In a stunning move, Bob Stoops has retired as the Oklahoma Sooners head football coach. With Stoops out, offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley will take over as head coach. Stoops' retirement is effective immediately and he'll speak to his team later today.
The news was first reported by the Daily Oklahoman, although that site is having trouble handling the influx of traffic so it might be down. Stoops is not retiring because of his health and is expected to maintain a role at the University. Bruce Feldman reports that Stoops is simply is ready to "go live life."
"Great young coach, the program’s in great shape,” a source told Berry Tramel of the Daily Oklahoman about Riley taking over OU. “Good recruiting class. Got a great young coach that anybody would want to have, ready to go. He’s as good a coach as there in America, at this stage in his career. And Bob got to do it in his way. Doesn’t get any better than that."
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Stoops has served as head coach at Oklahoma since 1998. The 56-year-old has posted a 190-48 record at OU, the most in program history. The Sooners won nine Big 12 titles (tied for 10th) and won a National title. He confirmed the retirement in a statement.
Here's the official statement from Bob Stoops announcing his retirement: pic.twitter.com/ozl5YJE0a6
— SoonerScoop.com (@SoonerScoop) June 7, 2017
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Riley has never been a head coach at the college level. He has reportedly turned down jobs like Cincinnati, Purdue and Houston, per Feldman. Oklahoma has been grooming Riley as Stoops' replacement for over a year. It's not an "interim" title for Riley. Rather, the 33-year-old is the new full-time head coach for the Sooners.
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