Bob Stoops Head Coach 11th Season (1999-2009) 109-24 (.820) at Oklahoma   OU Football Coaching Staff

History is one tough customer at Oklahoma. The tradition, so rich and so long-standing, is as daunting as it is impressive. To be among the best at Oklahoma is to be among the best in college football.

Such dramatics are lost on Bob Stoops. The Sooner head coach befriended the would-be albatross of OU's successful past from his first day on campus and remains steadfastly focused on tomorrow and the championship it holds.

It falls then to long-time observers and experts of the game to define Stoops' impact. Rarely have the pundits had it so easy.

That was true again in 2008. Stoops became the first coach in Big 12 history to capture three straight conference titles (after last year becoming the first to win two in a row) and was one of several teams, in a year of parity, to contend for the national title.

It was the highest scoring team in the modern era of college football with more than 700 points and, despite the full or part-time loss of key starters on the defensive unit, still managed to rank among the top three in nearly every Big 12 category on that side of the ball. That potent offense yielded Stoops' fifth Heisman Trophy finalist and second winner, quarterback Sam Bradford.
 
Also during the `08 campaign, Stoops reached 100 wins for his career, and did so faster than any coach since before 1905.
 
In 10 seasons under Stoops, OU has won 109 games; the 2000 national championship; spent 140 weeks in the national rankings; played in 10 bowl games, seven of the BCS variety; taken part in four national championship games and captured six Big 12 crowns.
 
On a playing field leveled by scholarship limits and parity, this era stares down the Oklahoma standard and does not blink. The brilliance dulls the memory of what Stoops inherited. When he arrived in Norman, the proud Sooner program was five years removed from a winning record, four from a postseason appearance.
 
Those atypical days of angst are so forgotten now that they might as well be mentioned with the Land Rush and Dust Bowl. Stoops has been characterized as a grounded family man, big-game coach, relentless recruiter, strong leader and a person with uncommon perspective.
 
His success emanates from a disciplined style true to his roots in the Steel Valley of Ohio, but he is far from inflexible. The principles to which he holds are the tried and true axioms of the sport ... mixed with cutting-edge strategy and an appreciation for the calculated risk.
 
During his time, OU has produced record-setting passers and receivers, seven 1,000-yard rushers, suffocating defense and special teams units that rank among the most dynamic in the land. The Sooners have been nothing if not versatile.
 
The son of a coach, Stoops was a four-year starter at Iowa. He began his coaching career in 1983 as a volunteer in the Hawkeye program under Hayden Fry, working through the ranks until he became co-defensive coordinator at Kansas State (1991-95). There he played a key role in one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football history while serving on Bill Snyder's staff.
 
Eventually, he left for Florida and a three-year stint as Steve Spurrier's defensive coordinator. In 1996, he was part of a national championship team. It was with the Gators that the spotlight found Stoops and made him one of the hottest names in the profession. His hiring at Oklahoma was one for the ages.
 
Coaching Accomplishments
• Stoops is 109-24 overall, 72-14 vs. the Big 12, 39-10 vs. the Big 12 South, 31-4 vs. the Big 12 North, 6-1 in the Big 12 title game, 37-10 vs. non-conference opponents, 60-2 at home, 31-11 on the road, 16-11 on neutral fields, 33-12 vs. ranked opponents, 4-6 in bowls, 3-5 in January bowls and 2-5 in BCS games.
 
• OU has set or tied more than 180 school records under Stoops, not including bowl bests and marks specific to a particular position (i.e., receptions by a running back). Among those marks under Stoops are passing for a game, season and career; receiving for a game, season and career; and rushing for a season.
 
• Stoops has authored two of the seven longest winning streaks in Oklahoma history. His 2000 and 2001 teams won 20 straight, while the 2002 and 2003 teams reeled off 14 in a row. Those victories all came against I-A opponents.