Bob Stoops hit a big payday when the clock struck Midnight on Thursday morning. The end of 2008 officially ended Coach Stoops’ tenth year at Oklahoma. Because of that he received a $3 million “stay bonus” from the university. Now a new era begins for Stoops as OU fans are more than willing to embrace him for another decade and beyond but if he’s bored of winning Big 12 championships then the Denver Broncos could be ready for him to win some AFC West titles.
The Rocky Mountain News is reporting that they have two sources who state that the Broncos have already reached out to Stoops in hopes of filling their vacant coaching position. They had better bring a lot of money to the table though because after you put the “stay bonus” and incentives for winning the Big 12 championship, being named the Coach of the Year for the conference and reaching the BCS championship game on top of Stoops’ annual salary, Bob Stoops is already guaranteed to make $6.11 million this year with the possibility of more to come should the Sooners beat the Gators.
I don’t think that if Stoops leaves though it would be for money. Instead should he bolt Norman it would be for the challenge of resurrecting a once proud NFL franchise. With the track record that successful college coaches have had in the NFL it would certainly be a challenge. College coaches (including Stoops’ buddy Steve Spurrier) are failing in the NFL at an alarming rate because the game is so different. There really hasn’t been a coach to jump from the ranks of college football to success in the NFL since Jimmy Johnson. Before you jump on me shouting that, “Barry Switzer did it!” keep in mind that he didn’t jump from the college ranks to the NFL he jumped from retirement to the NFL and built on the success that Johnson had already established.
Football coaches seek and thrive on security and the NFL doesn’t necessarily offer that. Former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan provides a perfect example of that. After bringing the first two world championships ever to Denver he was fired after not getting the job done the last few years even though he entered the final week of the season with a shot at winning the AFC West title. Stoops has it made in Norman! He has the money and security that NFL coaches would sacrifice a franchise quarterback for. So what would he leave to go to the NFL for?
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