Collier11
5/4/2007, 11:43 AM
Stoops Takes the High Road, No Matter What
Loran Smith
Athens Banner-Herald
May 3, 2007
Bob Stoops, in his seven-year tenure at Oklahoma, has experienced the high of a national championship and the ignominy of having a game taken from his team - one that was literally stolen.
Coaches are the first to admit that no team is going to win every game or stay on top forever. Any loss is frustrating, but to lose when a replay official blows a call could cause an aftershock that could rip a team apart at the seams. Wasn't replay supposed to eliminate all doubt?
Stoops' record at Oklahoma has considerable flash with four conference titles, five BCS bowl games and 89 victories. There has been plenty to celebrate since he took over in Norman. His teams don't lose often, but when that happens, he remains philosophical and insightfully analytical. Give credit to the winner. No excuses.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops grew up as the son of a high school football coach in Youngstown, Ohio.
The coach always is the spokesman for his team. His say is the official party line. He knows he must move on to the next game after defeat and attempt to assuage the psyche of his players while trying to explain why his team failed to win.
The magnanimous, and Stoops is keen on that principle, tip their hat to the victors, move on, and prepare for the next opponent. There are times when teams must concede that they did not play well enough to win.
However, Stoops faced the most unsettling time of his life last fall when a video replay official choked and robbed Oklahoma of a victory at Oregon.
"It has been my belief as a head coach," Stoops said in Athens recently as the guest of the University of Georgia Hall of Fame Chapter, "that you accept responsibility when you lose. You tell your team that you did not do enough of the things as a team that you needed to do to win."
With that approach, Stoops preached what he had practiced for years as a coach and didn't complain when Oregon received credit for recovery of an onside kick, when in fact Oklahoma came up with the ball. His team, he said following the game, did not "do enough of the good things to win."
At the time, he was unaware that the replay official blew the call. When he learned the facts, he knew the challenge he faced. He had to admit to his players that they did what they were supposed to do to win the game but that the game was taken from them. He knew the emotional wreckage would linger in the backs of the players' minds, but he had to look ahead.
"It was a bitter pill for us, but even though we were crushed emotionally when we learned what had happened, at some point you have to let it go," Stoops said. "You can't let one game, even when you have it taken from you, ruin your season. I told the team, we can't sit here and cry about it. If we do, it will cost us further. We still have games to play. It was not a conference game."
Oklahoma won the Big 12 championship but was blindsided late by Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. It was perhaps the most exciting game of last season.
The Broncos, featuring a plethora of barnyard plays, defeated Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime.
What did Stoops do? He gave credit to Boise State. He told his team it made too many mistakes early in the game. No crying over spilled milk. He maintained a stiff upper lip and praised his players for coming back to take the lead late in the game. They simply got beat.
Even with notable success in a short period of time at Oklahoma, Stoops has kept a balanced perspective. He didn't need a dose of humility. He grew up in modest circumstances in Youngstown, Ohio.
It was backyard games and the good life. Jeans and T-shirts and tennis shoes. His father was the high school coach. He swept out the locker rooms and washed the jerseys.
"It was his way of staying humble," Stoops said.
Following in his father's footsteps, Stoops is not in big-time college coaching for "the money or the notoriety." He underscores fundamentals, especially with defense, his longtime specialty.
"Defense is always evolving," he said. "Alignment, discipline, and playing physical, however, sustain you more than gimmicks or trick blitzes."
Unconventional losses to Oregon and Boise State have caused him to reflect soberly about the rare circumstances involved. If anyone suggests that those outcomes were "meant to be," he won't argue.
Loran Smith
Athens Banner-Herald
May 3, 2007
Bob Stoops, in his seven-year tenure at Oklahoma, has experienced the high of a national championship and the ignominy of having a game taken from his team - one that was literally stolen.
Coaches are the first to admit that no team is going to win every game or stay on top forever. Any loss is frustrating, but to lose when a replay official blows a call could cause an aftershock that could rip a team apart at the seams. Wasn't replay supposed to eliminate all doubt?
Stoops' record at Oklahoma has considerable flash with four conference titles, five BCS bowl games and 89 victories. There has been plenty to celebrate since he took over in Norman. His teams don't lose often, but when that happens, he remains philosophical and insightfully analytical. Give credit to the winner. No excuses.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops grew up as the son of a high school football coach in Youngstown, Ohio.
The coach always is the spokesman for his team. His say is the official party line. He knows he must move on to the next game after defeat and attempt to assuage the psyche of his players while trying to explain why his team failed to win.
The magnanimous, and Stoops is keen on that principle, tip their hat to the victors, move on, and prepare for the next opponent. There are times when teams must concede that they did not play well enough to win.
However, Stoops faced the most unsettling time of his life last fall when a video replay official choked and robbed Oklahoma of a victory at Oregon.
"It has been my belief as a head coach," Stoops said in Athens recently as the guest of the University of Georgia Hall of Fame Chapter, "that you accept responsibility when you lose. You tell your team that you did not do enough of the things as a team that you needed to do to win."
With that approach, Stoops preached what he had practiced for years as a coach and didn't complain when Oregon received credit for recovery of an onside kick, when in fact Oklahoma came up with the ball. His team, he said following the game, did not "do enough of the good things to win."
At the time, he was unaware that the replay official blew the call. When he learned the facts, he knew the challenge he faced. He had to admit to his players that they did what they were supposed to do to win the game but that the game was taken from them. He knew the emotional wreckage would linger in the backs of the players' minds, but he had to look ahead.
"It was a bitter pill for us, but even though we were crushed emotionally when we learned what had happened, at some point you have to let it go," Stoops said. "You can't let one game, even when you have it taken from you, ruin your season. I told the team, we can't sit here and cry about it. If we do, it will cost us further. We still have games to play. It was not a conference game."
Oklahoma won the Big 12 championship but was blindsided late by Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. It was perhaps the most exciting game of last season.
The Broncos, featuring a plethora of barnyard plays, defeated Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime.
What did Stoops do? He gave credit to Boise State. He told his team it made too many mistakes early in the game. No crying over spilled milk. He maintained a stiff upper lip and praised his players for coming back to take the lead late in the game. They simply got beat.
Even with notable success in a short period of time at Oklahoma, Stoops has kept a balanced perspective. He didn't need a dose of humility. He grew up in modest circumstances in Youngstown, Ohio.
It was backyard games and the good life. Jeans and T-shirts and tennis shoes. His father was the high school coach. He swept out the locker rooms and washed the jerseys.
"It was his way of staying humble," Stoops said.
Following in his father's footsteps, Stoops is not in big-time college coaching for "the money or the notoriety." He underscores fundamentals, especially with defense, his longtime specialty.
"Defense is always evolving," he said. "Alignment, discipline, and playing physical, however, sustain you more than gimmicks or trick blitzes."
Unconventional losses to Oregon and Boise State have caused him to reflect soberly about the rare circumstances involved. If anyone suggests that those outcomes were "meant to be," he won't argue.