Starkville Reporter Breaks Down Bob Shoop As A Coach, Recruiter, Man
Mississippi State sports beat reporter for The Starkville Daily News Joel Coleman got a chance to cover Bob Shoop very closely putting him in a great position to talk about who exactly Michigan just hired. I asked him five big questions about Shoop and Coleman gave some really good insight as to what Shoop is bringing to Ann Arbor.
Wolverine Digest: What kind of a coach is Bob Shoop? Strengths, weaknesses, style, approach, etc.
Joel Coleman: I believe Shoop is a solid coach. His players seem to like him for the most part. I know there were at least a handful of players kind of campaigning internally for him to at least get a shot to interview for the head job here before [Mike] Leach was hired. He seems to be incredibly detail-oriented. I also feel like he does a pretty good job of always having his guys in the right places. That doesn’t mean they always have success, but there were very few times I watched Shoop’s defenses here and thought they were out of position.
WD: Shoop has been a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator and will coach safeties at Michigan — I know he was essentially removed by Mike Leach, but why do you think he took a “lesser job” rather than wait for another DC gig?
JC: It’s a great question because I really feel like Shoop should probably be a DC somewhere. I mean he’s only two years removed from having the best defense in the country. Granted, that 2018 Mississippi State defense had three first-round NFL Draft picks on it, but still, to orchestrate that, plus the rest of his resumé, that should have put him in the running to be a coordinator somewhere. Perhaps he just didn’t like the current options out there, I'm not sure, but I have to think he wants to be a DC.
What he really wants is to be a head coach somewhere but it seems like he’s probably not really close to that unless he wants to do so at a lower level of football.
WD: How is he as a recruiter?
JC: I reached out to one of the guys on the beat that covers recruiting a lot closer than I do and he labeled Shoop as very average at recruiting. He’s not worthless by any stretch, but he’s not exactly a dynamic recruiter that changes the game.
WD: What’s his reputation as a guy? Personality wise, speaking with media, intelligence, sense of humor, etc.
JC: Our media here loved talking with Shoop; not just about football either. Back on signing day in December, we were allowed in the war room with the coaches. He and I sat there and talked about the MLB hot stove season and possible deals for awhile. He also likes talking hockey. He’ll talk about pretty much anything.
As for football, he was one of my favorite interviews because he’s pretty honest and detailed. He offers up very little coach speak. I always perceived him as very intelligent. He’s got a good sense of humor — kind of a dry humor. Overall, he was just a good guy to work with and talk to.
WD: How are Mississippi State fans/people feeling about losing him?
JC: I think most fans are indifferent about it to be honest. A lot of that has to do with Mississippi State fans being fed up with Joe Moorhead and, because Shoop was tied to Moorhead, he’s kind of guilty by association. But Shoop did good things here. That 2018 defense was probably the best in school history. It fell off in 2019, but a lot of that was out of Shoop’s control. His best corner missed several games (a few due to injury, then he skipped the bowl game to get ready for the draft). His second best corner had a season-ending injury and missed half the year. Three of his expected starters on defense coming into the season ended up being suspended for eight games each because of an academic fraud mess that got State into trouble with the NCAA. Even so, on the four occasions Shoop had all his guys on the field, State was fair to good defensively, all things considered.
Like I said though, no one seems sad to see him go, but I really think the biggest reason is just that he was tied to Moorhead.
What do you think of the hire? How big will Shoop's impact be at U-M? Comment below!!!
