A very unusual offseason for former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops has finally come to a conclusion.
After reportedly heading to become part of Texas’ coaching staff, and then suddenly falling out of favor there, Stoops is now signing on to become the new defensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic per Yahoo Sports’ Pet Thamel.
Sources: FAU expected to hire Mike Stoops as defensive coordinator. He's the former head coach at Arizona and a long-time DC in the Big 12 at Oklahoma and Kansas State. He'd been at Alabama as an analyst the last two seasons.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 28, 2021
Stoops’ time in Norman was certainly checkered, at first being a part of a fantastic Sooners defense that helped him land the head coaching job at Arizona. But, after returning to become the defensive coordinator once again with Oklahoma, it just didn’t work the second time around. The Sooners quickly became a national laughingstock for their defensive play which led to him ultimately being released.
After being let go from Oklahoma in 2018, Stoops became a defensive analyst with Alabama starting with the 2019 season. He now gets another crack at being a defensive coordinator with Florida Atlantic under head coach Willie Taggart.
It’ll be a tough test for Stoops right out of the gates in 2021, as the Owls open their season in Gainesville against Florida on Sep. 4th.
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