Bob Stoops made the stunning decision on Wednesday to retire after 18 seasons as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners. Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman broke the news first, with Stoops confirming that he would announce his retirement, effective immediately, later in the afternoon.
Spoke with Bob Stoops. He confirms he is retiring as OU head coach. Team meeting to take pllace at 2:30. As first reported by @BerryTramel
— Carey Murdock (@CareyAMurdock) June 7, 2017
According to Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman, Stoops’ retirement isn’t health related or anything negative, but that he’s simply ready to live his life.
Bob Stoops is 56 & has won 10 Big12 titles. I'm told his reasoning for stepping down now is because he's ready & he wants to "go live life."
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) June 7, 2017
Stoops was the nation’s longest tenured head coach at 18 years with the same program, but he is now stepping away from football, paving the way for offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley to take over, according to Tramel and Feldman. Riley has passed on multiple jobs in the past few years to stay with the Sooners, choosing to run out his contract — which ends after the 2017 season. Riley inherits a program that will be expected to win the Big 12 in 2017 and compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff behind quarterback Baker Mayfield.
With Stoops gone, Kirk Ferentz at Iowa now becomes the nation’s longest tenured head coach. In Stoops’ 18 seasons with the Sooners, he led them to 10 Big 12 championships and one national championship in 2000. Oklahoma made one appearance in the College Football Playoff, losing in 2015 to the Clemson Tigers in the semifinals. Stoops’ Oklahoma teams were always a consistent presence near the top of the Big 12 standings year in and year out, and his retirement at age 56 comes as a shock to many.
