There was a shock in the college football world today when Bob Stoops decided to retire as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners. Stoops is only 56 years old, but has already become the winningest coach in Oklahoma history.
While retiring at a relatively young age is surprising, Stoops retiring in June is more surprising. He has gone through the offseason and spring practices with the team as the head coach, which is a rarity for a coach that is retiring.
By staying past February, he made sure the recruiting class stayed in tact for this season. Now he has to explain to his players why he is retiring. After likely telling them that he’d be the head coach during their careers in the recruiting process, he is now gone and players who were under the impression that they’d be playing for him will not be happy.
Stoops had a tumultuous last couple seasons for the Sooners which included the high of reaching the College Football Playoff in its second year. The low part was how he handled player behavior, which included running back Joe Mixon. Mixon was suspended for one year after an incident in which he punched a woman. Stoops and the Sooners used a redshirt on Mixon back in 2014, which made it so although he was suspended, he would still keep all four years of eligibility.
Ultimately Stoops will be remembered for winning the National Championship in 2000 and being an all-time great coach.
Lincoln Riley
Lincoln Riley is the new man in charge and the Sooners almost couldn’t ask for a better solution this late in the game. Riley has been the offensive coordinator for Oklahoma the past two seasons. He helped create a powerhouse of an offense that finished third in the country averaging 43.9 points per game.
During his tenure at Oklahoma Riley has helped make Baker Mayfield into one of the best players in college football. They lost Sterling Shepard after the 2015 season and Dede Westbrook stepped up and became a Heisman Finalist at wide receiver position. This season Riley was looking forward to getting Mayfield back, but did lose Samaje Perine, Mixon and Westbrook to the NFL.
Due to his impressive work as an offensive coordinator, Riley was one of the most coveted coaches in college football. Bruce Feldman has reported that he turned down some decent job offers like Cincinnati, Purdue and Houston. While these aren’t the biggest jobs in college football, it is impressive for a coordinator to get that many offers. Had he been at Oklahoma for another year under Stoops, he would have likely gotten even better offers after this season.
Riley is the youngest coach in the FBS at age 33, but will prove why he is a good choice. It may not go smoothly and turn into a National Championship right away, but Riley was the right choice given the circumstances and timing of the decision of Stoops.
The 2017 Season
Oklahoma will have a tough time making it into the College Football Playoff without going undefeated because they are in the Big XII. With big games at Ohio State and Oklahoma State this season, Riley will be tested in his first season.
He does have an experienced offensive line and quarterback coming back, but will need some new skill position players to step up. Their secondary has a lot of experience on defense, but the front seven is unproven.
Even with all of these circumstances, Oklahoma should be able to win at a minimum nine games. That would be a good start to what could be a great career at Oklahoma for Lincoln Riley.
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