Putting his broadcasting career on hold, Oklahoma coaching legend Bob Stoops came out of retirement to serve as the Sooners’ interim head coach to close out the year.
With no Big 12 Championship appearance and just one bowl game remaining, Stoops could phone it in and simply serve as a standing figure head for the program. But instead, it appears the former head coach is going above and beyond the call of duty in his temporary replacement of Lincoln Riley.
On Wednesday, former longtime Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer took to Twitter with a message of praise for his most-accomplished successor. Sharing a photo of Stoops on a recruiting visit, the second-longest tenured coach in Sooners program history lauded the interim coach’s efforts.
“People laugh for some reason, but they’d give anything to have a HOF coach so dedicated and loyal to their university that he will stop everything going on in his life in a second and go balls to the wall for them,” Switzer wrote. “Bob Stoops isn’t doing this for the money, he’s made plenty of it. He’s doing it because he loves the University of Oklahoma. Bob Stoops exemplifies what it means to be loyal and dedicated to something you love. Sooner Nation loves you, Coach Stoops!!!”
@OU_Football pic.twitter.com/0lfHbYKBMk
— Barry Switzer (@Barry_Switzer) December 2, 2021
While Switzer believes he’s not in it for the money, Stoops is certainly set to make a lot of it. As the Sooners’ interim head coach, Stoops will reportedly earn $325,000 to finish out the 2021 season.
Spending 19 years in Norman, Stoops’ only head coaching job at the collegiate level was with the University of Oklahoma. Leading the team in their upcoming bowl game, the Hall of Fame coach will gun for his 10th postseason win.
After taking the interim job earlier this week, Stoops shared a message that perfectly encapsulates his commitment to the program.
“Give it a little bit of time and you’re going to see, this is just a little bump in the road,” he told reporters. “There’s not one guy, one person in the history of this program that’s bigger than the program — coach [Barry] Switzer, myself, or Lincoln Riley.”
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