Stoops brothers reunited in OU fans' dreams
Published: 9/17/2007 9:06 PM
Last Modified: 9/17/2007 9:06 PM
You see where Mike Stoops' Arizona Wildcats dropped to 1-2 over the weekend by losing a home game to New Mexico? That was bad enough. Then came the postmortem from Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star:
"At game's end, walking to the dressing room through a somewhat stunned crowd, Stoops grabbed a cup of Gatorade and sat by himself on a folding chair. Players filed into the dressing room. Stoops sat by himself. What could he possibly have been thinking? Is my head coaching career all but done? Can we possibly win a few more games? Why did I ever put myself into this mess?"
It is a scene which leads Oklahoma fans to believe Stoops could return to Norman after the 2007 season, rejoin his brother, Bob, and start rebuilding his reputation as a defensive mastermind.
That is extremely wishful thinking, particularly as long as Brent Venables remains OU's defensive coordinator. But interesting thinking nonetheless.
And how about this: Would Mike's return also help Bob's reputation? Consider that Chip Brown of the Dallas Morning News recently suggested the Sooner head coach had a rap to overcome: "Can't win a national title without his brother, Mike... The folklore has become that Mike was the fiery bad cop on the staff, the one who gave the defense an in-your-face, championship edge that may now be lacking."
That's as unfair to Venables, whose defense has been on considerable edge since Mike Stoops' departure nearly four years ago, as it is to Bob Stoops. Still, there's no denying that pockets of both fans and media believe that Mike took some aura with him to Tucson.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
