Former Oklahoma football head coach Bob Stoops will again work within the semi-pro ranks next March. Per sources, Stoops will take up the head coaching job with the Arlington Renegades of the UFL for their inaugural 2024 campaign.
Stoops led the Dallas Renegades of the XFL in 2020. However, after a 2-3 record, the league suspended operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The club resumed play in 2023. Stoop led his squad to the XFL Championship Game, beating the DC Defenders 35-26. Stoops will handle the same role under the new ownership of Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia.
Bob Stoops: Oklahoma Football Bench Boss from 1999-2016
Stoops held down the Oklahoma Sooners head coaching job from 1999 to 2016, winning the NCAA National Championship in 2000. The 63-year-old led the Oklahoma football program to 14 double-digit winning seasons, ten Big 12 titles, and eight Big 12 South Division Titles. The undefeated Sooners bested the Florida State Seminoles 13-2 in the 2000 Orange Bowl, earning the program’s first and only title since 1985. Stoops also coached two Heisman Trophy Award winners, Jason White in 2003 and Sam Bradford in 2008. The Oklahoma legend is the only frontman to win the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Sugar Bowl in the BCS era.
Stoops retired in the summer of 2017, leaving way to offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley. His successor had massive success, with quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray winning the Heisman Trophy during his first two seasons. However, Riley owned a 1-3 postseason record, failed to win in the College Football Playoff, and darting for USC for the 2022 season. Brent Venables has held down Stoops’ old gig at Oklahoma since the 2022 season. After a poor 6-7 season to start his OU tenure, Venables led the Sooners to a 10-3 record this year.
UFL: Semi-Pro Leagues Combine
The UFL will kick off in March of 2024 after the merger of the XFL and the USFL. Businesswoman Dany Garcia and media star Dwayne Johnson have ownership stakes in the XFL. The eight-team league consists of the St. Louis Battlehawks, San Antonio Brahmas, DC Defenders, Arlington Renegades, Michigan Panthers, Memphis Showboats, Houston Roughnecks, and Birmingham Stallions. Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips and longtime college head coach Skip Holtz will join Bob Stoops as head coaches.
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