After Lincoln Riley’s sudden departure from Norman, Oklahoma coaching legend Bob Stoops came out of retirement and stepped up as the Sooners’ interim head coach to finish out the season.
Riley began his Oklahoma coaching career as the offensive coordinator under Stoops in 2015. After the longtime head coach’s retirement in 2017, Stoops played a significant role in selecting Riley as his successor.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Stoops was asked to share his reaction to Riley’s departure from the program.
“I’m not much on talking about my feelings or thoughts publicly on any of that,” Stoops said. “Disappointed? Sure. The rest of it, that’d be between Lincoln and I, personally. As it should be. I’m not much on making that kind of stuff public.”
Bob Stoops was asked what his feelings are about #LincolnRiley leaving the #Sooners pic.twitter.com/sagh4sfbf9
— Michael Kinney Media (@MKinneyMedia) November 29, 2021
Riley’s decision to take over the head coaching job at USC has already had some major implications around the Oklahoma program. In the few days since his departure, several top players have entered the transfer portal and a five-star quarterback recruit has announced his decommitment.
With all that in mind, Stoops is keeping a positive outlook on the future of Oklahoma football.
“They [players] are OU football,” Stoops said. “They very well [could] be a championship program next year. We will attract the very best in the coaching profession. And the same thing is projected [for] our recruiting.”
Missing out on the Big 12 Championship game for the first time in years, Bob Stoops will try to lead the program to his 10th career bowl-game victory in the Sooners’ final game of the season.
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