The Florida Gators may lock eyes on current Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops after the departure of Will Muschamp, but brotherly love is likely to stand firmly in the way of any future negotiations.
Bob Stoops has faced off with his brother (and now-Kentucky Wildcats head coach) Mark Stoops twice before when Mark was the defensive coordinator of the Florida State Seminoles. The Sooners triumphed in both contests, 47-17 in 2010 and 23-13 in 2011, yet Bob Stoops has never felt worse about winning games.
“I felt the entire week that it would be a miserable experience. Then I said after the game I was sure, now that I’ve done it. I’ve never been so conflicted and miserable about winning a game,” Stoops said back then, via Zach Barnett of NBC's College Football Talk.
“Playing your brother for a championship, that’s OK," Stoops continued. "One of you is going to win a championship, and the other played for one, did well. If it isn’t that case, you spend your life fighting for your brother. You go play another neighborhood in whatever. You bring your brothers with you. They’re always on your team or you’re sticking up for them. You’re always helping each out. Then all of a sudden, you’ve got to beat each other, it’s not what you want. It’s not natural.”
If Bob Stoops decided to come to Gainesville, he'd have to lock horns with the Kentucky Wildcats every year - a potential ordeal that is likely to scare him away from the soon-to-be vacant spot on the Gators' sideline.
“You just cannot separate blood. I just don’t like it and I knew that going into the game,” Stoops said all the way back in 2010, “and I’m positive of it now after the game.”
Follow our Florida Gators team page for the latest Florida football news!
Back to the Florida Gators Newsfeed