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Stoops Hoping To Halt Streak

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 3, 2009

Remember when Oklahoma's Bob Stoops got his name run through the NFL head-coaching rumor mill several times a year?

Not anymore.

The reason is twofold: Stoops has very little interest in a pro job, and he has much bigger worries of his own ... such as not letting another national championship slip away.

The stigma against Stoops, as he rings in new hope for the new year, is an 0-for-4 showing in his last four BCS bowl games.

He gets another crack Thursday night against Florida.

"Anything that's happened in the past won't have a darn thing to do with this ballgame," said Fox analyst Barry Switzer, who admits his bias as an ex-Sooners coaching legend and still a resident of the state. "This is a better team than they've taken to some past bowl games."

He reasoned that the 2003 LSU Tigers and 2004 USC Trojans were better teams, and it showed en route to national championships with wins over OU in the Sugar Bowl (21-14) and Orange Bowl (55-19), respectively.

It's more difficult for Switzer to sell Fiesta Bowl losses to Boise State (43-42) and West Virginia (48-28) the last two years. Each was a non-title BCS bowl.

"And OU may be playing a team better than them this time," Fox colleague Jimmy Johnson said. "Florida has an advantage playing in a Miami stadium packed with Gators."

The fact remains Stoops is royalty in Norman, Okla. - or at least he's paid a king's ransom to coach there - and that also is part of why he won't be working in the NFL soon.

In Detroit, the 0-16 Lions need a miracle worker, but it won't be Stoops. The Broncos, Jets, Browns ... vacancy signs are posted everywhere, but it won't be Stoops.

He has a rock-solid relationship with university president David Boren, a former Oklahoma governor and arguably the most powerful man in the state. Stoops also knows he'd have a fight on his hands at home if he tried to uproot his wife and children.

But the pressure to reverse the trend of OU's last four BCS bowl games starts with Stoops. His ego can't take another blown opportunity.

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