Bob Stoops during his tenure as Florida's defensive coordinator from 1996-98. (Photo: Courtesy of The Gainesville Sun).
Spurrier Surprised, Not Shocked by Stoops' decision
Wednesday, June 7, 2017 | Football, Scott Carter
Longtime Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops made a huge impact in his three seasons at UF.
The Gators finally reached the mountaintop of college football in Spurrier's seventh season, the first at UF for defensive coordinator Bob Stoops. Jim Bates (1990), Jim Collins and Bob Sanders (1991-93), and Bob Pruett (1994-95) all served as Florida defensive coordinator (Collins and Sanders as co-coordinator for three seasons) in the first half of Spurrier's 12-year run as UF's head coach.
Spurrier finally hit a home run with Stoops, at the time one of the sport's top up-and-coming assistants. The Gators won the program's first national title in 1996 with Stoops running the defense and Spurrier pushing all the right buttons on offense, which was led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel.
Stoops stayed at UF for just three years, becoming head coach at Oklahoma in 1999. He has remained in Norman ever since, announcing Wednesday that he is retiring after 18 seasons.
The 56-year-old Stoops was 38 when Oklahoma hired him on Dec. 1, 1998. In just his second season, Stoops led the Sooners to a national title in 2000, defeating Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
Stoops compiled a 190-48 record during his career and is the school's all-time winningest coach, passing both Barry Switzer and Bud Wilkinson, who each won three national titles.
Spurrier, now UF's ambassador for athletics, has remained close with Stoops throughout the years. Spurrier's son, Steve Spurrier Jr., worked on Stoops' staff last season after Spurrier resigned as head coach at South Carolina late in the 2015 season.
"It was a surprise but not a complete shock. Bobby always indicated he wasn't going to coach forever," Spurrier said. "There is life after coaching and once he decided the time was right, he was going to move on. He wanted to go out at the right time and he feels good about where the program is right now. He has left a good team for Lincoln Riley and the Oklahoma program."
Stoops will be remembered nationally for his success at Oklahoma, but Florida fans prefer to remember when he joined Spurrier and formed a national-title winning combo on the sideline at The Swamp.
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