I've never been a fan of Stoops, but, I can have respect for a person that retires on their own terms..
Why? I don't recall anything to suggest OU has been under investigation or anything.My Oklahoma buddies are thinking the NCAA is about to come calling, with a hammer. The quote was "We're waiting for the other shoe to drop. We've always had the best team money can buy." I mentioned the theory that Stoops might be pulling an Urban Meyer retirement so he can become a 10 mil a year man at Notre Dame in a year. They told me that would be wonderful but they're not buying it. Prepared for the worst.
Owen...there's a legend that's been told here and other places that the OU band also played "Yeah Alabama" that day. Can you confirm or deny?It's a shame all of you couldn't have been in the stands at Owen Field that day. As the score mounted the OU student body began chanting "Roll Tide."
I went to high school in Texas in the Switzer days (1975). Darrell Sheperd (Derrick's older brother & Sterling's uncle) went to the high school across town - decent QB. Dirt poor - recruited by Oklahoma. Week after his on campus visit he is driving around Odessa in a brand new Trans Am with "Darrell" written on the spoiler. Hmmm.My Oklahoma buddies are thinking the NCAA is about to come calling, with a hammer. The quote was "We're waiting for the other shoe to drop. We've always had the best team money can buy." I mentioned the theory that Stoops might be pulling an Urban Meyer retirement so he can become a 10 mil a year man at Notre Dame in a year. They told me that would be wonderful but they're not buying it. Prepared for the worst.
Attention all shoppers - two conspiracy theories for the price of one, only at Tide Fans!!!!My Oklahoma buddies are thinking the NCAA is about to come calling, with a hammer. The quote was "We're waiting for the other shoe to drop. We've always had the best team money can buy." I mentioned the theory that Stoops might be pulling an Urban Meyer retirement so he can become a 10 mil a year man at Notre Dame in a year. They told me that would be wonderful but they're not buying it. Prepared for the worst.
The guy has won nearly 80% of his games (.798). He took over a team riddled by probation and won a national title his second year there, a record that will probably never be broken (even Saban at Alabama took three years).So what do you think Stoops' legacy will be? Early on he was the revered as one of the best coaches in football. Later in he became known as "Big Game Bob".
Coach Stallings is special to the older Bama fan simply because he restored Bama football to respectability and greatness after about a 10 year blight during the 80's. Coach Curry had recruited some good talent that got coach off to a fast start, after starting 0-3, but he had a great run in those 6 years that probably should've produced a little more if it were not for Florida and Auburn.Someone posted this question on Twitter yesterday evening:
In the AP poll era (since 1936), has any school had a better list of their top 3 coaches than Oklahoma: Wilkinson, Switzer, and Stoops?
That's a fantastic list. I would argue, however, that ours is more impressive: Frank Thomas, Paul Bryant, and Nick Saban. There were several fans trying to put Gene Stallings on the list instead of Thomas, but Thomas had an more impressive record overall and was one of the first coaches to lead his team all 4 of the big bowls at that time: Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton (lost his only Sugar Bowl to Duke 29-26). His overall record was 147-33-9, including a 115-24-7 mark at Alabama. He is credited with 2 NCs (1934 and 1941) even if the '41 claim is dubious. He probably should have received some share of one in 1945 when he went 10-0 and thrashed USC in the Rose Bowl, but that was immediately following WWII and Army had gone undefeated and well, you're probably going to get left out no matter what you do in that situation.
I believe OU is the only program that has had 4 H.C.'s with over 100 wins each. Owen Field is named after Bennie Owen. our first 100 plus victory coach.
He's very special to me. I was 7 when he was hired, so that was my introduction to Alabama football. I'm sure I watched some Perkins and Curry games with my dad, but I have no memories of them. I just think when you put the numbers against each other, it's hard to list him above Frank Thomas. Thomas retired from Alabama because of poor health. Had he been healthy, and coached longer, he would have likely had well over 200 wins, and perhaps the transition to Coach Bryant would have been a lot smoother.Coach Stallings is special to the older Bama fan simply because he restored Bama football to respectability and greatness after about a 10 year blight during the 80's. Coach Curry had recruited some good talent that got coach off to a fast start, after starting 0-3, but he had a great run in those 6 years that probably should've produced a little more if it were not for Florida and Auburn.
At least in my book he was a great coach and even bigger/better person!
This is the one thing that irks me with some Sooners fans - pretending football began in 1936. They used to claim they had "the most national titles in the poll era," not true anymore. Just a bone of contention because it's an Auburn-like word parsing I don't care for.Someone posted this question on Twitter yesterday evening:
In the AP poll era (since 1936), has any school had a better list of their top 3 coaches than Oklahoma: Wilkinson, Switzer, and Stoops?
And you didn't even mention Wallace Wade.....an .811 winning percentage at Alabama, two Rose Bowl wins and a tie in three appearances and went to Duke and they named the stadium after him. He didn't win any SEC titles because the SEC didn't exist until after he left Alabama. But Wade and Stallings in that group, too, puts us over the top as a whole in my view.That's a fantastic list. I would argue, however, that ours is more impressive: Frank Thomas, Paul Bryant, and Nick Saban. There were several fans trying to put Gene Stallings on the list instead of Thomas, but Thomas had an more impressive record overall and was one of the first coaches to lead his team all 4 of the big bowls at that time: Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton (lost his only Sugar Bowl to Duke 29-26). His overall record was 147-33-9, including a 115-24-7 mark at Alabama. He is credited with 2 NCs (1934 and 1941) even if the '41 claim is dubious. He probably should have received some share of one in 1945 when he went 10-0 and thrashed USC in the Rose Bowl, but that was immediately following WWII and Army had gone undefeated and well, you're probably going to get left out no matter what you do in that situation.
I think you make a strong argument. Look, I'm not trying to discredit Bud Wilkinson in any way.....but the reason nobody is going to surpass that 47-game winning streak is because back when OU played eleven games only EIGHT out of those 47 opponents had more than six wins in a season (and most of those eight had seven). Granted, college football was a regional game and air travel was primitive compared to today - but the fact is that most of those teams were drastically overmatched anyway and a minimally competent coach should have been able to win about 30 of those 47 games just with the typical OU talent.In my humble opinion Bob Stoops will go down as the greatest coach in Sooner history...and that's saying something. When you consider the times: limited s holarships, social media, restricted practice regulations, early NFL departure, the whole B.C.S. playoff drama, etc. Owen, Bud, or Barry never dealt with any of this.
I don't think you leave an Oklahoma when you've got it humming - and practically own lifetime contract because of your consistent success over your career - unless you are truly done. Nouveau Gators might not understand this but Oklahoma is a more prestigious job than Florida. You don't leave OU for a year layover to coach at Notre Dame. You've already arrived at a top 5 school, there is no reason to leave. I think Bob Stoops got a concerning physical result and decided to cut his career short rather than risk his heart health.My Oklahoma buddies are thinking the NCAA is about to come calling, with a hammer. The quote was "We're waiting for the other shoe to drop. We've always had the best team money can buy." I mentioned the theory that Stoops might be pulling an Urban Meyer retirement so he can become a 10 mil a year man at Notre Dame in a year. They told me that would be wonderful but they're not buying it. Prepared for the worst.
To be fair, this wasn't asked by an OU fan, but a sports writer. And that's why I didn't mention Wade because of the parameters of the question.This is the one thing that irks me with some Sooners fans - pretending football began in 1936. They used to claim they had "the most national titles in the poll era," not true anymore. Just a bone of contention because it's an Auburn-like word parsing I don't care for.
And you didn't even mention Wallace Wade.....an .811 winning percentage at Alabama, two Rose Bowl wins and a tie in three appearances and went to Duke and they named the stadium after him. He didn't win any SEC titles because the SEC didn't exist until after he left Alabama. But Wade and Stallings in that group, too, puts us over the top as a whole in my view.
Yes, he was 1905-26.To be fair, this wasn't asked by an OU fan, but a sports writer. And that's why I didn't mention Wade because of the parameters of the question.
When was Bennie Owen coach at OU? Was he pre-AP era?