Former Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops is helping coach the Sooners again because of coronavirus issues.
The Sooners had to postpone last Saturday's game against West Virginia and temporarily paused organized team activities due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing throughout the program.
The situation affected the assistant coaching ranks, leading Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley to ask Stoops for help.
“It was great,” Riley said during a press conference with media members. “It’s nice. It’s been kind of in our hip pocket this whole time. If we had any staff member that fell off, we’ve got a Hall of Famer sitting on the bench. So that’s a pretty good bench when you can call that guy up.”
"I'm back."@CoachBobStoops, probably.
🎥 https://t.co/XhOdfeJeYP | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/G6SAfOFKhG
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) December 1, 2020
Stoops led the Sooners to 10 conference championships and a national title in 18 seasons.
He was able to jump in immediately because he has remained an institutional staff member since he retired in 2017.
In 2019, Stoops came out of retirement to coach the XFL's Dallas Renegades before the league folded due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Drake Stoops, his son, is a receiver for the Sooners.
