Stress test
Tiresome off-field misconduct ate at Bob Stoops
S ooner Nation awaits Lincoln Riley’s decision about the future of Will Sunderland.
Will the new Oklahoma head coach let the suspended cornerback stay? Will he say it’s time to go? What will Riley do? Somewhere, Bob Stoops feels his pain.
Not even a month has passed since Riley took over as Oklahoma’s head coach, and already, he’s facing a tough decision. Does he punish Sunderland, who is facing a felony charge of seconddegree burglary, but give him a second chance? Or does Riley boot a guy who could be a convicted felon if found guilty?
There are all sorts of ramifications for both decisions. The tone set inside the program. The criticism coming from outside. On and on goes the list of issues to consider.
Stoops knows them all too well.
The longtime Sooner coach retired for a lot of reasons, but the stress of dealing with off-thefield misconduct for nearly two decades had to be among them.
It’s a stress that increased in recent years.
Time was, Stoops was widely heralded for giving players second chances. Guys like Dusty Dvoracek and Ryan Broyles were
given opportunities to reform after their missteps, and they made good on them.
Stoops didn’t always grant leniency. Rhett Bomar and Trey Metoyer were high-profile players who were booted for their transgressions.
There were even a few players like Josh Jarboe who were given second chances but were later booted for continued transgressions.
Even though the vast majority of Stoops’ stays of execution paid off — both for the team and for the individuals — recent second-chancers brought much criticism. Dorial Green-Beckham. Frank Shannon. Joe Mixon. Dede Westbrook. Their presence sullied the Sooners’ image and dented the OU brand. That bothered Stoops. He never said as much publicly, but it would be tough for any coach with a conscience. And Stoops clearly had one. More than that, he took an immense amount of pride in all things crimson and cream, so the notion that his guys or his program would tarnish any of it had to be a significant struggle.
Then, there’s the fact that Stoops took the Father Flanagan part of his job seriously.
“We all deal with young people that are still growing, maturing, learning,” he said a few years back. “We do try to be positive influences.
“Guide ‘em. Teach ‘em. Direct ‘em.”
Those are promises Stoops made not only to players but also to families.
“It’s hard to give up on these young men that I go in their homes and talk to their families and talk about their opportunities to grow at Oklahoma,” he said in the aftermath of the Mixon video release.
Being a surrogate parent created deep bonds. Players respected Stoops. Appreciated him. Revered him. And yes, they loved him. He felt the same. “I love them dearly,” he said when he retired. “You look at them all as your own children.”
You can only imagine the internal struggle that can cause. You want your kids to do right. You want to teach them. You want to help them.
But what if they never learn?
And worse, what if their presence is bringing down the rest of your family?
I realize major-college coaches get paid millions to deal with such conundrums, but money doesn’t completely ease the strain or eliminate the burden that comes with these situations.
Bob Stoops dealt with it for 18 years, but in the end, it was one of the reasons that he was ready to walk away.
Now, the job falls to Lincoln Riley.
Stoops is serving now as a special assistant in the athletic department. A consultant, if you will. Riley should ask his opinion about the Sunderland situation — not only what should be done about the cornerback but also how to manage the stress that will come regardless of what he decides.