Florida seems attractive to Stoops

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Posted 8:23AM on Sunday, January 6, 2002

OKLAHOMA CITY - By just about any measurement, Bob Stoops has a great situation as football coach at Oklahoma. Whether it's great enough to keep him in Norman is not clear. When Steve Spurrier unexpectedly resigned as Florida's coach on Friday, speculation about a successor immediately centered on Stoops, who coached three years with the Gators and has talked often about his warm feelings for the program and Spurrier. A source familiar with the search told The Associated Press on Friday that Stoops was the top candidate. Stoops hasn't commented since the news about Spurrier broke Friday. Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione, as is his policy, declined comment. The Daily Oklahoman reported on its Internet site that Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley contacted Stoops even before a Friday news conference was held to discuss Spurrier's resignation. In just three seasons, Stoops has restored Oklahoma as a national power. The Sooners won the 2000 national championship and were in the hunt again this year before winding up 11-2. They are 31-7 under Stoops after not cracking the .500 mark in the five years before he arrived. The roster is loaded with talented young players - 17 starters are scheduled back next season - and Stoops has said he feels good about this year's recruiting class. It doesn't appear Oklahoma is about to fall off the national landscape anytime soon. Money hasn't been an issue at Oklahoma. A contract extension approved last summer increased Stoops' annual salary to $2 million. Only Spurrier, at $2.1 million, was making more among college coaches. Stoops has been mentioned as a candidate for other high-profile jobs - the NFL's Cleveland Browns, Notre Dame, Ohio State - but the lure of Florida may prove to be too tempting. ``It's a great job. Spurrier's made it that way,'' former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer said. ``But the important thing is you've got to win. Regardless of how you view the job, the climate, whatever, it comes down to performance.'' It takes players to do that, and the state of Florida has plenty. The high schools in Florida produce enough players every year to stock Florida, Florida State and national champion Miami, as well as schools across the country. In a survey conducted during bowl season, ESPN.com asked 26 head coaches and coordinators to list their top five dream jobs in college football. Florida was the top choice by a wide margin, based largely on the climate, in-state recruiting base, facilities and strong fan support. Oklahoma did not rank among the top 10 in the survey. Stoops has a condominium in Crescent Beach, Fla., where he visits in the late spring and early summer. He considers Spurrier one of his closest friends in coaching and loved the three years he spent as the Gators' defensive coordinator. But Switzer said the person who gets the job will have a tough time following Spurrier, who was 122-27-1 in 12 years and won one national championship and six Southeastern Conference titles. ``You don't get much slack at Florida,'' Switzer said. ``You've got to win 10, 11 games every year. Anyone who follows Spurrier is going to be expected to do that."