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Nostalgia takes a hit: No Bob Stoops vs. Baylor

OU issued a two-paragraph press release late Friday afternoon declaring "some" of OU's coaching staff will be available for Saturday night's game
John E. Hoover|
Nostalgia takes a hit: No Bob Stoops vs. Baylor
Nostalgia takes a hit: No Bob Stoops vs. Baylor

Turns out Oklahoma will not need the services of Bob Stoops on gameday after all.

OU announced Friday afternoon that Stoops “will not be participating in a coaching role” during Saturday’s Big 12 Conference home game against Baylor.

“Our staff and players are extremely appreciative of coach Stoops for his time and for the input he provided the last several days as we’ve prepared for tomorrow’s game,” OU head coach Lincoln Riley said in a statement. “He means so much to our program and we’re very thankful for his willingness to assist during a period of need.”

Stoops, 60, who retired in June 2017 and hand-picked Riley as his successor, spent the last three-plus years as special assistant to athletic director Joe Castiglione. Last spring, he ventured back into coaching — part time, at least — with the XFL’s Dallas franchise.

And this past week Stoops lent Riley a hand at practice as several OU coaches missed time because of positive COVID tests and contact tracing. A source told SI Sooners that defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was expected to miss the Baylor game, but with OU following the CDC’s new guidelines for shorter quarantines, Grinch and other coaches might now be available on Saturday night.

The two-paragraph press release said Stoops will not be needed in a coaching role “due to the availability of some of the Oklahoma football team's coaching staff members.”

No. 11-ranked OU (6-2) and Baylor (2-5) kick off at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Norman. The Sooners are trying to win this week and next week at West Virginia so they can qualify for the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 19 in Arlington, TX.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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