WEBVTT - Bob Stoops Retires (6/7/2017) 0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:04.720 Welcome to the Solid Verbal. 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:08.440 I'll that for me. I'm a man, I'm forty. I've 0:00:08.480 --> 0:00:10.680 heard so many players say, well, I want to be happy. 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:13.440 You want to be happy for dake Ado State? Is 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:14.920 that woo woom? 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:21.520 And Dan and Tye welcome back to the Solid Verbal. 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:25.440 Boys and girls. My name is ty hilden Brand. Dan Rubinstein, 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:29.640 my beloved co host, is still honeymooning in Europe, still 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:34.360 exploring the Mediterranean with the wonderful Missus Rubinstein. I believe 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:37.000 he'll be back next week, so stay tuned for that. 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:40.479 Don't forget to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:44.640 or any podcast directory for that matter. Please leave us 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:47.160 a review if you like the show, because that helps 0:00:47.240 --> 0:00:50.600 us more than you could possibly imagine. And if you 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:54.480 aren't already following us on social media, We're on Facebook, 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:57.880 we're on Twitter, we're on Instagram, all the usual hotspots. 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:00.800 Give us a follow if you want to say in touch. 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:05.520 So tonight's actually a rare show for a bunch of 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:10.319 different reasons. First and foremost, I am flying solo, which 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:14.080 is something I hardly ever do. Most importantly, though, we 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:24.039 get to discuss some real, actual breaking news. That's sorry 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:27.640 breaking news on June the seventh, deep in the heart 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:30.880 of college football off season, and on top of that, 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:35.200 the stars weirdly aligned in a way that gives us 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:39.000 both Bruce Feldman from Fox Sports and Andy Staples from 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:43.039 Sports Illustrated on the same episode to discuss news of 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:46.040 the day and much much more. And there is some 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:50.520 rather significant news in the college football world effective immediately. 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:55.120 Bob Stoops is stepping down from his post at Oklahoma. 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:57.800 Seems to have come a little bit out of left field. 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:01.800 He's been there since nineteen ninety none. Obviously, you know 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:05.720 his resume, one of the more elite, most accomplished coaches 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:09.360 in the game. Certainly there have been rumors for a 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:12.840 long time about him going elsewhere. Lord knows those aren't 0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:16.359 gonna let up anytime soon now that he is effectively 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:19.160 a free agent. Suffice to say, there are a ton 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:23.040 of questions about the timing, the motives, the replacement, etc. Etc. 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:26.600 Let's jump in. Let's start dissecting this with our friend 0:02:26.600 --> 0:02:30.120 Bruce Felman from Fox Sports joining me to discuss the 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:32.600 news of the day. Very pleased to welcome back to 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:36.120 the show longtime friend of the podcast, mister Bruce Feldman 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:37.440 from Fox Sports, sir, how are you. 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.840 I'm doing well. It's good to be out with my favorite. 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:44.919 Half of thank you, Thank You on your anniversary. No less, 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:45.520 I understand. 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:48.480 I know that's probably not going well, but it's been 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:49.600 that kind of day around my head. 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:52.600 So I guess the question is, did you see this 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:55.160 news about Bob Stoop's coming at all? Were you tipped 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:59.120 off to this that this might occur, because for the 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:00.679 rest of us it seems like it came out of 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:01.240 left field. 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:04.880 Yeah, there was been some rumblings. I mean last week 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:07.959 that I started hearing about whether he was going to 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:11.280 step down or would it be a case where maybe 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:15.240 he coached for two thousand and seventeen, and then you know, 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:17.640 like they had announced they had decided it and stayed on. 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:21.880 And then earlier this week, you know, started hearing more 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:26.440 about that this could be a you know, an immediate effective, 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:30.840 immediate situation, and I was trying to you know, hammer home, 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:34.600 hammer out the Lincoln Riley details, whether he was going 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:37.800 to be was he in fact going to take over 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:39.200 or was he just going to be kind of an 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:42.560 interim on an audition basis, So you know, it was 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:45.680 a it was a hot story that that blew up, 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.240 and I guess around early after Wednesday. 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:52.280 Obviously, Lincoln Riley is a guy that that people are 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:54.920 pretty high on. But still was this something that when 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:56.960 you heard it, it caught you by surprise, just the 0:03:57.120 --> 0:03:58.120 immediate nature of it. 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.680 You know, the part about this part, I knew this 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:06.320 two big things. So Bob stoops and jokes Toally on 0:04:06.360 --> 0:04:08.800 the idea of that groom in Lincoln Riley for this 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:12.080 really for over a year and even going back to 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:17.360 the sprint the fall, Oklahoma started working on a contract 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:19.760 that was basically unprecedented for an assistant where they were 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.400 going to give him a three year deal because they 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:27.320 knew he had passed up opportunities at Houston and Cincinnati 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:33.479 USF and produced. So I think towards that end, you know, 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:35.640 that part made sense. It was just ultimately came down 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:39.080 to Bob steps being one hundred percent sure, Yeah, he 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:42.080 feels like the timing is right to step down, But 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:44.280 you know, is he really one hundred percent on it? 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:44.880 Not edgely? 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:47.520 You know, he felt like he is, And that's where 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:48.120 we are now. 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:50.560 The official word that you posted was that quote he's 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:52.919 ready and wants to go live life. That's according to 0:04:52.920 --> 0:04:55.839 one of your sources, I would say, just as a 0:04:55.880 --> 0:05:00.000 college football fan, you don't typically hear that on June's 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.640 seventh of the off season. I don't question his motives, 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:06.000 but the timing, the timing just seems so odd to 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:08.560 be in the throes of the off season. Why now, 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:10.680 Why did he feel the need to do this now? 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.800 You know, I think that specific part of it, I'm 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:17.160 not sure there's you know, as opposed to a month 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:20.120 ago or not. I don't know that that part of 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:24.000 it what sold him, you know, whether it was because 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:28.720 I saw him in Baby in early May. Guys who 0:05:28.760 --> 0:05:30.280 have worked with him were around him, and they were 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:32.160 kind of caught off guard that he decided to do 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:34.960 it at this time of year. But you know, keep 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:38.880 in mind, his dad was fifty four when he died, 0:05:39.040 --> 0:05:40.719 literally had a heart attack in a game he was 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:42.400 coaching in high school and died on the way to 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:45.880 on the way to the hospital. Somebody really close to 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:49.240 the students, really, because the guy who probably knows him best, 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:54.240 when I talked to him earlier today said he's always 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:57.120 told me he was fifty five. That's what he thought. 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:59.279 He would wanted to step down at it and he goes. 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:01.960 I don't think he is. I don't think he's changing 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:03.320 his mind. I think he's done. 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:06.960 That's pretty incredible. And I think back a little bit 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:10.119 to when urban Meyer announced that he was stepping aside 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:14.679 at Florida. The immediate focus among a lot of college 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:17.840 football fans was does he have his eye on something else? 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:19.679 Is he going to take an Ohio State job? Obviously 0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:22.040 ended up taking that. Do you think that there is 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:25.599 any possibility there's another job out there that could lure 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:26.920 him back? Or is this for good? 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:30.320 I don't think there is. I really don't know. I 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:33.560 think you know what's different in terms of urban Meyer 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:38.840 situation where Bob Stoops they're kind of wired differently. I mean, 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:41.520 urban Meyer is one of these guys who was grinding 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:44.440 football all the time, and you know the metric of 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:48.320 a hused to kind of base that on is when 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:50.680 you talk to guys who worked for urban Meyer, they 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:53.120 are grinding. When you talk to people who coach for 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:56.040 Bob Stoops, they say he's probably about as easy a 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:59.159 guy to work for and as good on families as 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:02.320 there is. He also golf a lot more than than 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:05.800 urban Meyers, So we'll see. I mean you know, his 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:07.680 kids are a little younger than Urbans, you know, twin 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:12.080 boys that are the seniors in high school. But you know, 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:14.120 you never say never with these coaches. 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:17.880 So now it's turned over to Lincoln Riley, a younger guy, 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:21.800 only thirty three. You said, he's been groomed for a 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:25.520 while now to perhaps take over this post. What does 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.640 he bring to the equation that perhaps Bob Stoops didn't. 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:33.320 Well, you know, he's obviously an offensive guy, and he 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:36.680 is a Mike Leach protege in that he started with 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:39.520 Leach when he was a student assistant at Texas Tech. 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:42.080 He's been an offensi quare for actually a long time, 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:44.960 for seven years, so he has quite a bit of 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:47.880 experience on that in front. But you know, still thirty 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:51.040 three is what it is. But he also learned under 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:54.880 Rushall McNeil, and he's learned under Bob. I think he's 0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:59.760 when I asked Leech earlier today about link so you know, 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:03.520 this is a very Leech quote, too long to even 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:07.000 get on Twitter, but it was he was like, becoming 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:10.280 a head coach is like getting married. You're never really 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:12.400 truly ready for it until you're in the middle of it. 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:17.120 Because you had all kinds of all kinds of unwieldy 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.840 stuff coming at you. But he did say Lincoln is 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:24.920 probably as good outside of the box and independent thinker 0:08:25.680 --> 0:08:28.240 as there is, and he goes and a lot of times, guys, 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:31.760 don't you know, that's pretty rare. So where guys are, 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:35.080 you know, really real independent thinkers this day, especially younger 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:39.760 coaches at that level. So I think, you know, there, 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:42.720 now he's gonna have to lean on on Bob Stoops's 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.880 old staff, you know, which is a lot of experienced guys. 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.199 You know, his on line coach Bill Beadenbaugh and his 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:51.720 receivers coach Dennis Simmons. There, guys he knows really well. 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:54.520 And Dennis was somebody brought along, but the other guys 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:56.880 really were. You know, It's a veteran staff, and I 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:00.800 think that'll help, especially given the expectations are gonna be 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:02.480 high with Baker Mayfield to still there in a really 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:03.320 good offensive line. 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:06.120 Yeah, I mean, do you think he can handle such 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:07.160 a big job so soon? 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:08.760 I do? 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:11.400 I mean, I unlike a lot of the Leech area guys, 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:17.360 Lincoln's way more grounded. I mean, he just he's always 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:20.880 been seen more mature than his years, and so I 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:23.320 think he can handle it now. I mean he's going 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:26.920 to go lead them to the playoffs and have you know, 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:30.480 a national title in year or two's. That's that's a 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:32.720 tall order. But I think he's going to be a 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:36.040 successful head coach there, just because he's really, really smart, 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:39.559 and he's really really focused, and I think he's had 0:09:39.559 --> 0:09:42.120 his eyes open for a long time for something like this. 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:45.480 Do you think this will affect any kind of recruiting 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:47.160 at Oklahoma? 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.760 It might, but I'm not sure. If you know, Lincoln 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:52.800 was a big reason why they got some of the 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:56.200 offensive guys they got, so we'll see. I mean, they 0:09:56.240 --> 0:09:57.920 had a good year in two thirds, you know the 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:01.880 class they sign. Still enough time between now and the 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:04.679 early signing period where I think people are gonna want 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:08.520 to wait and see. How you know, Oklahoma runs under 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.680 Lincoln Riley and it's a big job. It's a huge job. 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:15.880 Final question for you, mister Feldman, does it change the 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:18.400 balance of power at all in the Big twelve? 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:23.000 I don't think so. I mean, you know, if if 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:25.240 Bob was taking Baker with him to be his caddy, 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:29.800 maybe differently. But you know, they still have a great 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:33.200 quarterback they still have the best offensive line in that 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:36.480 in that league. They yeah, they have skill talent they 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:41.040 got to replace, but you know, Tom Herman's that momentum, 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:42.600 but they got a long way to go to get 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:45.240 back to where, you know, to where OU is right 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:48.440 now at Oklahoma State, I think has been very good 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:52.600 on offense especially, But I did that game, the Bedroom 0:10:52.600 --> 0:10:54.960 game last year in rnment. Yeah, I know, you really 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:58.160 took it to him. So I think it comes back 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:01.520 to the players right now. Oh, he's got better players. 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:03.719 And I wouldn't bet against Baker Mayfield in a Big 0:11:03.720 --> 0:11:04.559 twelve game right now. 0:11:05.040 --> 0:11:08.520 What does Bob Soops's handicap any idea? 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:11.720 I think he's a high single digit Okay, I don't think. 0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:13.680 I think he's a guy who can break eighty. But 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:15.760 I don't know if he's the guy who shoots, you know, 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:20.360 in the seventies often. But so two things about Bob Shoops, 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:23.200 I think what's going after about it? One? And I 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:27.880 say this was complete sincerity From years of covering the 0:11:27.880 --> 0:11:31.080 Football Foundation event in New York as well as the 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:35.280 Coaches conventioned every year, there is no head coach in 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:39.200 college football who has as much respect amongst other head 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:42.680 coaches as Bob Stoops does, and the other part and 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:48.280 maybe just kind of connected to it, just from being 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:51.679 around the sport for a long time, it really stands 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:55.240 out how many guys talk, not just guys, but their 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:59.079 families talk about how good he is or was to 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:04.240 work war and that credit is that our last part 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:08.320 is a rarity, you know where you know, I remember, 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:11.440 I have a buddy who I'm known for years who's 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:14.880 an assistant coach, and his wife just was talking about 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:17.640 all this, you know, how good he was to the 0:12:17.640 --> 0:12:20.840 coach's wives and how good he is to their families. 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:23.719 And you know, you would think this stuff sounds like 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:28.000 common sense, given how invested these these families are, but 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:31.800 it's not the case usually and Stups was really really 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:33.640 good about that, and that's why I think there's a 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:36.160 lot of people who had such a respect for him, 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:37.200 at least within the business. 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:40.839 Well, it's big news, especially in the doldrums of the 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:43.880 college football off season. June the seventh, again, Bob Stoop's 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:48.760 stepping down effective, immediately handing the keys over to Lincoln Riley. 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:51.880 Mister Feldman, happy anniversary to you, Thank you for giving 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.240 us so much of your time, here on short notice, 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:57.400 and uh we'll bring you back. We'll bring you back 0:12:57.440 --> 0:12:59.520 on on a different occasion. 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:00.400 Thank you very much. 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:04.280 All right, big thanks to Bruce Feldman from Foxsports dot com. 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:06.800 I'm going to talk to Andy Staples here from Sports 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:10.440 Illustrated momentarily about Bob Stoopson a few other odds and 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:13.320 ends in the college football world. 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With Indo Chino. 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:06.240 Get ready to look like a million bucks and joining 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:09.840 me now our good friend from Sports Illustrated in SI 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:14.080 dot com as well as serious ex m Mister Andy Staples, Sir, 0:15:14.080 --> 0:15:14.600 how are you? 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:18.600 I'm good. Surprised, Yeah, how about that. 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:23.480 Yeah, it's funny because we've always talked, you know, amongst 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:28.120 our our sportswriterselves, about you know, if anybody would would 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:33.560 leave kind of early, Stoops would be that guy, because 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:37.480 he started his head coach so young, and you know, 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:40.200 it feels like he's been doing this forever and he 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:44.120 really has. But he's not an old guy. He's fifty six. 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:49.080 So I did look at that. Nick Saban turned fifty 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:51.680 six during his first season at Alabama. 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:52.960 Four national titles ago. 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:53.480 Wow. 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:53.800 Wow. 0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:57.160 Bobby Bowden was in his sixties when he won his 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:01.520 first national title. Tom Osborne when he won his first 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:04.000 national title. So I mean, if you think about it 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:07.680 from that perspective, this is pretty pretty shocking. But if 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:10.080 you think about it from this guy's been a major 0:16:10.120 --> 0:16:14.960 college head coach for eighteen years, well, retirement doesn't sound 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:15.800 like such a bad deal. 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:16.920 Yes. 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.720 So I talked to Bruce before we brought you on, 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:24.400 and Bruce said that there there was some indication that 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:27.800 at some point in Stoops's career he might go this 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:31.640 direction that you know, fifty five ish might have been 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:34.280 that age for him where he thought about doing something 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:37.520 else with his life. But still it definitely snuck up 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:40.200 on a lot of people. I asked him, I'll ask you, 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:43.480 do you have any concerns now about where the program 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.880 goes with such a young guy like Lincoln Riley who's 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:48.080 never had a head job before. 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:51.480 No, because Lincoln Riley may be thirty three years old, 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:53.160 but he didn't act like a thirty three year old. 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:55.680 I mean, he's had his stuff together since he was 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:00.000 a little baby. I think they I talked to Michaelee 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:04.960 earlier today and he was telling me about when Lincoln 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:07.240 Riley was on his team and Lincoln Riley was walking 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.680 quarterback in Texas Tech and at the time, Leach had 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:14.720 eight quarterbacks in the room, scholarship guys plus walk ons, 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:19.919 and Riley had learned the offense quicker than anybody, but 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:25.119 he just didn't have an arm And so Leach brings 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:30.320 him in and cuts him and then tries to hire him. 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:31.960 And he said that Riley had to go think on 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:33.720 it for a day because he was mad about getting cut. 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:37.040 But I mean his rise was pretty New York. I 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:40.159 think he was twenty three when he got his first 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:44.080 full time assistant coaching job at Texas Tech. He was 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:49.159 twenty six the first time he called plays. He's it's 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:53.000 oddly similar to Bob Stoops. I mean, Bob Stoops was 0:17:53.040 --> 0:17:56.920 the co defensive coordinator at Kansas State in his early thirties. 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:01.320 You know, he got to Florida when he was thirty 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.679 or he turned thirty six that first season in Florida. 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:08.240 So you know, this is this is not a this 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:09.639 is not that big of a difference. He was thirty 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:13.400 nine as the as the head coach at Oklahoma. I'm 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:15.760 about to turn thirty nine right now. I can tell 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:17.680 you right now, I wouldn't hire myself to run a berger. 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:21.359 I think I think most there are just some people 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:24.840 who can do this and who are good managers and 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:27.800 good organizers and have their stuff together. 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:29.679 I think Lincoln Riley is one of those guys. 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:32.520 Yeah, I'm not so much spooked by the fact that 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:35.919 he's younger than both you and I, and certainly he 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:40.399 is eminently qualified given past experience, to maybe take on 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:42.960 this role. But we've seen it time and time again, 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:46.920 very good coaches step into that spotlight and for one 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:48.960 reason or another that they're not able to handle it. 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:52.280 Yeah, it's an interesting guy after the guy situation. This 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:55.679 is this is the coach in waiting. Who would have 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:57.160 I mean, he would have been the coach in waiting 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.760 had they decided to go that route. They never called 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:02.480 it that, but it was obvious he was turning down 0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:06.400 head coaching jobs on the off chance that Bob Steus 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:08.440 would retire and he'd be the head coach at Oklahoma. 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:11.480 Interesting stuff. We will see what happens, and surely more 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:15.800 to come on Bob Stoop's Lincoln Riley here over the 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:19.600 next couple weeks and months, but usually not the kind 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:21.800 of thing that you expect to hear on June seventh. 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:23.800 I don't, as I said to Bruce, I don't question 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:25.840 the motives, but the timing to me was a bit odd. 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:29.000 Well and yeah, I mean, and you know, it's weird 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:33.000 because sometimes when you see it, like I almost expected 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:36.639 Bill Snyder to do something like this so he could 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:39.960 dictate the terms of his replacement, give his son a 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:42.440 chance to get the head coaching job, sort of like 0:19:42.720 --> 0:19:46.760 Bo Ryan did when he retired from Wisconsin as the 0:19:46.760 --> 0:19:49.399 basketball coach. You know, he wanted Greg Gard to have 0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:51.119 a chance to get the job, and he felt like, 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:55.080 if you retire right then, then guard has to coach 0:19:55.119 --> 0:19:57.119 out the rest of the season and that'll be his audition, 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:00.600 which as we know now turned out really well. But 0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:03.960 in this case, he could have announced this after the season, 0:20:03.960 --> 0:20:05.280 they would have made the same soon. They wouldn't have 0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:07.920 gone a coaching search, they would have just hired Lincoln Riley. 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:11.560 So I don't think there's anybody in Norman who would 0:20:11.600 --> 0:20:13.520 disagree with this choice. 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:16.959 So you know that timing of it is a bit odd. 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:19.120 Well, the other big news that I wanted to bring 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:20.880 you on to discuss a little bit. I know you're 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:24.800 a Florida guy. You covered the sec very intently as well. 0:20:25.400 --> 0:20:30.280 Malik'saier announced that he is grad transferring away from Notre Dame. 0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:33.480 To no one's surprised at this point, but there were 0:20:33.560 --> 0:20:36.760 rumors about where he might end up. He lands at Florida, 0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:39.879 a school that's had some difficulty trying to find a 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:43.920 quarterback that just scoch you could say, right, that could 0:20:43.920 --> 0:20:47.640 move the offense forward. How does he now fit into 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:50.600 this equation for Jim Mackaway at Florida. 0:20:50.880 --> 0:20:53.840 It comes along in an advantageous time for whoever winds 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:56.280 up being starting quarterback at Florida this year. 0:20:56.320 --> 0:20:57.800 And I am not notice. 0:20:57.840 --> 0:20:59.560 I am not assuming he's going to be the starting 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:03.200 quarterback because I think this dragged out this long because 0:21:03.240 --> 0:21:06.200 he couldn't get any sort of assurance because he was 0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:10.200 going to start anywhere. And you know, I think he's 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:12.240 probably gonna have to duke it out with Felipe Franks 0:21:12.240 --> 0:21:14.679 to see who wins the job. But I would imagine 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:16.639 that Florida was of the schools he was looking at. 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:19.919 Florida's his best chance to win a starting job. But 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:24.040 this is the best receiving group Florida's had, probably since 0:21:24.080 --> 0:21:27.240 two thousand and nine, the best line they've had since 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:31.760