Mike Stoops live
Published: 1/31/2012 8:38 PM
Last Modified: 1/31/2012 8:38 PM
Good stuff from Mike Stoops Tuesday night, thanks to an extremely thoughtful interview by Al Eschbach on Oklahoma City's Sports Animal. A lot of it had to do with Stoops' relationship with Brent Venables, and the notion his return meant a so-called demotion for Venables:
"I know a lot has been written and a lot has been said, but a lot of it wasn't factual. That was very hard on me and Brent, to go through that again, when people were talking so negatively about us as co-coordinators, and who would do this and who would do that. He's one of the most respected people in this business. Working with him was one of the reasons I wanted to come back to Oklahoma…
"A lot of people say, 'Well why couldn't they do this together?' Well, we could have. And we would have, had certain circumstances not come to light… It's too bad we couldn't put the band back together, but that's all right. Tim (Kish) will come in and do a great job for us.
On Venables' departure for Clemson:
"It was not the way I wanted it. But certainly there were two people involved, and Brent had to do what's best for him, his family and his career. I certainly respect that. And then you've got to look at the deal Clemson threw at him. That's almost unheard of. I knew they would come at him hard, and they certainly did. And I knew that was enticing to him."
On the heat Venables has taken in recent years:
"Me and Brent talked last night for a long time. Somewhere along the line, I wouldn't be shocked if that's how he felt, that nothing was good enough. And if we ever won a championship, maybe people would say, 'It was all because of Mike.' That's so unfair. People don't understand our relationship. That's what made me feel uncomfortable for three or four days while this was going on. Because it backed him, I feel like, into a corner in some ways. And that's not the way we envisioned it when we talked about this, putting the band back together."
On being considered OU's "savior":
"That's unrealistic. I'm still one person. Hopefully I'll bring some passion and knowledge that can help our team get better. But certainly the players have to invest deeply in our success. We'll try to get them in the right spots, but it's going to take a whole team of us on the same page working for the same common goal. If we do that, I think we'll have a chance to be very successful next season."
On whether big brother Bob asked him to come back and help:
"Bob would never do that. Bob is a tremendously prideful person. Bob knows what he wants… Bob wants what's best for me. I felt this was the best situation for me. Not for Bob, but for me."
On his fiery personality:
"I know a lot of people make light or criticize or laugh at my intensity. My focus and detail for the way my players play, that hasn't changed, and that will never change in my personality. That's what has made me the person I am and the coach that I am, my attention to detail and my personality. Certainly that's not for everybody, but I have great respect for my players and my coaches. And they have the same for me because they know how important it is to me, and how hard I work at it, and what I want them to be.
"I think I've matured a lot, at least I feel that way. I'm a different person than I was eight years ago. I think. I don't know. We'll see, that first spot we get in, how I react to it."
On new linebackers coach Tim Kish:
"There's probably two guys that I really respect because I've worked with them so long, Tim Kish and Brent Venables. There's a lot of comparison between the two. Their knowledge, their attention to detail, their passion for being the best at what they do is all there."
On being fired at Arizona:
"They say it happens to us all. I didn't necessarily believe that, but I guess there's a lot of truth to that. It wasn't the way I wanted to go out at Arizona, that's for sure."
On the comparison between Arizona and Oklahoma:
"When I walked through the doors back here at Oklahoma and saw the locker room and the team, and I think about what we had at Arizona, that's a joke. A lot of people don't know about those types of things. I took the job and did the best I could for seven years, but you're talking about two different stratospheres when you're talking about facilities and the access players have to become better…
"You would have thought this was the worst year of Oklahoma football. We would have killed to have 10 wins at Arizona, I promise you that. Sometimes we get spoiled."
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
