8timechamps
11/6/2006, 07:24 PM
Since Stoops arrived in Norman, all the misery that had festered in the program has been wiped away. The days of a drunken coach, impromptu team meetings, losing seasons and (gulp) NCAA sanctions seems like decades ago.
In the blindness of recent success, I think we, as fans, sometimes get a little jaded when we assess our coaching staff and what a great job they have/are doing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care for the “at least we are a top 25 team” mentality. I do think Oklahoma is about tradition, and dominance. And I think it’s okay to expect more than an average or “decent” team. But, with the exception of the 2000 season, I think this season has been the single best job of coaching Stoops & Co. have done since their arrival.
Not that any true Sooner fan needs reminding, but when you look back at this year you can see the hurdles that have mostly been overcome. We’ve had more “incidents” that present great opportunity to distract from our play than many programs have in five or ten years.
How many schools can rebound from having their starting QB kicked off the team weeks before the season opens? Okay, maybe some can. What if you throw in an O lineman? Still possible? Okay, then take away the best player on your team, the player that accounts for over 50% of your offense? Still not sold? Throw in a loss that was a win. We all know the game in question. How ‘bout now? How well could a team recover? If the team were a mid major, or independent with one or two top 25 teams on the schedule, then I guess it’s still possible. What if it was a team in a big conference…that plays 40%-50% of it’s schedule against ranked teams…on the road? I think you’d be hard pressed to find more than a couple of coaches that could overcome those odds and convince his team they can still play at the highest level. Stoops is/has done just that.
When I think of good coaching as it relates to a season, I think of the total package, not just the Xs and Os. The success OU has had this year goes far beyond the Xs and Os. It’s about recruiting players like Allen Patrick, knowing where to put a guy like Reggie Smith. It’s about blowing up at a player over a personal foul call in order to continue a standard of no tolerance. So much more goes on behind the scenes.
While this year may not go down as the best year in the history of Sooner football, it will mark a phenomenal year for the efforts of Stoops and his staff. As well as the players.
So, the next time someone questions whether or not Stoops is committed to the program, or if he is still the best man for the job, maybe you can look back at this year and see just how special he is, and how fortunate we, as fans, are.
In the blindness of recent success, I think we, as fans, sometimes get a little jaded when we assess our coaching staff and what a great job they have/are doing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care for the “at least we are a top 25 team” mentality. I do think Oklahoma is about tradition, and dominance. And I think it’s okay to expect more than an average or “decent” team. But, with the exception of the 2000 season, I think this season has been the single best job of coaching Stoops & Co. have done since their arrival.
Not that any true Sooner fan needs reminding, but when you look back at this year you can see the hurdles that have mostly been overcome. We’ve had more “incidents” that present great opportunity to distract from our play than many programs have in five or ten years.
How many schools can rebound from having their starting QB kicked off the team weeks before the season opens? Okay, maybe some can. What if you throw in an O lineman? Still possible? Okay, then take away the best player on your team, the player that accounts for over 50% of your offense? Still not sold? Throw in a loss that was a win. We all know the game in question. How ‘bout now? How well could a team recover? If the team were a mid major, or independent with one or two top 25 teams on the schedule, then I guess it’s still possible. What if it was a team in a big conference…that plays 40%-50% of it’s schedule against ranked teams…on the road? I think you’d be hard pressed to find more than a couple of coaches that could overcome those odds and convince his team they can still play at the highest level. Stoops is/has done just that.
When I think of good coaching as it relates to a season, I think of the total package, not just the Xs and Os. The success OU has had this year goes far beyond the Xs and Os. It’s about recruiting players like Allen Patrick, knowing where to put a guy like Reggie Smith. It’s about blowing up at a player over a personal foul call in order to continue a standard of no tolerance. So much more goes on behind the scenes.
While this year may not go down as the best year in the history of Sooner football, it will mark a phenomenal year for the efforts of Stoops and his staff. As well as the players.
So, the next time someone questions whether or not Stoops is committed to the program, or if he is still the best man for the job, maybe you can look back at this year and see just how special he is, and how fortunate we, as fans, are.