Sports

Sooners Coach Lincoln Riley Calls In Bob Stoops After COVID-19 Depletes Assistant Coaching Staff

December 2, 2020 / 2:04 PM CST / CBS Texas

NORMAN, Okla (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — What do you do when COVID-19 affects not only students-athletes but the coaching staff of the University of Oklahoma football team? You call up a legend from the bench.

That's right, 'Big Game Bob is helping guide Sooner athletes again — at least for now — because of coronavirus issues.

The virus caused the Sooners to postpone last Saturday's game at West Virginia, and they temporarily paused organized team activities due to recent positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing throughout the program. The situation also shortened the list of working assistant coaches, leading Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley to ask former head coach Bob Stoops for help.

Oklahoma Sooners Head Coach Bob Stoops watches from the field during the Spring Game on April 8, 2017 in Norman Okla. (credit: Richard Rowe/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Riley said Stoops was on the field helping coach on Tuesday as the 13th-ranked Sooners prepared to host Baylor on Saturday. "It was great," he said. "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."

Stoops, 60, led the Sooners to 10 conference championships and a national title in 18 seasons and had a career record of 190-48 at Oklahoma.

"When Lincoln asked me if I'd be willing to help in a coaching role while he was a little short-handed, I didn't hesitate to say yes," Stoops said in a statement. "Certainly, I'm happy to do anything I can to assist the team for however long I'm asked to."

Stoops was able to jump in immediately because he has remained an institutional staff member since 2017, when he retired as head coach and Riley moved up from offensive coordinator to replace him.

Riley said the two still talk regularly.

"I always want to lean on him for any observations he has or experience going through different situations," Riley said.

Stoops came out of retirement to coach the Dallas Renegades of the XFL in 2019, before the league shut down. His son, Drake, is a receiver for the Sooners.

Stoops emphasized that his role would be minimal.

"If I can add some enthusiasm or positive energy for these players — and I do know most of them — that's a good thing," Stoops said. "But let's not get carried away. The people that will influence this game and the rest of our games this season will be coach Riley, his staff and the players. I'm just going to do my best to help out however I can while keeping a low profile."

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