The coach who brought Oklahoma back to glory

Who is Bob Stoops?

American Football coach Robert Anthony ‘Bob’ Stoops was born in Youngstown, Ohio, USA, on September 9, 1960, making Virgo his zodiac sign. He is probably best known for the time he spent coaching the University of Oklahoma Sooners; Bob’s record with the Sooners was 190-48, and they won the 2001 Orange Bowl under his leadership.

Education and early life

Bob was raised in Youngstown alongside his five siblings, by their mother Evelyn ‘Dee Dee’ Stoops and father Ron Sr; not much has been shared about his family as Bob respects their privacy, but it is known that his father also loved sports and was the football defense coordinator at Cardinal Mooney High School.

Bob became interested in football thanks to his father, who coached him while attending the aforementioned Cardinal Mooney; Ron also coached his other sons Mark, Mike and Ron Jr. at the school – both Mark and Mike are coaches and former players these days. Ron Sr. died in 1988, when he developed chest pains during a football game against his son Ron Jr.’s team; he passed away in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Bob enrolled in 1979 and then enrolled at the University of Iowa, where he played defensive back, and was a starter for four years; he was named the team’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1982; he graduated the following year with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.

Bob’s career

Bob began his career right out of college when he became a volunteer coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes under the tutelage of the late American College Football coach and player John Hayden Fry.

In 1988, he became an assistant football coach at Kent State University under head coach Dick Crum, and joined the coaching staff at Kansas State University the following year. In 1991, Bob became the Kansas State Wildcats’ co-defensive coordinator and their assistant head coach four years later. During his final four years with the Wildcats, the team won 35 of their 47 games and made three Bowl appearances.

Some ball pits walk into a restaurant 🤩#GoGators pic.twitter.com/bACyyEPOlr

— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) March 24, 2022

He became the defense coordinator from the University of Florida Gators in 1996, helping them win the 1997 Sugar Bowl; it was then mentioned that Bob could be their new head coach, but instead opted to become the head coach of the University of Oklahoma’s Sooners in 1999.

He won his first seven games with the Sooners and led them to the 1999 Super Bowl, their first Super Bowl appearance in six years. Bob went on to coach the Sooners for 18 years, marking his 157th win with them on November 16, 2013, meaning he and former Sooners head coach Barry Switzer were tied in the team’s wins. Beginning in 2005 and ending in 2011, the Sooners won all 39 games they played at home – their streak ended when they lost to Texas Tech 41-28 on October 22, 2011.

Bob revealed on June 7, 2017 that he was retiring from college coaching and was replaced by Lincoln Riley; on February 7, 2019, he announced his retirement and was named head coach of the Dallas Renegades of the professional American Football minor league XFL. The league went bankrupt in April 2020, mainly due to the coronavirus outbreak, and Bob lost his job as a result.

Bob was selected as interim head coach for the Sooners’ Alamo Bowl game on November 28, 2021, after Lincoln Riley accepted the offer to become head coach of the University of Southern California Trojans; the Sooners defeated the Oregon Ducks 47-32.

Bob then retired from coaching again and has been away from media attention ever since.

Love life and marriage

Bob avoids talking about his love life in public, but it is still common knowledge that he has been married for over 30 years.

He and American non-celebrity Carol Stoops were married in 1988 in a private ceremony, with only their closest friends and relatives present; Carol currently works at the marketing company Mary Kay Inc. as their national sales director. They have three children together, daughter Mackenzie and twin sons Drake and Isaac, but not much has been revealed about them as Bob and Carol want them to live a normal life; Drake is known to play for the Oklahoma Sooners as their wide receiver these days, and Isaac is a football coach at Moore High School, while also being a volunteer analyst for the Sooners in 2021 and 2022.

Bob not talked about the women he may have been with before meeting Carol, whom he has been married to since April 2023, and they have three children together.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Bob’s younger brother Michael Joseph “Mike” Stoops was once the Sooners’ defensive coordinator, as well as the head coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats; he is today the inside linebackers coach at the University of Kentucky. Bob’s other brother Mark Thomas Stoops is currently the head coach at the University of Kentucky, while their brother is Ron Jr’s assistant coach at Youngstown State University.

One of Bob’s best friends is American former football coach and player Stephen Orr Spurrier, who was his mentor at the University of Florida.

He loves to travel and has been to every US state at least once, mostly due to his career as a football coach.

Bob is a fan of actors Anthony Hopkins and Robert De Niro, and among his favorite movies are “Fracture”, “The Remains of the Day” and “The Mask of Zorro”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Bob is 62 years old. He has brown eyes and brown hair, is 1.62 m tall and weighs about 68 kg.

Bob’s ability Estimated at over $18 million, as of April 2023, almost all of which he earned during his time coaching the Oklahoma Sooners.