🏈 REPORT: Bob Stoops Retiring Effective Immediately

[TerryP]

Like him or not, he goes out on top as the all time leader in wins at Oklahoma. He is in high cotton with the names of Wilkerson and Switzer. I wish him well, he has been good for the game of college football.

There was a guy who was bragging on Les Miles a few years ago in terms of Miles being one of--and it may have been the first--to reach 100 wins over a 10 years period. My response to him was "hold up a second. While that's true, he's also one of only a few coaches that have coached in as many games--within a season--to have a chance at reaching that mark.

In a sense that's not a lot different than an older barameter we had for coaching success/team success by judging them on the number of 10 wins seasons: a number that means little when well over 50% of the teams in the NCAA play 13 games.

Here, it's true that he leads to all-time wins list at OU. Personally, I don't put him in the same category as Switzer. When I look at Barry vs Bob, I'm seeing three times more national championships as well as a better winning percentage in conference and overall play.

To add a note, when I look at the standings of the Almost 12 last season there were only three teams with a winning record (or at least .500) in conference play. A lot say it speaks to parity and I agree--parity among some mediocre programs.

He's certainly made his contributions to the sport as well as contributions to individuals careers. As one example, I'd be pretty hard to convince that Spurrier's lone national title comes without his addition of Stoops to the defense at Florida.

So, in the end, we can fault credit Stoops for one thing: without him, we wouldn't be forced to listen to Spurrier run his mouth as often.

 

[TUSKtimes]

There was a guy who was bragging on Les Miles a few years ago in terms of Miles being one of--and it may have been the first--to reach 100 wins over a 10 years period.

Definitely wasn't the first. Coach Bryant won over 100 games in the decade of the 70's. And he was the first to do it. And as you mentioned it was only an 11 game schedule. Bama was the beast and we were the dynasty.

 

[TerryP]

Definitely wasn't the first. Coach Bryant won over 100 games in the decade of the 70's. And he was the first to do it. And as you mentioned it was only an 11 game schedule. Bama was the beast and we were the dynasty.

TigerTap quote there.

I looked it up to see what his quote was...it was along the lines of a SEC coach who won 10 games in the shortest period of time. He lists Spurrier and Neyland as two who reached the 100 plateau more quickly. Spurrier did it in his tenth year as I recall. Neyland was over ten. Saban hit the mark in his ninth, Bryant in his tenth.

Understand, this was while he was being as vocal as possible against those fans who wanted Miles gone.

 

[TUSKtimes]

TigerTap quote there.

I looked it up to see what his quote was...it was along the lines of a SEC coach who won 10 games in the shortest period of time. He lists Spurrier and Neyland as two who reached the 100 plateau more quickly. Spurrier did it in his tenth year as I recall. Neyland was over ten. Saban hit the mark in his ninth, Bryant in his tenth.

Understand, this was while he was being as vocal as possible against those fans who wanted Miles gone.

Tap had pretty much gone psychotic on the den since his HC was turned loose. But in his defense, it may be as much about who was hired to replace him as anything else. Can't blame him there. Coach Bryant had the Scott Hunter 6-5 season in 1970 before the big switch to the wishbone. With only 11 regular season games, how destructive was Alabama for the next 9 years? It was a sight.

 

[Alabama17Tide]

Saban plans on coaching 'As long as I feel good'
A day after former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops announced his retirement, Saban gave no signs of following his close friend in the near future. Stoops, 56, stepped down after an 18-year career with the Sooners, while Saban, 65, is about to enter his 22nd year as a head coach and 11th with Alabama.

“As long as I feel good, I love doing it. I’ve said this before: I’ve been a part of a team since I was nine years old. It scares me to death to figure what it’s going to be like when I’m not a part of a team," Saban said when asked how long he'd continue coaching. “So, as long as I feel good and I’m healthy and I can do it, we certainly have every intention of trying to do it. If I felt like I couldn’t do it to the standard that I want to do it, then I think that would be time not to do it. But I certainly don’t feel like that’s anytime soon.”

Saban shared his respect for Stoops, calling him a "really, really good friend." The two share a close relationship as Stoops' father, Ron Stoops, used to coach at Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio where Saban used to recruit players while at Michigan State.

"Bob has been a tremendous asset to the profession based on the job he does, the quality of coach that he is, the great person he is, the integrity that he has and running a real first-class program," Saban said. "Personally, I hate to see great leadership like Bob Stoops leave the profession but we certainly wish he and his family the very best. He's not only a colleague we have a tremendous amount of respect for, he's a great friend."

Saban agreed to an eight-year contract extension in May which would see him coach into 2024. At that point, Saban would be 73 years old. While the head coach still appears to be in excellent health, the thought of retirement is something that occasionally comes to his mind.

“I don’t think that anybody can not have those thoughts. But my thought is I want to do it as long as I feel like I can do it. I really enjoy being around the players. I really enjoy trying to create value for them and their future, whether it’s their personal development, seeing them graduate, seeing them develop as football players and have opportunities in life.

“And I think we do it as well at Alabama, because of the team that we have, as any place, and I’m really proud of that.”