Stoops to Florida: Here We Go Again

Bob Stoops

Urban Meyer’s now-annual passion play is in full effect in Gainesville. Ergo, the yearly Bob Stoops Poaching Play has kicked into high gear in Norman.

OU’s head coach and ex-Florida defensive coordinator will crop up on just about every writer’s wish list bandied about on the Internet. Yet again, we’ll hear about Stoops’ vacation home in Florida and his wife’s affinity for the Sunshine State and Steve Spurrier’s advice on the pitfalls of staying in one place too long.

And yet again, Stoops will probably stay put.

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These courting dances have taken place every year since Stoops arrived in Norman – Florida (twice), Notre Dame, the Dallas Cowboys. Eleven times now, Stoops’ ride on the coaching carousel has ended where it started.

Of course, OU has made it worth his while to stick around. According to a story in today’s edition of USA Today, Stoops makes nearly $4.4 million per year, third-highest among college coaches. Every time his name comes up in connection with a high-profile job, you can count on some extra bucks being added to Stoops’ next contract. (If that irks you, file it under “don’t hate the player.”)

Nick Saban proved to the sporting world that even with the strongest of assurances, it’s foolish to assume the right offer isn’t out there for every coach. If this job at this moment is the one Stoops can’t refuse, more power to him. Thanks to him, Oklahoma will have its pick of 99 percent of the candidates out there when the time comes.

But I doubt that time is now.

*It couldn’t just be a coincidence that this happened a day before the Florida job opened up, right?

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