Appears Mike Stoops is being brought on to coach LBs. Keeping it in the family seems like a prudent move. What do you all think?
UK Hiring New LB Coach
- Thread starter UK2KJAG
- Start date
This "news" story happens every other year and it never happens.
I’ll be honest most fans from Mike stoops prior stops, trash the dude. I think it’s mostly spent from his days as an DC, especially OU fans. The Stoops name is Sacred in Norman, but that doesn’t stop them from trashing him. Hopefully he is a much better position coach.
Makes sense. Stoops likes a room full of former DCs or people he views as future DCs. Mike fits that bill and will be on the same page as Mark.
Needs to recruit - do we know if he's a better than average recruiter? Think his resume as a coach is pretty solid.
The two of them together did good things defensively in Zona. I think Mark was the key to that. Brad White is our DC. So, past fans’ heartburn is of little concern to me.
Not sure if this a positive move or not. Not saying the guy isn't a good coach, but how will egos of a former head coach and DC at power 5 and other programs mix as an assistant to a younger less experienced guy? Also the family factor, what about the egos between siblings? Sometimes, one could argue working with family is not for the best. Just throwing it out there
I know he's probably a solid hire but I still don't like it. I'm sure there is someone out there equally as good that isn't related. Working with family just creates problems we don't need
It's been obvious Stoops wanted to hire his brother for awhile and I think Barnhart stopped him from hiring him, but it was probably one of the requests by Mark to keep him here is to be able to hire Mike. I'm not a fan of nepotism and hope Stoops will be able to make a tough decision if it needs to happen. With that being said, I hope it works out.
Agreed. Lots of reasons to be skeptical with this hire, but Stoops has built up plenty of trust. If he thinks it is a good move then let’s do it.
Sark wanted to bring Mike with him from Bama to be his Texas LB coach. Had to renig on the deal due to Longhorn outrage of hiring a closely aligned Oklahoma person.
He wouldn't have almost been at Texas if he was a subpar recruiter.
I'm sure he can coach LB's well enough, but can he recruit??
I don’t think it’ll be a big problem, but with stuff like this you got to ask would he be the choice if he wasn’t Mark’s brother? If not, then he isn’t the best man for the job.
The link that was posted above seems to suggest he's no slouch. If Mike can dip into Kansas and Oklahoma for a few recruits while also having some ins with Florida folks, to that could pay dividends.
I'm not a fan of the hire and I don't hate it, either. Stoops has proven that he's willing to part ways with long-time friends if it means doing what's best for the program. DJ Eliot and Gran, namely. I fully expect Mark to pull the trigger if he has to. Even if it's family.
That said, the Stoops family tree is incredible. If Mark has confidence that Mike can coach up LBs and fill in the recruiting void left by Sumrall, then go for it. All in, y'all.
Honestly....Stoops coaching hires have been pretty dang impressive lately
Great:
- Coen...nuff said
- Brad White...really solid hire
- Clinksdale....really good move
- Sumrall...slam dunk stud
- Dean Hood
Not to great:
- Gran...was so/so (I don't put Hinshaw as much on Stoops...he was Gran's call)
- Shannon Dawson was not good (and Stoops cut bait fast)
Too early
- Anwar Stewart, Chris Collins.
Stoops knows what he wants on D side...and 2nd time he tried to hire his brother. As long as it doesn't bug Brad White as DC (which Stoops would ensure before making a move)....then it's all good to go.
Great:
- Coen...nuff said
- Brad White...really solid hire
- Clinksdale....really good move
- Sumrall...slam dunk stud
- Dean Hood
Not to great:
- Gran...was so/so (I don't put Hinshaw as much on Stoops...he was Gran's call)
- Shannon Dawson was not good (and Stoops cut bait fast)
Too early
- Anwar Stewart, Chris Collins.
Stoops knows what he wants on D side...and 2nd time he tried to hire his brother. As long as it doesn't bug Brad White as DC (which Stoops would ensure before making a move)....then it's all good to go.
Was the Oklahoma DB position coach up to 2018 in addition to DC duties... At least according to wiki. Seems like he can recruit.
And even then, I'd argue Gran was a good hire at the time. Maybe not a slam dunk, but good. I maintain the opinion that Hinshaw's lack of recruiting and development at QB seriously kneecapped Gran's tenure.
It was reported that Stoops wanted someone who could actively help in game planning with the loss of Sumrall. This gives you that. Plus, he has been around CFB for a long time and has many recruiting contacts. Plus #2, he should seamlessly fit right in due to the Stoops family and Youngstown connection within the staff. I see no downside here. It checks all the boxes for what Mark Stoops would be looking for.
The first thing I noticed about this list is that there’s a ton of highly rated guys on there but how many played beyond college? I’m not familiar with many of those names. Can he develop?
I agree. If you think about what Gran did with what he had to work with, he did some pretty amazing things. People always criticize him for not throwing the ball more and opening up the offense, but is that a realistic criticism? Had we tried to throw the ball a lot with the personnel we had, I don't think we are as successful as we were. Him being able to successfully adapt the offense to one that primarily ran the football helped us win games, but it also was a double edged sword in that it made it difficult to recruit receivers and quarter backs. A change at offensive coordinator was needed for us to grow as an offense, but I don't think Gran was to blame. He made the best of a difficult situation and did very well for what he had to work with.
Mike Stoops was absolutely d*gshit as a defensive coordinator at OU. Had he been competent & coached them up to an average defense, they probably would have beat Georgia in that semifinal and could have challenged Bama for the title. I distinctly remember an Oklahoma/Baylor game where for some unknown reason he told his corners to play deep, so Baylor legit threw it 5-8 yards every possession until they scored. It was mind-boggling.
Not super excited to have that defensive "mastermind" on our squad, but what can ya do...
Edit: Here's a video for anyone that wants to see this legendary drive:
Not super excited to have that defensive "mastermind" on our squad, but what can ya do...
Edit: Here's a video for anyone that wants to see this legendary drive:
There's a couple of NFL guys on there. Two I noticed is Ronnie Perkins and Tre Norwood. Norwood is on the Steelers and Perkins is on the Pats
But with a list like that with that many highly rated guys shouldn’t there be more? I think we’ve put way more guys in the league with lower rated players than this list.
Agreed, I’m also not a big fan of our head coach hiring family. If it’s not working out for whatever reason, can Mark Stoops fire his brother?
Would be a solid hire. Also serves Mark Stoops as a sounding board. Plus, plus.
Jay Bateman is out at UNC. Some say he is a solid recruiter, was a DC and HC, and has coached LBers.
From everything I’ve been told CMS wanted someone with DC experience that could help with game planning , scheming , and in game adjustments . He wasn’t putting much emphasis on the candidates ability to recruit with this hire . Sometimes hiring a relative can create some friction though . Should Brad White and Mike Stoops disagree on something and CMS chooses the Mike Stoops way, I’m sure Brad White will feel undermined. I am fine with Mike Stoops as linebacker coach , don’t really know what the Co-DC even means . If Brad White were to leave I’m not crazy about Mike Stoops being our DC though.
I agree with most of your post….. The only (huge) downside as I see it would be “what if Mike doesn’t get the job done”? If it works out, it’s a great and beautiful thing, but if it doesn’t, the family dynamic has the potential to create major distractions.
All that being said, I’m sure the Stoops family and Mitch have been talking through all of this. So let it be done…..
The only thing worth pulling out of Kansas would be a Juco here and there. He isn't going to pull any kids from Oklahoma that OU and OSU want so that doesn't leave much since they don't produce a lot of recruits. It seems like we have backed out of Florida and are focusing more on Georgia and to a lesser extent Alabama, and Mississippi. It's different recruiting to OU where he's had most of his success. I guess I'm just worried we have another dud recruiter on staff now with him being hired. Can't say I'm the least bit excited for this hire. Hopefully, I'm wrong and he knocks it out of the park.
May turn out to be an excellent hire, but doesn't excite me like hiring WW would have.
Since he coached at OU, just so-so to me.
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