The Coach Who Brought Oklahoma Back to Glory

 

Who is Bob Stoops?

American Football coach Robert Anthony ‘Bob’ Stoops was born in Youngstown, Ohio USA, on 9 September 1960, making Virgo his zodiac sign. He’s probably known best for the time which he spent coaching the Sooners of the University of Oklahoma; Bob’s record with the Sooners was 190-48, and they won the 2001 Orange Bowl under his guidance.

Education and early life

Bob was raised in Youngstown alongside his five siblings, by their mother Evelyn ‘Dee Dee’ Stoops and father Ron Sr; not a lot has been shared about his family, because Bob respects their privacy, but it’s known that his father was also into sports, and was the Football defensive co-ordinator at Cardinal Mooney High School.

Bob became interested in football thanks to his father, who coached him while he was attending the above mentioned Cardinal Mooney; Ron also coached his other sons Mark, Mike and Ron Jr. at the school – both Mark and Mike are today coaches and former players. Ron Sr. died in 1988, when he began experiencing chest pains at a football game against his son Ron Jr’s team; he passed way in an ambulance en route to the hospital.

Bob matriculated in 1979, and then enrolled at the University of Iowa, at which he played defensive back, and was a starter for all four years; he was named the team’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1982; he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in marketing in the following year.

Bob’s career

Bob launched his career straight out of college, as he became a volunteer coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes under the tutelage of the late American college Football coach and player John Hayden Fry.

In 1988, he became the assistant football coach at Kent State University under head coach Dick Crum, and the following year saw him join the coaching staff at Kansas State University. In 1991, Bob became the co-defensive coordinator of the Kansas State Wildcats, and four years later their assistant head coach. During his final four years with the Wildcats, the team won 35 of their 47 games, and made three Bowl appearances.

Some ball coaches walk into a restaurant 🤩#GoGators pic.twitter.com/bACyyEPOlr

— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) March 24, 2022

He became the defensive co-ordinator of the University of Florida’s Gators in 1996, and helped them win the 1997 Sugar Bowl; it was then mentioned that Bob might become their new head coach, but he instead chose to become the head coach of the University of Oklahoma’s Sooners in 1999.

He won his first seven games with the Sooners, and led them to the 1999 Super Bowl, their first Super Bowl appearance in six years. Bob went on to coach the Sooners for 18 years, marking his 157th victory with them on 16 November 2013, meaning that he and former Sooners’ head coach Barry Switzer were tied in the team’s victories. Starting in 2005 and ending in 2011, the Sooners won all the 39 games that they played at home – their streak ended when they lost to Texas Tech 41-28 on 22 October 2011.

Bob revealed on 7 June 2017 that he was retiring from college coaching, and was replaced by Lincoln Riley; on 7 February 2019 he announced that he was coming out of retirement, and was named head coach of the Dallas Renegades of the professional American Football minor league XFL. The league went bankrupt in April 2020, mostly because of the outbreak of the coronavirus, and Bob thus lost his job.

Bob was chosen as interim head coach for the Sooners’ Alamo Bowl game on 28 November 2021, after Lincoln Riley accepted the offer to become the head coach of the University of Southern California’s Trojans; the Sooners defeated the Oregon Ducks 47-32.

Bob then once again retired from coaching, and has since been staying away from the media’s attention.

Love life and marriage

Bob avoids speaking about his love life in public, but it’s still widely known that he’s been married for more than 30 years now.

He and non-celebrity American Carol Stoops married in a private ceremony in 1988, with only their closest friends and family members in attendance; Carol’s today working at the marketing company Mary Kay Inc. as their national sales director. They have three children together, daughter Mackenzie and twin sons Drake and Isaac, but not a lot has been revealed about them, because Bob and Carol want them to be able to lead normal lives; it’s known that Drake’s today playing for the Oklahoma Sooners as their wide receiver, and that Isaac’s a football coach at Moore High School, while he was also a volunteer analyst of the Sooners in 2021 and 2022.

Bob hasn’t spoken about the women whom he had maybe been with prior to meeting Carol, to whom he’s married as of April 2023, and they have three children together.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Bob’s younger brother Michael Joseph ‘Mike’ Stoops was once the Sooners’ defensive coordinator, as well as the head coach of the University of Arizona’s Wildcats; he’s today the inside linebackers coach at the University of Kentucky. Bob’s other brother Mark Thomas Stoops is today the head coach at the University of Kentucky, while their brother Ron Jr’s assistant coach at Youngstown State University.

One of Bob’s best friends is American former Football coach and player Stephen Orr Spurrier, who was his mentor at the University of Florida.

He likes to travel and has been to all of the US states at least once, mostly thanks to his career as a football coach.

Bob’s a fan of actors Anthony Hopkins and Robert De Niro, and amongst his favorite movies are “Fracture”, “The Remains of the Day” and “The Mask of Zorro”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Bob’s age is 62. He has brown eyes and hair, is 5ft 4ins (1.62m) tall and weighs around 150lbs (68kgs).

Bob’s net worth’s been estimated at over $18 million, as of April 2023, nearly all of which he earned during his time  coaching the Oklahoma Sooners.