There is only one head football coach remaining in the Stoops family, and he can be found in the Southeastern Conference.
The surprising decision early last month by Bob Stoops to step down after 18 seasons as Oklahoma’s coach has left Kentucky’s Mark Stoops as the lone member of the family running his own show. Oldest brother Ron is the special teams coach at Youngstown State, which reached last season’s Championship Subdivision title game, while youngest brother Mike remains Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator under new Sooners boss Lincoln Riley.
Bob guided Oklahoma to a whopping 10 Big 12 championships and to the 2000 national title, and his decision caught Mark completely off guard.
“It’s one of those moments you won’t forget because he called me and it came out of the blue,” Stoops said during day three of SEC media days. “I really had no idea it was coming, but he called me and told me what was going to happen in the very near future, and it was a bit of a shock to me, to be honest with you. I had to walk out of my office and walk around the practice field.
“That’s where I had that conversation with him away from everybody. I was shocked and had mixed emotions. I’m very proud of him and what he’s done, and I’m very happy for him and Carol and his family to be able to step away when he wants and how he wants.”