Oklahoma fires DC Mike Stoops
NORMAN, OKLA. » Oklahoma fired defensive coordinator Mike Stoops on Monday after the Sooners struggled to stop Texas during their first loss of the season.
Ruffin McNeill, the assistant head coach and defensive tackles coach, will be the defensive coordinator for the rest of the season.
The No. 11 Sooners (51) lost 48-45 on Saturday, allowing 501 yards to the Longhorns in Dallas.
“At the end of the day, I felt like we needed a new voice,” coach Lincoln Riley said Monday. “We needed just a little bit of a spark. I thought that making the change was right for that reason, and also because I felt good about the guys we have in this room and a plan for the rest of this season. This team’s got a lot in front of them. This team could make a run here. I think we all feel that.”
McNeill was defensive coordinator at UNLV from 1997 to 1998 and at Fresno State in 1999. He later served in that same role with Texas Tech from
2008 to 2009 before taking over as coach at East Carolina from 2010 to 2015.
Riley’s confidence in McNeill played a role in the decision to fire Stoops, the brother of former Sooners coach Bob Stoops. Riley was McNeill’s offensive coordinator at East Carolina, and he brought McNeill to Oklahoma as assistant head coach before the 2017 season.
“I have a ton of confidence in Ruffin,” Riley said. “There’s not really anything in this game that he hasn’t done. He’s one of those guys that, when something like this comes at us, he doesn’t have to sit back and figure out how he’s going to handle it. He knows how he’s going to handle it the second the situation’s presented.”
Oklahoma players reacted to the news on Twitter.
“All I can say is thank you (at)OU—CoachMike you gave me a shot when nobody else would and for that I am forever grateful no matter what people say they never know you for the great person you really are and how much you care for your players...Thank You Coach,” linebacker Kenneth Murray tweeted.
The Sooners have a week off before they play at TCU, which will give the Sooners time to adjust. Riley said the players are comfortable with McNeill, which should help in the transition.
“He does have a confidence about himself,” Riley said. “He’s got a way with the players. They’ll be excited to play for him.”
Bob Diaco will move from defensive specialist to coach the outside linebackers. He has been defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Nebraska and was the head coach at Connecticut from 2014 to 2016.