on an a percentage basis but the way people here are bellyaching you would think we were becoming another New Mexico St.

Funny you should mention that! They're one of our chief competitors for those high quality recruits we're landing these days.

[graphster]

A lot has been made of the 'good' Bob Stoops era and the Bad Bob Stoops later years. Here's a breakdown

First 8 years
-------
86-19

Last 8 years plus this year to date
-----
86-26

Slightly worse marginally on an a percentage basis but the way people here are bellyaching you would think we were becoming another New Mexico St.

5 of those losses for the first 8 years came in year 1. Several more came the year we were reloading after back to back NC appearances and then AD got hurt.

Also, most people count 2009 (kind of hard to judge because we were decimated by injuries and had lost a lot of seniors from the '08 team) or 2011 (we won the conference title in 2010 and won the Fiesta bowl) as the start of the decline, so setting an 8 year cutoff point seems arbitrary.

[REDREX]

Keep in mind the the new level we may go to could be down

[BoulderSooner79]

2011 was a legit top 10 or even top 5 team. But even that squad showed how little depth we had which is a higher level program problem. No team is going to win a championship if they lose their star players, but we dropped from NC contender to a team that didn't deserve to be ranked when we lost Whaley and Boyles. The 4 teams since '11 have not been close to a top 10 team and not surprisingly, we haven't won the conference in that span. (I know about the "Co-" with KSU, but any reasonable definition gives the title to KSU).

[Soonerjeepman]

Again I will ask, who is Joe C supposed to get that will be better than Bob Stoops?

I dont get paid a million dollars...he does. How many folks on here had heard of bob stoops before he was hired here...? I know i didnt...

[Snrinhouston]

A lot has been made of the 'good' Bob Stoops era and the Bad Bob Stoops later years. Here's a breakdown

First 8 years
-------
8619

Last 8 years plus this year to date
-----
86-26

Slightly worse marginally on an a percentage basis but the way people here are bellyaching you would think we were becoming another New Mexico St.

This "analysis" is foolishness. Anyone who can't tell a marked difference in the program between the first and second halves of Stoops' tenure has no attention for detail.

[Snrinhouston]

I dont get paid a million dollars...he does. How many folks on here had heard of bob stoops before he was hired here...? I know i didnt...

Amen. I can't believe how many times you'll have to say this, but you will.

[SoonerorLater]

5 of those losses for the first 8 years came in year 1. Several more came the year we were reloading after back to back NC appearances and then AD got hurt.

Also, most people count 2009 (kind of hard to judge because we were decimated by injuries and had lost a lot of seniors from the '08 team) or 2011 (we won the conference title in 2010 and won the Fiesta bowl) as the start of the decline, so setting an 8 year cutoff point seems arbitrary.

I picked a point at the halfway mark. As you can see there isn't much difference. Stoops has been remarkably consistent. The numbers back it up. As a point of reference here is the Won-Loss record of another coach at he same point in his career as Bob Stoops. Should this coach have been fired?

116-46-12

[SoonerorLater]

I dont get paid a million dollars...he does. How many folks on here had heard of bob stoops before he was hired here...? I know i didnt...

No you don't and neither do I. Joe C does. You think maybe he knows better than you or I?

[Snrinhouston]

I picked a point at the halfway mark. As you can see there isn't much difference. Stoops has been remarkably consistent. The numbers back it up. As a point of reference here is the Won-Loss record of another coach at he same point in his career as Bob Stoops. Should this coach have been fired?

116-46-12

Dear god SoonerorLater,

I have about given up hope for you.

Simple question. Over the past 7 years (while Stoops has been among the top four highest paid coaches) has OU consistently been an elite team (one that has contended deep into the season for a national title)? Yes or no

[Snrinhouston]

No you don't and neither do I. Joe C does. You think maybe he knows better than you or I?

By that reasoning the AD who hired Blake knew better than everyone else too!

[SoonerorLater]

This "analysis" is foolishness. Anyone who can't tell a marked difference in the program between the first and second halves of Stoops' tenure has no attention for detail.

No it isn't. You can look to any one year to make a point but the fact remains there is little difference record-wise over the long haul. You're making a bigger deal out of this than is warranted. We're 4-1 so far this year. The way everybody is whining you would think those numbers were reversed.

[Snrinhouston]

No it isn't. You can look to any one year to make a point but the fact remains there is little difference record-wise over the long haul. You're making a bigger deal out of this than is warranted. We're 4-1 so far this year. The way everybody is whining you would think those numbers were reversed.

Alright. You seem to think that the 4-1 record portends hope for a successful rest of the season. I think that you are a wrong as Chamberlain was about Hitler.

We shall see.

[SoonerorLater]

By that reasoning the AD who hired Blake knew better than everyone else too!

You also notice he isn't the AD any longer. Joe C. made a decision that Bob Stoops was a certifiably better fit to be head coach at the University of Oklahoma than John Blake. He was correct. Now he has made a decision that Bob Stoops should remain the head Coach at the University of Oklahoma. Given Joe C's record you think you know better why?

[Snrinhouston]

You also notice he isn't the AD any longer. Joe C. made a decision that Bob Stoops was a certifiably better fit to be head coach at the University of Oklahoma than John Blake. He was correct. Now he has made a decision that Bob Stoops should remain the head Coach at the University of Oklahoma. Given Joe C's record you think you know better why?

There is no point in going round and round any longer. We'll let the season play out. However if OU finishes 7-5, I can't wait to hear your defense of Stoops.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

As I said when everyone wanted Venables fired, you have no idea whether you are going to be better or worse when you bring in a new coach. You bring in someone who farts around in recruiting for 2 years and you are toast for the next 5.

[Snrinhouston]

As I said when everyone wanted Venables fired, you have no idea whether you are going to be better or worse when you bring in a new coach. You bring in someone who farts around in recruiting for 2 years and you are toast for the next 5.

You are correct! You don't know what you will get. But we know what we have- a coach that can no longer compete for National Championships. And as long as I remember, THAT is the OU standard. Has that standard changed? If so, fine. Keep punt-it-again Bob.

If not, punt Bob and keep hiring/firing as necessary until you get the right coach.

We've done it before! Went through Gibbs/Howard/Blake to get Good Bob. We can do it again, as needed, to get rid of Mediocre Bob.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

You are correct! You don't know what you will get. But we know what we have- a coach that can no longer compete for National Championships. And as long as I remember, THAT is the OU standard. Has that standard changed? If so, fine. Keep punt-it-again Bob.

If not, punt Bob and keep hiring/firing as necessary until you get the right coach.

We've done it before! Went through Gibbs/Howard/Blake to get Good Bob. We can do it again, as needed, to get rid of Mediocre Bob.

Seriously? How long did it take Osborne to win a National Title? 21 years? Nebraska fans wanted him gone and then he managed to pile together 3 magical recruiting classes and won 3 titles.

You would doom us to another 11 frickin years of suckiness to get to another title? you are insane. T

[Sooner70]

Just watched the Texas replay, and the lack of sure tackling and pocket protection was evident. Stoops and his staff can recruit & coach, but they cannot execute on the field. Players have to do that. All this "can Stoops" stuff is hogwash. He'd probably be unemployed about an hour before a name school picked him up and would be happy to do it. The guy is a career almost 80% game winner & he's beat Texas more times than he's lost. One game doesn't make a season. All this "Big Game Bob" stuff is a media fabrication also. Something he had nothing to do with. OK, if you want to talk about how many games OU has been favored and lost, but where's the stats on when OU was not favored and won? There's a few of those also.

I ain't saying Stoops shouldn't improve his coaching philosophy to keep up with the times. Any astute coach would, and it appears he's trying with the hiring of Riley, et al. and the changes he's made. I'd be more concerned if he just sat on his hands and did nothing, but Stoops isn't that kind of coach. He wants to win, and keep OU at a high level. I believe that. I vote keep Bob.

[Snrinhouston]

Seriously? How long did it take Osborne to win a National Title? 21 years? Nebraska fans wanted him gone and then he managed to pile together 3 magical recruiting classes and won 3 titles.

You would doom us to another 11 frickin years of suckiness to get to another title? you are insane. T

What????

If you are comparing Stoops' performance over the past 7 years with Osborne's year in-year out performance, YOU, not I, are insane. Nebraska was a constant powerhouse. Its lunatic fringe fans wanted Osborne fired because he couldn't beat OU (or when he did) win the Nat Champ game.

Do you think OU fans calling for Stoops' job are making the same complaints?????? We are not. We are pissed that he can't even CONTEND for a national title anymore...meaning OU can't even make it to November 1 and still be nationally relevant.

[Snrinhouston]

Just watched the Texas replay, and the lack of sure tackling and pocket protection was evident. Stoops and his staff can recruit & coach, but they cannot execute on the field. Players have to do that. All this "can Stoops" stuff is hogwash. He'd probably be unemployed about an hour before a name school picked him up and would be happy to do it. The guy is a career almost 80% game winner & he's beat Texas more times than he's lost. One game doesn't make a season. All this "Big Game Bob" stuff is a media fabrication also. Something he had nothing to do with. OK, if you want to talk about how many games OU has been favored and lost, but where's the stats on when OU was not favored and won? There's a few of those also.

I ain't saying Stoops shouldn't improve his coaching philosophy to keep up with the times. Any astute coach would, and it appears he's trying with the hiring of Riley, et al. and the changes he's made. I'd be more concerned if he just sat on his hands and did nothing, but Stoops isn't that kind of coach. He wants to win, and keep OU at a high level. I believe that. I vote keep Bob.

Who cares about what Bob wants to do? I don't. Do you?

Shouldn't we care about what Bob DOES do?

[Soonerjeepman]

Right you don't know. I don't know either. That's why they hired Joe C to make these decisions. Maybe he thinks keeping Bob Stoops IS the best decision. So as you stated, if you don't know, how do you know that retaining Stoops is the wrong decision?

As far as out of contention for a national championship (though we aren't technically out of the picture). The answer for a time frame is infinity. A NC is a crapshoot in these days of parity and is just icing on the cake. If that's your expectations of an OU coach then you are being unrealistic.

LOL..you actually THINK this team would even sniff the playoffs? So, which game or games did you see that would even resemble a playoff team? I love the Sooners, have for 40 years...but I'm also a realist.

No, I don't expect OU to be in the title game EVERY YEAR, but he's 1-3 in those games and actually only 8-8 in bowl games. The last stat is something I would expect higher for an OU coach. Yes, he's had some nice accomplishments...no one denies that. The question is, is he STILL the guy?

He's had an 8-4 season and two 8-5 seasons. Never in a row..but if he slips to that or worse this year not sure he's the man anymore.

[Snrinhouston]

LOL..you actually THINK this team would even sniff the playoffs? So, which game or games did you see that would even resemble a playoff team? I love the Sooners, have for 40 years...but I'm also a realist.

No, I don't expect OU to be in the title game EVERY YEAR, but he's 1-3 in those games and actually only 8-8 in bowl games. The last stat is something I would expect higher for an OU coach. Yes, he's had some nice accomplishments...no one denies that. The question is, is he STILL the guy?

He's had an 8-4 season and two 8-5 seasons. Never in a row..but if he slips to that or worse this year not sure he's the man anymore.


Well put!

[Soonerjeepman]

Just watched the Texas replay, and the lack of sure tackling and pocket protection was evident. Stoops and his staff can recruit & coach, but they cannot execute on the field. Players have to do that. All this "can Stoops" stuff is hogwash. He'd probably be unemployed about an hour before a name school picked him up and would be happy to do it. The guy is a career almost 80% game winner & he's beat Texas more times than he's lost. One game doesn't make a season. All this "Big Game Bob" stuff is a media fabrication also. Something he had nothing to do with. OK, if you want to talk about how many games OU has been favored and lost, but where's the stats on when OU was not favored and won? There's a few of those also.

I ain't saying Stoops shouldn't improve his coaching philosophy to keep up with the times. Any astute coach would, and it appears he's trying with the hiring of Riley, et al. and the changes he's made. I'd be more concerned if he just sat on his hands and did nothing, but Stoops isn't that kind of coach. He wants to win, and keep OU at a high level. I believe that. I vote keep Bob.

what's your opinion of Mike? Honestly, when he didn't cut it at zona and Bob brought him back my first reaction was...nice to love your brother. BTW I'm not saying fire him for sure...but if OU slips to 8-5 or below...not good.

As far as the not favored and won...I'd be hard pressed to say it's more than the other.

well, from what I could gather, fsu in 00, bama, osu and ksu last year, so that's 4. Considering he's only had a couple of 8-4/8-5 season (last yr being one) I doubt OU has been much of an underdog.

[Soonerjeepman]

1st 6 years 67-12 - 85%
2nd 6 years 62-19 - 77%
3rd 6 years 43-14 (4 years and 4 games) - 75% so far

Again, just stats...and yes...we COULD be kansas and have a horrible %...but I'm pretty sure everyone expects more from OU.

[OUmillenium]

I thought this team had a strong chance to lose 5 games this season unless...
1.a quality qb emerged - Mayfield impressed me a great deal at times this season
2.the Sooner Def was significantly improved - its maybe a little better than last year, maybe

I didn't foresee the O-line being so bad. oops

If Westbrook catches a td pass that almost hit him in the mask, then we don't settle for 3 early. Players have got to make plays. I watched a lot of old RRS games this week on youtube. Our talent on the lines was off the charts in our victories in the early 2000s + our receivers were nearly perfect and unable to be tackled after the catch.

Saw some of this quality effort during LJ's 3 wins in a row by Millard, Stills, and others but LJ was a superior qb throwing against some poor UTerus teams. And LJ wasnt running for his life every play.

did the Sooners throw any screen passes to help slow the blitzing whorns Saturday?

[Soonerjeepman]

No you don't and neither do I. Joe C does. You think maybe he knows better than you or I?

prob...but you act like we would HAVE to get some big name coach...Bob was not a big name coach. Like Houston said...HE does know those guys...that's his job.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

what's your opinion of Mike? Honestly, when he didn't cut it at zona and Bob brought him back my first reaction was...nice to love your brother. BTW I'm not saying fire him for sure...but if OU slips to 8-5 or below...not good.

As far as the not favored and won...I'd be hard pressed to say it's more than the other.

well, from what I could gather, fsu in 00, bama, osu and ksu last year, so that's 4. Considering he's only had a couple of 8-4/8-5 season (last yr being one) I doubt OU has been much of an underdog.

My opinion of Mike is the same as when he left in 2003 and when everyone wanted him back. He's a pretty good game day caller, but he absolutely sucks at recruiting defensive backs that fit his scheme. We continuously end up in situations where the perfect D is called and we don't have the players that can execute.

[aurorasooner]

With all these conference realignment screw-ups by our administration, I do think it's really hard for our staff to get the highly-rated recruits like we were getting in the early 2000s, especially out of the state of Texas. It doesn't help that this staff/HC has chite-the-bed so many times while being the overwhelming favorite like yesterday, and our staff, for some reason, isn't able to coach-up the guys who we can get and who could be really good college athletes (like the A English-types) worth a damn anymore . That graphic of our right tackle run vs pass feet-set give-away is a humiliating glaring example, along with our laughable lack of any special team's return game this year what-so-ever, as well as not being able to be successful in the basics of blocking and tackling -- of HCBS and staff not doing the "coaching little-things" that may make a team successful. Man, if Snyder wasn't the complete professional and trying to devise a workable game-plan with a 3rd or 4th string QB, him and his staff would probably LTAO Sunday afternoon looking over our game films from this year.

I was worried about HCBS being "all-in" after (IMO) he was forced to end this unprofessional "friends and family" assistant-coach's fiasco that has gone on for the last half decade or so. I don't believe he's all-in anymore and just going thru the motions and collecting huge checks.

To be fair, if I was the OU HC I'd be extremely disappointed in our whole administration's/conference's handling of our future with this realignment deal. They haven't made his job of bringing top-notch athletes into our program any easier but I'm sure Snyder and Gundy, who do more with a lot less, feel real sorry for him. Also, you can tell when our HC gets completely immersed in the business of preparing/ overseeing a game-plan. He's pretty damned good, but this, imo, doesn't happen very often anymore unless it's perhaps an OOC game against an SEC team, and obviously he hasn't been completely all-in the last 3 years against our biggest rival. Just sad.

This alignment we've got with Fox Sports is just the chitz since they are ESPiN's CFB whipping boy and only get the scraps. While pretty-good financially short-term, it brings us no positive recruiting press since Fox is still a west-coast PAC wannabe, NASCAR and WWF/cage fighting network during CFB season. Once/if Fox gets the Big-10 TV contract this whole conference except the Whorns will be SOL with AAC/MAC status. I don't think they will unless the Big-10 still harbors ill-will against ESPiN for trying to low-ball them, but ESPiN will probably unload a large portion of cash to them in 2017 especially if one of their teams win it all again this year. If that happens, that network will completely control CFB east of the Mississippi River, the State of Texas (W Va and Notre Dame excluded), and probably still get 1st choice in showing the other marquee NCAA games. Then we will really be SOL.

[cherokeebrewer]

I appreciate very much what Coach Stoops has done to bring us out of the dark years and am not one to give up on him easily, but the comparisons to Mack Brown are eerily disconcerting...

[SoonerMarkVA]

Good post, aurora. I think you touch on the fact that this is a systemic failure, across the board.

How ironic has Boren's "we won't be a wallflower" quote become? If not fully, then it's certainly on a collision course to be so.

[olevetonahill]

In Rethinking this, I dont want Bob Gone, I do however want him to get this Team back on track and for him to find some Fire in his ***.
Look whats happening with USC right now. I dont want that for OU, Ever since Pete left that place has been a Cluster****.

http://news.yahoo.com/usc-coach-steve-sarkisian-taking-indefinite-leave-absence-214138348--spt.html

[SoonerorLater]

LOL..you actually THINK this team would even sniff the playoffs? So, which game or games did you see that would even resemble a playoff team? I love the Sooners, have for 40 years...but I'm also a realist.

No, I don't expect OU to be in the title game EVERY YEAR, but he's 1-3 in those games and actually only 8-8 in bowl games. The last stat is something I would expect higher for an OU coach. Yes, he's had some nice accomplishments...no one denies that. The question is, is he STILL the guy?

He's had an 8-4 season and two 8-5 seasons. Never in a row..but if he slips to that or worse this year not sure he's the man anymore.

Nooo I don't think this team will make the Playoffs. What I said was 'technically' at 4-1 they aren't eliminated. I picked this team to go 8-4 so I definitely had no expectations of anything except maybe a halfway decent bowl game.


Nobody answered my question from a previous post.

Here is the Won-Loss record of another coach at the same point in his career as Bob Stoops. Should this coach have been fired?

116-46-12

As a point of reference his record for the previous three seasons leading up to that was

5–4–1
7–2–2
8–1–2

If this were Stoops record people couldn't run him out of town soon enough.

[SanDiegoSoonerGal]

It's not simply about wins vs. losses. There's no shame in a loss if the team is prepared and plays hard.

The problem with Bob's losses is that they are more and more like Saturday's, at the hands of a far inferior team, where we look completely unprepared and undisciplined.

[oudanny]

I agree with Gal. We lost to a bad Texas team and looked totally unprepared for what they did. Is that on the coaches or players? Our talent level has slipped. Is that on the coaches or players? We are undisciplined and have not improved.Is that on the coaches or players?

[FaninAma]

Seriously? How long did it take Osborne to win a National Title? 21 years? Nebraska fans wanted him gone and then he managed to pile together 3 magical recruiting classes and won 3 titles.

You would doom us to another 11 frickin years of suckiness to get to another title? you are insane. T

This post is ironic considering how hypercritical you are of OU's personnel....especially on defense. It's not Bob's overall record that will sink him...it's the ugly losses to our 2 main rivals and the lack of Big 12 titles that will eventially over take him. If he stops losing to horrible Texas teams and making decsions that give OSU a victory in the face of certain defeat AND throws in a few Big 12 titles Boren will keep him until he decides to retire. That's why this Texas loss was so perplexing. Bob and his staff needed a win over a rival BADLY after the OSU game last year and they came out and laid an egg.

BTW, I think Boren's (or whoever's) decision to not leave the Big 12 behind has put Bob behind the 8-ball. I think OU could compete much better with the offenses of the Big 10 or the SEC. I think recruiting would have been better, also.

[dwarthog]

It's not simply about wins vs. losses. There's no shame in a loss if the team is prepared and plays hard.

The problem with Bob's losses is that they are more and more like Saturday's, at the hands of a far inferior team, where we look completely unprepared and undisciplined.

Bingo!

[Snrinhouston]

Nooo I don't think this team will make the Playoffs. What I said was 'technically' at 4-1 they aren't eliminated. I picked this team to go 8-4 so I definitely had no expectations of anything except maybe a halfway decent bowl game.


Nobody answered my question from a previous post.

Here is the Won-Loss record of another coach at the same point in his career as Bob Stoops. Should this coach have been fired?

116-46-12

As a point of reference his record for the previous three seasons leading up to that was

5–4–1
7–2–2
8–1–2

If this were Stoops record people couldn't run him out of town soon enough.

Because it's an uninstructive "academic" exercise.

You give a snippet of info that does not include the all important context such as,

1. What has been the trend of the team for several seasons?
2. What is the historical expectation of the program (is this Minnesota or Ohio State)?
3. How have the losses been? (close or blowouts)?
4. Is the coach getting an elite (top five) salary?

This is similar to the stupid exercise of "Would you fire a coach that has gone 23-12-1 over the past three seasons? Congratulations, you just fired Barry Switzer!" Not taking into account the wider context of

1. Many of Switzer's losses in that span were narrow. None were blowouts.
2. Switzer had an INCREDIBLE record and two national championships over the previous 8 seasons.
3. OU had just missed signing Turner Gill (a huge difference maker) and had to make due with an average Kelly Phelps and an above average Danny Bradley

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

This post is ironic considering how hypercritical you are of OU's personnel....especially on defense. It's not Bob's overall record that will sink him...it's the ugly losses to our 2 main rivals and the lack of Big 12 titles that will eventially over take him. If he stops losing to horrible Texas teams and making decsions that give OSU a victory in the face of certain defeat AND throws in a few Big 12 titles Boren will keep him until he decides to retire. That's why this Texas loss was so perplexing. Bob and his staff needed a win over a rival BADLY after the OSU game last year and they came out and laid an egg.

BTW, I think Boren's (or whoever's) decision to not leave the Big 12 behind has put Bob behind the 8-ball. I think OU could compete much better with the offenses of the Big 10 or the SEC. I think recruiting would have been better, also.

You need to look up the definition of irony. Being critical of the talent a position coach is bringing in is not the same as being critical of the program as a whole. When you look across the landscape of college football, teams that replace good coaches and do much worse far outnumber teams that fire good coaches and do better (Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida, USC, Maryland, etc).

Bob is a good enough coach that if he can ever hit gold on 2 straight recruiting classes across all positions (similar to 1999 and 2000) he can make a run. I'm just not convinced that you can bring someone else in here and do that.

[FaninAma]

You need to look up the definition of irony. Being critical of the talent a position coach is bringing in is not the same as being critical of the program as a whole. When you look across the landscape of college football, teams that replace good coaches and do much worse far outnumber teams that fire good coaches and do better (Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida, USC, Maryland, etc).

Bob is a good enough coach that if he can ever hit gold on 2 straight recruiting classes across all positions (similar to 1999 and 2000) he can make a run. I'm just not convinced that you can bring someone else in here and do that.

Then why keep being critical if you don't hold anybody accountable? I understand the definition of irony perfectly and your posts in defense of the staff today stand in stark contrast to your chronic criticism of the staff over the past several years. Perhaps you would prefer to be called bipolar.

BTW, Stoops has lost 15X as a double digit favorite. No other coach making what he does has lost even half as many times to double digit underdogs. I understand how the oddsmakers can be misleading at times but that is a heck of a lot of losses to heavy underdogs.

[TJKDone]

BTW, I think Boren's (or whoever's) decision to not leave the Big 12 behind has put Bob behind the 8-ball. I think OU could compete much better with the offenses of the Big 10 or the SEC. I think recruiting would have been better, also.

Boren is the most intelligent guy I have seen in 35 years of adult hatred for OU. He understands the new landscape of cfb and that there wasn't any "decision" to be made concerning OU and realignment. In today's world you are either the big market king, which OU isn't and never will be, or you are attached to one. Boren is the reason you guys are still relevant at all much less a questionable decision maker.

Texas will be with ND and the ACC come the next round of realignment. So will OU, because the SEC and Big 10 won't take you due to puny market status.

Hello Duke....and of course the Red River rivalry.

Hook'em

[SoonerorLater]

Because it's an uninstructive "academic" exercise.

You give a snippet of info that does not include the all important context such as,

1. What has been the trend of the team for several seasons?
2. What is the historical expectation of the program (is this Minnesota or Ohio State)?
3. How have the losses been? (close or blowouts)?
4. Is the coach getting an elite (top five) salary?

This is similar to the stupid exercise of "Would you fire a coach that has gone 23-12-1 over the past three seasons? Congratulations, you just fired Barry Switzer!" Not taking into account the wider context of

1. Many of Switzer's losses in that span were narrow. None were blowouts.
2. Switzer had an INCREDIBLE record and two national championships over the previous 8 seasons.
3. OU had just missed signing Turner Gill (a huge difference maker) and had to make due with an average Kelly Phelps and an above average Danny Bradley

I gave the three previous years leading up to that record. Two of those were losses to teams with a losing record. This coach had zero national championships. Those three previous years he finished 6th, 4th , 3rd in his conference. As a matter of fact to that point he had only won one conference championship in 16 years of coaching.

It's Bear Bryant. Stoops has outperformed the Bear easily to this point. Stoops has never had a losing season, something we just take for granted.

[FaninAma]

Boren is the most intelligent guy I have seen in 35 years of adult hatred for OU. He understands the new landscape of cfb and that there wasn't any "decision" to be made concerning OU and realignment. In today's world you are either the big market king, which OU isn't and never will be, or you are attached to one. Boren is the reason you guys are still relevant at all much less a questionable decision maker.

Texas will be with ND and the ACC come the next round of realignment. So will OU, because the SEC and Big 10 won't take you due to puny market status.

Hello Duke....and of course the Red River rivalry.

Hook'em
Texas has every built in advantage in the world to be a dominant (if not THE dominant) college football power in the country yet somehow they manage to chronically underachieve in the sport so excuse OU fans if we don't buy the bull**** from you texas fans that our fate is somehow tied to Texas. TAMU didn't buy it and now they are better off. Alabama has about the same television markets as OU does yet they seem to thrive because they play in the primier conference in the country. Going to the ACC just to tag along with uterus is about the kind of stupid decision I would expect to Boren to make. There is absolutely no advantage to being in a conference that is based on the East Coast.

The SEC is a natural fit. The best case scenario would be for OU to go to the SEC and Texas to go to the ACC. I would LMAFAO at the horn fans. I'd love for OU to have the option of OU's coaches asking recruits if they want to play in the SEC or ACC.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Then why keep being critical if you don't hold anybody accountable? I understand the definition of irony perfectly and your posts in defense of the staff today stand in stark contrast to your chronic criticism of the staff over the past several years. Perhaps you would prefer to be called bipolar.

BTW, Stoops has lost 15X as a double digit favorite. No other coach making what he does has lost even half as many times to double digit underdogs. I understand how the oddsmakers can be misleading at times but that is a heck of a lot of losses to heavy underdogs.

Stoops has brought in 16 recruiting classes. Each of those classes has to fill 24 positions over the course of 12-13 games in order to win a national championship. My criticism has always been about whether 1 coach consistently underperforming the mean and thus lowering our ability to compete for championships. Stoops, however, has to evaluate it over 3-4 years with a lot of conflicting variables that are very difficult to detect when you are that far in the weeds (Player X was great in practice but it didn't translate to games, Player Y was really good but got injured).

For the most part, Stoops has done a pretty good job detecting coaches who were underperforming the mean and gotten rid of them. In some cases, he understood their value beyond their player groups (BV) and kept them around. That is what we call being accountable, the problem is that as fans, they fluctuate from "let a guy get his own upperclassmen in before you judge him (bedenbaugh) to fire them in year 1 or 2 they suck (kish).

[tooslow]

An article I just read on ESPN summed up what I've seen several of you post about Bob's record against teams we are favored to win:

"Going back five years, the Sooners have six defeats in which FPI gave them at least an 80 percent chance to win.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, no FBS team has more such losses over that span. Not even Clemson -- from which “Clemsoning” entered the college football lexicon to describe when a heavily favored team delivers an inexplicably disappointing losing performance.

Clemson is undefeated and ranked fifth in the polls. And the Tigers finished off last season with a 40-6 win over Oklahoma.

Maybe it’s time the term be amended to “Soonering.”

Because anymore, nobody seems to disappoint more on an annual basis than the Sooners, who have now been outplayed by inferior Texas teams three years in a row."

[FaninAma]

JKM, I actually think Stoops and the new coaches deserve one more year. But excusing the pathetic performances over the past 3 years(the Sugar Bowl win not withstanding) is silly. We'll see how the rest of the year plays out but I think Bob's goodwill bank he built up over his first 10 years has about been exhausted at this point.

[FaninAma]

An article I just read on ESPN summed up what I've seen several of you post about Bob's record against teams we are favored to win:

"Going back five years, the Sooners have six defeats in which FPI gave them at least an 80 percent chance to win.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, no FBS team has more such losses over that span. Not even Clemson -- from which “Clemsoning” entered the college football lexicon to describe when a heavily favored team delivers an inexplicably disappointing losing performance.

Clemson is undefeated and ranked fifth in the polls. And the Tigers finished off last season with a 40-6 win over Oklahoma.

Maybe it’s time the term be amended to “Soonering.”

Because anymore, nobody seems to disappoint more on an annual basis than the Sooners, who have now been outplayed by inferior Texas teams three years in a row."

The stat on this game on the ESPN bottom-of-the-screen scrawl gave OU a 90% chance of beating Texas.

[Snrinhouston]

I gave the three previous years leading up to that record. Two of those were losses to teams with a losing record. This coach had zero national championships. Those three previous years he finished 6th, 4th , 3rd in his conference. As a matter of fact to that point he had only won one conference championship in 16 years of coaching.

It's Bear Bryant. Stoops has outperformed the Bear easily to this point. Stoops has never had a losing season, something we just take for granted.

Dude,

Buzz off. That is a cheap parlour trick that won't work on this board.

You must think you are soooooo clever.

Quote Bear Bryant's (seemingly) mediocre record for his first three seasons at Bama; 1958, 1959, and 1960. BUT leave out the relevant contextual information that Bama had gone 4-5, 0-10, 2-7, and 2-7 in the previous four seasons under the old coach. Hence without that info, we are unable to conclude that Bryant took over a suffering program and improved it immediately with a winning record.

Again, take your cheap parlour tricks somewhere else.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

JKM, I actually think Stoops and the new coaches deserve one more year. But excusing the pathetic performances over the past 3 years(the Sugar Bowl win not withstanding) is silly. We'll see how the rest of the year plays out but I think Bob's goodwill bank he built up over his first 10 years has about been exhausted at this point.

I'm not excusing them, I personally don't think he is going to survive this year (that TO margin is going to cost us 2-3 games we should have won). The hiring of Kittle was the point at which I knew he'd lost touch (even though Kittle was a lot better than people give him credit for) and he has been scrambling ever since.

If I were stacking odds -
there is a 40% chance Stoops can get us into the playoffs in the next 3 years.
There is a 20% chance we'll hire a coach that will make us consistently better than Stoops over the last 5 years.
There is a 1% chance we hire someone who replicates 2000-2004 (yep, i'm saying there is a chance)

[Curly Bill]

An article I just read on ESPN summed up what I've seen several of you post about Bob's record against teams we are favored to win:

"Going back five years, the Sooners have six defeats in which FPI gave them at least an 80 percent chance to win.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, no FBS team has more such losses over that span. Not even Clemson -- from which “Clemsoning” entered the college football lexicon to describe when a heavily favored team delivers an inexplicably disappointing losing performance.

Clemson is undefeated and ranked fifth in the polls. And the Tigers finished off last season with a 40-6 win over Oklahoma.

Maybe it’s time the term be amended to “Soonering.”

Because anymore, nobody seems to disappoint more on an annual basis than the Sooners, who have now been outplayed by inferior Texas teams three years in a row."

There's already a name for it - it's called Chokelahoma. When acquaintances and such used to use the term I'd argue against it, even defending Stoops, but anymore I just have to shrug my shoulders and go on.

[SoonerorLater]

Dude,

Buzz off. That is a cheap parlour trick that won't work on this board.

You must think you are soooooo clever.

Quote Bear Bryant's (seemingly) mediocre record for his first three seasons at Bama; 1958, 1959, and 1960. BUT leave out the relevant contextual information that Bama had gone 4-5, 0-10, 2-7, and 2-7 in the previous four seasons under the old coach. Hence without that info, we are unable to conclude that Bryant took over a suffering program and improved it immediately with a winning record.

Again, take your cheap parlour tricks somewhere else.

His record was only average before he went to Alabama.

You predictably show up here after a loss railing on the coaching staff to be fired. You contribute nothing but complaints.

Firing or replacing a very successful coach is seldom a recipe for improvement and usually the opposite results are achieved. Not sure why so many people like yourself view firing coaches as a panacea for their frustrations.

How's this?

if Bob goes something like

7-5
6-6
7-5

(or worse) the next three seasons, he needs to go.

[Snrinhouston]

His record was only average before he went to Alabama.

You predictably show up here after a loss railing on the coaching staff to be fired. You contribute nothing but complaints.

Firing or replacing a very successful coach is seldom a recipe for improvement and usually the opposite results are achieved. Not sure why so many people like yourself view firing coaches as a panacea for their frustrations.

How's this?

if Bob goes something like

7-5
6-6
7-5

(or worse) the next three seasons, he needs to go.


No kidding, probably in large part explained by the fact that he coached at very (at the time) mediocre schools in power conferences (Texas A&M in the SWC and Kentucky in the SEC).

Again, we would welcome an argument where you don't take facts out of context.

[OU Adonis]

Mack Brown

158-48 (.767)
Bowel Record 10-5 (.67)
NC's 1


Bob Stoops

172-45 (.79)
Bowel Record 8-8 (.50)
NC's 1

[badger]

I think us n00b fans are starting to feel like how the fans between championships '56 and '74 felt. Will OU ever make the all-time record with UT more even? Will we ever win another national championship during my lifetime?

In addition, I bet it was painful to see a former OU All-American (DKR) coach UT to all of those victories over the Sooners. :(

If life after Bud is similar to life after Bob, we'll have several coaches to go through before we find our Barry. Who will be our next Gomer Jones (aka assistant from previous coaching regime that only gets to stay two seasons due to lack of wins)? If it's up to Bob, perhaps it will be Mike, but I can't imagine fans and boosters would stand for that. Up until a few years ago, it seemed Josh Heupel was heading in head coach direction

[stoopified]

NEVER thought I would say this,IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE.Guess I am not so stoopified these days.

[cvsooner]

I think Bob may get one more year. I think he's going to have to jettison Mike to do it though.

[Rock Hard Corn Frog]

I think Bob may get one more year. I think he's going to have to jettison Mike to do it though.

I concur with this statement.

When Stoops arrived with Mike Stoops, Venables, etc they were young with a chip on their shoulder and had something to prove. I think Stoops still knows the game and he wants to win but I don't think he approaches games like he has something to prove anymore. This is why it is difficult for ANY coach to be somewhere a long time and be successful. Those good enough to be somewhere a long time start to get comfortable. I don't really blame him. In his position I probably would myself. I could see a scenario where Bob left, took another job and that program with a fresh start and excitement would kick start a dormant program.

I think Bob has earned another year but the status quo will not cut it. I don't think he should be kicked out the door but I do think there is something to be said for a coach(es) that show up maybe even a little short on experience but with a fire in their belly.

[winout]

Lloyd Carr.

[Snrinhouston]

I concur with this statement.

When Stoops arrived with Mike Stoops, Venables, etc they were young with a chip on their shoulder and had something to prove. I think Stoops still knows the game and he wants to win but I don't think he approaches games like he has something to prove anymore. This is why it is difficult for ANY coach to be somewhere a long time and be successful. Those good enough to be somewhere a long time start to get comfortable. I don't really blame him. In his position I probably would myself. I could see a scenario where Bob left, took another job and that program with a fresh start and excitement would kick start a dormant program.

I think Bob has earned another year but the status quo will not cut it. I don't think he should be kicked out the door but I do think there is something to be said for a coach(es) that show up maybe even a little short on experience but with a fire in their belly.

I disagree. I don't think that as of right NOW, he's earned another year. If he finishes the regular season with only one more loss, then he has earned another year.

He's been paid hansomely. OU owes him NOTHING. There is no "credit bank" when your base salary is $5,000,000. Stoops must keep singing for his supper. And if he starts flubbing notes, he can't say, "Well gee, I used to sound good"

[SoonerForLife92]

I disagree. I don't think that as of right NOW, he's earned another year. If he finishes the regular season with only one more loss, then he has earned another year.

I'm surprised you would even accept another loss.

For real though I somewhat agree... Kind of. I would also think he's earned another year with maybe 3 losses, AS LONG as we actually do something/show a pulse against Baylor and TCU.

Don't we return a lot of starters next year as well? I would like to at least see what we can do the rest of the year and next before I jump on this fire stoops train.

[ouwasp]

Both pro and cons bring up valid points. But our opinions don't matter in the big scheme of things...we're just the great unwashed masses. I do wonder what The Powers That Be think about the dearth of championships lately, the absence of Oklahoma from NC contention, the inexplicable losses to lesser teams...does this matter to them?

[TJKDone]

I disagree. I don't think that as of right NOW, he's earned another year. If he finishes the regular season with only one more loss, then he has earned another year.

He's been paid hansomely. OU owes him NOTHING. There is no "credit bank" when your base salary is $5,000,000. Stoops must keep singing for his supper. And if he starts flubbing notes, he can't say, "Well gee, I used to sound good"

Don't you think Coach Stoops has multiple years left on a guaranteed contract? Just my guess, but if folks who matter actually start telling him "one more year to imorove or else," he'll gladly walk away with 15 or 20 million more in hand. Also my opinion, but I don't think anyone substantive really believes this is the right time for a change barring a total collapse.

The realignment issue makes "moving on" from Stoops way too risky at this time. I agree that he has lost SOME of his initial fire, but he is an elite coach. Jkm's odds are actually generous...

Hook'em

[Sooner70]

Here's what I expect of OU's HC:

1. Run a clean program (when's the last time the NCAA or B12 have came down on OU for anything in the Stoops era?)

2. Contend & win conference championships (what's Stoops' body of work on this...I think pretty good, but some dropoff of late)

3. Contend & win national championships (again, overall body of work good on contention except recent years, and he's been close on the NC's)

Last year, OU got blown out in 2 games of the 5 losses. The other 3 were winnable, but not done. I do think Bob is playing a bit of catchup in his coaching philosophy, but that's why he's made the coaching/personnel changes. Would be more worried if he buried his head in sand & stayed status quo. I'm for staying the course with Bob, but I''m still not sure Mike Stoops is the man for the defensive job.

[tooslow]

With Bob being mentioned as a candidate for the USC job, anyone think he gets a pay raise like he has before? lol