mrowl
8/18/2006, 09:05 AM
I already emailed Kevin and told him what an idiot he is. Of course he leaves out some important facts.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/081806dnsposherrington.319c54a.html
OU scrutiny begats a snarl
01:27 AM CDT on Friday, August 18, 2006
NORMAN, Okla. – Even in the best of times, Bob Stoops is not what you'd call warm and fuzzy. And these are not good times at Oklahoma.
On paper, the Sooners should be as good as any. They have one of the best running backs in the country and maybe the Big 12's best defense and a brilliant coach to put it all together.
OU has as good a shot as anyone to win the Big 12, and the last three years, that's meant a berth in the national title game.
Colleges
But a cloud hangs over this team like the humidity choking Wednesday's last practice.
Hangs over Stoops.
In the next week or so, OU officials expect to file their internal report to the NCAA on Rhett Bomar and J.D. Quinn. A summary judgment probably isn't in the works. All that's left to do now is wait.
Hard to say what eats at Stoops the most. Cutting a quarterback who might have become the best in school history? Taking questions about whether the bad ol' days are back at OU? Wondering if Oklahoma columnists were right when they wrote he should have known?
Waiting?
"We're the ones that discovered it and acted on it," he says. "I believe that usually makes a difference."
Jim Wacker figured the same back in 1985. He dismissed seven TCU players, including his franchise running back, Kenneth Davis, after learning they'd accepted money from boosters.
And still it didn't stop the NCAA from coming. Nine months later, they left the program in tatters.
Bottom line: Unless something surprising comes from the NCAA's investigation, OU isn't in that kind of trouble.
The mess Kelvin Sampson left in basketball? OU officials say the football program won't be eligible for the death penalty. Not that it matters. No one's getting it again.
But any time the NCAA comes knocking, it should make even the cleanest coach nervous.
And Stoops' reaction? He closes practices and cuts off the media for all but two days a week.
Ask him why, and the hawk eyes flash, the jaw rises, the contempt all but oozes.
"This is what we always do," he snaps. "This is what we've done for eight years.
"How much do you need?"
No more than what's normal. And that's the point: He's shutting down three weeks earlier than usual.
He says practices are closed to put in some new offense. We'll have to take his word on that. Everyone says it's going great. Adrian Peterson says you'd never know Paul Thompson hadn't played quarterback in a year.
Thompson's not quite as convinced. The first few practices, coaches had him throwing a modest 30 passes a day.
"Any more than that," Thompson says, "and my arm would have fallen off."
He's still working his way back into QB shape. No one questions his leadership or command of a huddle. No teammate is more respected.
But no one's forgotten that he lost his job after just one start last year, either.
The burden of this team's offense falls on Peterson. He knew it even before Bomar was dismissed. The load just got bigger.
If he was going to average 20 to 25 carries, it'll be closer to 30 now.
Harder carries, too. Teams will put eight or nine in the box, and they won't be as worried about getting burned.
"Obstacles are gonna come," Peterson says, smiling. "We've just got to get around 'em."
Peterson is better equipped than most to do just that. It remains to be seen how well his coach handles it.
Straight up: No one's been more impressed with Stoops than me. He's been called a genius so often in this space, it was looking like a nickname.
But Stoops hasn't dealt with much flak at OU, either. A man who wins a national championship in his second season and coaches in two more title games over the next four years accumulates a lot of grace points.
But sooner or later, a coach at a big-time program endures unwanted scrutiny. Mack Brown gets it every year, usually before and after playing OU. For the most part, he's responded with class.
Stoops' reaction? After Berry Tramel's tough but fair column in The Oklahoman calling Stoops and Joe Castiglione, the athletic director, "asleep at the wheel," the head coach scales everything back.
Makes you wonder what's next. The NCAA hasn't even hit town, Bob. Might as well start getting used to it.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/081806dnsposherrington.319c54a.html
OU scrutiny begats a snarl
01:27 AM CDT on Friday, August 18, 2006
NORMAN, Okla. – Even in the best of times, Bob Stoops is not what you'd call warm and fuzzy. And these are not good times at Oklahoma.
On paper, the Sooners should be as good as any. They have one of the best running backs in the country and maybe the Big 12's best defense and a brilliant coach to put it all together.
OU has as good a shot as anyone to win the Big 12, and the last three years, that's meant a berth in the national title game.
Colleges
But a cloud hangs over this team like the humidity choking Wednesday's last practice.
Hangs over Stoops.
In the next week or so, OU officials expect to file their internal report to the NCAA on Rhett Bomar and J.D. Quinn. A summary judgment probably isn't in the works. All that's left to do now is wait.
Hard to say what eats at Stoops the most. Cutting a quarterback who might have become the best in school history? Taking questions about whether the bad ol' days are back at OU? Wondering if Oklahoma columnists were right when they wrote he should have known?
Waiting?
"We're the ones that discovered it and acted on it," he says. "I believe that usually makes a difference."
Jim Wacker figured the same back in 1985. He dismissed seven TCU players, including his franchise running back, Kenneth Davis, after learning they'd accepted money from boosters.
And still it didn't stop the NCAA from coming. Nine months later, they left the program in tatters.
Bottom line: Unless something surprising comes from the NCAA's investigation, OU isn't in that kind of trouble.
The mess Kelvin Sampson left in basketball? OU officials say the football program won't be eligible for the death penalty. Not that it matters. No one's getting it again.
But any time the NCAA comes knocking, it should make even the cleanest coach nervous.
And Stoops' reaction? He closes practices and cuts off the media for all but two days a week.
Ask him why, and the hawk eyes flash, the jaw rises, the contempt all but oozes.
"This is what we always do," he snaps. "This is what we've done for eight years.
"How much do you need?"
No more than what's normal. And that's the point: He's shutting down three weeks earlier than usual.
He says practices are closed to put in some new offense. We'll have to take his word on that. Everyone says it's going great. Adrian Peterson says you'd never know Paul Thompson hadn't played quarterback in a year.
Thompson's not quite as convinced. The first few practices, coaches had him throwing a modest 30 passes a day.
"Any more than that," Thompson says, "and my arm would have fallen off."
He's still working his way back into QB shape. No one questions his leadership or command of a huddle. No teammate is more respected.
But no one's forgotten that he lost his job after just one start last year, either.
The burden of this team's offense falls on Peterson. He knew it even before Bomar was dismissed. The load just got bigger.
If he was going to average 20 to 25 carries, it'll be closer to 30 now.
Harder carries, too. Teams will put eight or nine in the box, and they won't be as worried about getting burned.
"Obstacles are gonna come," Peterson says, smiling. "We've just got to get around 'em."
Peterson is better equipped than most to do just that. It remains to be seen how well his coach handles it.
Straight up: No one's been more impressed with Stoops than me. He's been called a genius so often in this space, it was looking like a nickname.
But Stoops hasn't dealt with much flak at OU, either. A man who wins a national championship in his second season and coaches in two more title games over the next four years accumulates a lot of grace points.
But sooner or later, a coach at a big-time program endures unwanted scrutiny. Mack Brown gets it every year, usually before and after playing OU. For the most part, he's responded with class.
Stoops' reaction? After Berry Tramel's tough but fair column in The Oklahoman calling Stoops and Joe Castiglione, the athletic director, "asleep at the wheel," the head coach scales everything back.
Makes you wonder what's next. The NCAA hasn't even hit town, Bob. Might as well start getting used to it.