Stoops to Ohio State makes sense to some
Published: 5/31/2011 11:04 PM
Last Modified: 5/31/2011 11:04 PM
I gave it two days. Two days to see who'd attach Bob Stoops to a job he'd never take right now. Seriously, Stoops would resign at Oklahoma to assume command of the Longfellow Junior High Lions before he'd jump aboard that leaky rowboat formerly known as The Ohio State University.
Mark Stoops might chance it. I typed as much in a blog a little more than one month ago. He's your Stoops in this derby. Although honestly, I think this sets up to be Luke Fickell's job for a while.
My bet is Fickell wins nine games next falls, says all the right things in front of cameras, and gets the entire Buckeye Nation behind him. Urban Meyer finds out he likes broadcasting more than he thought he would, and Fickel is given the fulltime job a couple days after going 1-0 against Michigan.
In 2013 when the NCAA penalties start to really kick in and the bloom wears off, that's when Meyer gets involved. By then, Stoops could even make a semblance of sense.
But not now. Not with what he's looking forward to over the next couple years. And certainly not with what's coming Ohio State's way over that same time period.
I kind of figured that was obvious. I kind of figured wrong.
The USA Today brought up Stoops right after Meyer and right before Bo Pelini. All Ohioans. How convenient.
Tom Dienhart also stuck Stoops between Meyer and Pelini on Rivals.com, with this assessment: "After 12 seasons in Norman, perhaps Stoops feels he is ready for a fresh challenge. In addition, Stoops – an Iowa grad – would be leaving the unstable Big 12 for one of the nation's premier conferences…
(Suddenly, it's the summer of 2010 again.)
… "If Stoops, who is 50, ever is going to leave Oklahoma, this seemingly would be the job."
For a rebuttal, let's bring in Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com: "If there's a Stoops who would fit at this point for Ohio State, I suspect it'd be Mark, not Bob, whom I doubt would ever leave OU for another college job, knowing the set-up he has in Norman (elite program, history, great boss)."
If that's not enough, a reminder from The Sporting News: "Oklahoma is a better job (now), and Stoops' teams continue to dominate the Big 12."
Back off course, here's Rusty Miller of the Associated Press: "The Stoops brothers – Bob at Oklahoma and Mike at Arizona – are both Ohio natives. They'd love to have the job."
Because, you know, they're Ohio natives.
I thought John Taylor of msnbc.com was on the right track when he blogged: "It would surprising – hell, shocking – if the Ohio native would even consider leaving his plush Oklahoma position to inherit would could be an NCAA mess in Columbus."
But then he had to follow up with: "That said, his Youngstown roots combined with a successful – and clean – Sooners program will have his name of the speculation until the position's officially filled."
(Easy for us to remember Rhett Bomar and Big Red Sports & Imports, I guess.)
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
