The Oklahoma Sooners biggest rivals, the Texas Longhorns have made another hire to their new coaching staff. According to a report from Matt Zenitz, they have hired former associate head coach and defensive coordinator Mike Stoops.
Stoops had two different stints on the Sooners staff with his brother and Hall of Fame coach Bob Stoops. Mike Stoops joined Oklahoma from 1999-2003 before leaving to take the head coaching job with the Arizona Wildcats until 2011. Stoops would rejoin the staff in 2012, where he would remain until 2018. For the last two seasons, Mike was an analyst with the Alabama Crimson Tide. He worked with Nick Saban’s staff and now will return to a coaching role in Austin.
Sources: Alabama analyst Mike Stoops is expected to be hired by Steve Sarkisian at Texas. Sounds like he'll be linebackers coach.
Spent the last two years at Bama after seven seasons as the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma.https://t.co/QcRSZtk4Ep
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 22, 2021
The Longhorns only remaining spot was the linebackers coach, which will now be filled by the former Sooners assistant. When these two teams meet in Dallas for the Red River Shootout, Oklahoma fans will see a familiar face on the opposite sideline.
Overall, Stoops has spent every year from 1991 to 2018 as a full-time assistant and head coach. He coached with his brother at Kansas State before arriving in Norman to help the Sooners win the National Championship in 2000.
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