By dismissing Kittle, Stoops addresses cronyism tag
Published: 2/12/2013 8:09 PM
Last Modified: 2/12/2013 8:09 PM
What’s going on in Norman right now is not a shakeup of the coaching staff.
It’s a purge.
Minutes after the Tulsa World confirmed that Bob Stoops had fired his second assistant in as many days, he fired his third.
Offensive line coach James Patton went on Monday (he landed at Indiana). Defensive tackles coach Jackie Shipp went on Tuesday afternoon. By Tuesday night, offensive tackle/tight end coach Bruce Kittle was gone.
It’s all part of Stoops’ assurance to Sooner Nation that, no, he hasn’t gone soft, that no, he’s not complacent.
For years, Stoops has been accused of unchecked cronyism — nepotism, even, when it comes to twice hiring his brother. But Stoops has repeatedly and stridently denied it.
It seemed to reach a crescendo in 2010, when Stoops created the position of on-campus recruiting coordinator and filled it by hiring Kittle, his old Iowa teammate.
The next year, Stoops’ cronyism reached new heights when he reassigned Patton to guards and centers, reassigned Cale Gundy to running backs and fullbacks, and elevated Kittle to tackles and tight ends.
Kittle’s only previous coaching experience was coaching his son in junior high and later in high school.
Kittle formerly was an ordained pastor, a law firm associate and a corrections officer. He is a motivational speaker and has a dynamic personality. He’s very likable. His first year on the recruiting trail seemed to be a success. And he was once an offensive tackle at what was once a Big Ten power. He might very well have someday evolved into America’s greatest offensive line coach.
But there’s only one way a person with his career resume gets hired to coach at a college football citadel like Oklahoma: cronyism.
It’s possible Stoops will reassign Kittle and Shipp, rather than send them to the unemployment line. A rule change is on the table that would essentially allow college football teams to create a personnel and scouting staff.
Stoops is serious about winning his second national championship. Watching Nick Saban win his third in four years at Alabama does not sit well with him.
How serious? After 13 years of firing no one, he’s now cut loose four assistants in 12 ½ months. Of the nine Sooner staffers who helped guide the 2011 team from consensus preseason No. 1 to a 10-3 underachiever, six are no longer with the team.
Written by
John E. Hoover
Sports Columnist
