Jerry Bomar still grinding Stoops ax
Published: 1/22/2009 1:49 PM
Last Modified: 1/22/2009 1:49 PM
Sounds like Jerry Bomar is running his mouth again. That's one thing at which this guy excels.
In Wednesday's Sporting News, writer Albert Breer wrote a nice story looking in on Rhett Bomar, who is working out for NFL scouts at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.
My guess is Breer asked some innocuous questions of Jerry Bomar, father and one-time coach of the former child star, about his son bouncing back from exile at Oklahoma after he got paid for a no-show job, kicked off the team and, with J.D. Quinn, dropped the Sooners into NCAA probation; about landing on his feet at Sam Houston State and is keeping his NFL dream alive.
And my guess is Jerry Bomar took that as an opportunity to sound off.
"He and I both know that Oklahoma got off light and he didn't," Jerry Bomar said. "He's never sold them out and he wouldn't. They're not innocent in this deal, trust me. . . . Bob Stoops comes across as 'Mr. I Did the Right Thing' and there's stuff about Bob Stoops that if right now I told people, everybody (would be) saying, 'What?'
"But we're not gonna do that. We're not gonna go that way, and you can't win those battles anyway. It's in the past, it's gone; this is America, everybody deserves a second chance."
Oh, so it's somebody else's fault? Sounds familiar.
In 2005, I called Jerry Bomar for a magazine feature I was writing about his son. It was the Monday after OU's loss to Texas, in which Bomar went 12-of-33 for 94 yards with an interception, three sacks and a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. (Know that these magazine assignments are handed out weeks in advance, and this was a last-minute call, so, given Rhett's performance in the Cotton Bowl, the timing wasn't ideal for a feel-good story).
I introduced myself to Bomar's dad as a Tulsa World sports writer, and I explained that I was working on a freelance story on Rhett. I said I was looking for some colorful background, about what kind of kid Rhett was growing up, whether he was competitive or a momma's boy or whatever.
Thirty minutes later, we got around to actually talking about what kind of kid Rhett was growing up, whether he was competitive or a momma's boy or whatever. It seems Jerry Bomar – his guard up and poised to strike the first reporter who called – had another topic he wanted to discuss.
Among other things – a "burr under my saddle," he said – Jerry Bomar said Bob Stoops and Chuck Long mishandled his son's freshman year. Instead of redshirting, Jerry said, Rhett should have been allowed to back up Jason White in 2004. He even hinted maybe he should have been allowed to "push" the 2003 Heisman winner. Then he could have been named the starter in the spring, ahead of Paul Thompson and Tommy Grady, and gotten all the work he needed for the '05 season.
"I went up there at midseason (of 2004) and asked them, 'How's this kid going to compete for the starting quarterback job?' " Jerry Bomar told me then. "They knew all along he was the best player, but he didn't do anything. He's sitting around. They assured me, 'Oh no, there'll be plenty of reps in the spring.'
"Then they go into the spring and (snaps are) being divided by one-third. . . . Then they come back in the fall and it's being divided in half. So he's never had it where he's gotten all these reps. So everything now, he's basically catching up."
Long explained to me that making the QB job competitive, as opposed to awarding it to Johnny Fivestar, helps the quarterback gain the respect of his teammates. Watching Thompson in '06 and Sam Bradford these last two years, I buy that 100 percent.
Now Rhett Bomar is on the cusp of making an NFL team. He's good. Great arm. Quick feet. Good grit and determination; probably not the prima donna who was kicked out of Norman.
And here stands Jerry, still blaming someone else for his kid's problems. Something tells me when Rhett gets drafted in the fourth round and isn't immediately named the starter, some NFL general manager's going to get an earful.
– John E. Hoover
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
