You do realize Stoops has exceeded EVERY coach that preceded him? I’m okay with whatever Stoops decides to do. (It will 100% be his decision this year for multiple reasons.) He’s earned the right to stay another year and try to fix it. I also agree that he looks tired, and he’ll have to find a renewed energy and optimism if he stays.
My original point is that fans are illogical and sticking their head in the sand if they think that hiring a new coach is the only/best way to fix a program. Do 5 mins of research and look up the hit/success rate of hiring a new coach in the SEC. On avg, 1 out of every 3 hires is a success AT schools with rich football history. When you factor in MissSt, Vandy, Arkansas, OleMiss, SC, and some others, then it drops down below 1 out of 3.
Here’s where most everyone agrees. We cannot and should not stay where we are. 6-7 wins should be be FLOOR. However, Stoops is the only coach that has been able to raise that floor for any length of time. He’s also shown he can get us to 10 wins, and that puts us knocking on the 12 team CFP.
Big Question - Can he get us back to where he once had us? I don’t pretend to know that answer. What I do know is that a new coach is not as guaranteed as people want to make it out to be. History reveals this to be true.
At some point, changes do have to be made. Both of those statements can be true.