Mark Stoops weighs in on his brother's return for Oklahoma bowl game

For one more bowl game, Bob Stoops will roam the Oklahoma sidelines. The Sooners legend is set to serve as interim coach later this month in the Alamo Bowl against Oregon.

His brief return will be a welcome sight for many OU supporters, including his brother Mark, the head coach at Kentucky.

“He’ll do just fine,” Mark Stoops said. “He’s got a lot of experience. I think he’ll be just fine. I think he was excited to hand over those recruiting reins to coach Venables, to Brent, because I think that one week that they activated him and made him go back to full time, I think that was enough for him to realize that retirement is good.”

The Sooners turned to Stoops after Lincoln Riley announced on Nov. 28 he was leaving Oklahoma for USC. He wouldn’t have to be the face of the program for long, as OU announced Brent Venables as the next head coach a little more than a week after.

Although most of the coaching duties now belong to Venables, Stoops will still lead the Sooners out in San Antonio. He’ll bring with him plenty of history and good memories.

Bob Stoops spent his entire head coaching career with Oklahoma, beginning in 1999. He retired in 2017 as the winningest coach in Sooners history with a 190-48 all-time record, including 9-9 in bowl games. He has one last chance to push his postseason record above .500 with a win against the Ducks.

The last time the Sooners played Oregon was in 2006, when Stoops was still in the prime of his coaching career. That game ended in controversy, as Oregon recovered a much-debated onside kick and scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute remaining. A late Sooners field goal attempt was blocked as Oregon claimed a 34-33 victory.

It only seems fitting that the bowl game gives Stoops and Oklahoma a chance at revenge. To many in Norman, that last game against the Ducks is still difficult to relive.

He’ll face an Oregon squad that will be without defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and receiver Devon Williams, who both declared for the NFL draft. The Sooners are also without several key players, including linebackers Nik Bonitto and Brian Asamoah.

Bryan McClendon, who has been the Ducks’ receivers coach since 2020, will serve as Oregon’s interim coach. This year’s Alamo Bowl will also be the first that Stoops has coached in as a head coach.