Oklahoma Sooners name interim head coach after Lincoln Riley's departure

The 2021 coaching carousel got even more hectic on Sunday, as Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley reportedly accepted the USC head coaching job. Now, with Riley out, the Sooners are turning to a program legend to take over as the 10-2 Sooners head into the postseason: Bob Stoops.

According to a report from The Athletic, Stoops is coming out of retirement to coach Oklahoma in its impending postseason bowl game. Stoops last coached the Dallas Renegades of the XFL in 2020, but he has not coached in college since he left Oklahoma in 2016; after his departure, Riley took over as head coach.

Stoops was Oklahoma’s head coach from 1999-2016. He came to Oklahoma from Florida, where he served as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, and Oklahoma was the only head coaching job of his career. In 18 seasons, Stoops went to 18 bowl games, going 9-9 in postseason play. He won Oklahoma its last national title in 2000, when the Sooners finished 13-0 and won the Orange Bowl in just his second year at the helm. By the time of Stoops’ retirement in 2016, he had amassed a 190-48 record in Norman, and he was succeeded by Riley.

Riley shifted the college football landscape with one swift move Sunday, as he reportedly accepted the USC head coaching job, leaving his stable post in Oklahoma behind.

Contract details have yet to be announced. Per USA Today, Riley was the fifth-highest paid coach this season with a $7.672 million salary.

In his fifth season with the Sooners, Riley was tabbed as the heir to Stoops’ dynasty. Oklahoma is 10-2 this season and was on the cusp of a College Football Playoff berth until its loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday night. A win would have set up the Sooners to meet the Cowboys in Dallas for the Big 12 title this coming weekend.

Riley took over for Stoops in June 2017. Initially hired by Stoops as an offensive coordinator in 2015, Riley built the Sooners into a top-10 offense in the 2016 season and won the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach.

There are a handful of reasons why Riley would want to make the move. For starters, Oklahoma is set to join the SEC in the coming years and as early as 2023. While the Sooners are constantly in the playoff conversation and winners of six-consecutive Big 12 titles, making the jump to the most competitive conference in the nation could backfire.

With a 55-10 overall record and 37-7 mark in conference play at Oklahoma, Riley has made the playoff four times but still doesn’t have a national title game appearance. Making the move to USC gives the 38-year-old head coach a backyard loaded with talent.