Legendary Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops is keeping his distance from the buzz surrounding two of his former coordinators, now head coaches, as they prepare to face off in Saturday’s highly-anticipated showdown.
Stoops, who has close ties to both Brent Venables and Josh Heupel, recently made it clear that he would not be part of the conversation leading up to the high-stakes Tennessee-Oklahoma clash.
With Venables now leading the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners and Heupel at the helm of the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers, Stoops is dodging questions about the dynamic between the two coaches.
“Having a strong history with both Brent Venables and Josh Heupel as players and coaches has led to far too many requests for interviews – so I’m respectfully declining them all. All attention needs to be on those two coaches and their programs,” Stoops posted on X.
Stoops’ history with Venables and Heupel runs deep.
Heupel quarterbacked Stoops’ Oklahoma team to the 2000 national championship, nearly winning the Heisman Trophy that same year.
He later went on to craft explosive offenses as a coach, most recently at Tennessee.
Venables, meanwhile, was the defensive coordinator for Oklahoma’s 2000 title team and later won two more national championships while at Clemson.
Both men played crucial roles in Stoops’ legacy, but their paths have since diverged.
The relationship between Stoops and Heupel, in particular, has seen its ups and downs.
After leading Oklahoma to the national championship as a player, Heupel returned as the team’s offensive coordinator but was let go by Stoops in 2014.
Despite the rocky end to their working relationship, Stoops has spoken warmly of Heupel.
“I have great respect for both coaches. I’m grateful for their great work here at OU. Brent was a coach here for 13 years, including our national championship in 2000. Josh was our 2000 national championship QB and coached for 10 years. I’ve often said he is the MVP of all my recruits because he was the catalyst that got us started in ’99. I wish them both great success moving forward! But in the end, I’m all Boomer Sooner!” the Stoops post added.
While Stoops has clearly stated his loyalty to the Sooners, his decision to step back from the media frenzy underscores his respect for both coaches and the programs they’ve built.
With both Tennessee and Oklahoma performing well in early-season play, the anticipation is growing strongly for Saturday’s showdown.
It’s sure to be one hell of a scene in Norman on Saturday and ESPN’s College GameDay will be front and center ahead of the primetime spectacle.
What are your thoughts on Stoops’ comments?
Do you like that he’s kind of staying out of the way? … Or do you wish he was more vocal in his support for the Sooners?
Most importantly, who do you think will come out victorious? … Will Oklahoma be able to slow down the high-powered Vols offense???