Stoops to ND...more rumors from a "paid" to play scout site.

PrimeX · Post by **PrimeX** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:10 pm

What I'm Hearing About Stoops AND Kelly

As mentioned before, most universities hire an outside consultant to look at a number of candidates and use back channels to communicate about coaching positions. In this day and age, obviously information needs to be kept confidential when peoples’ jobs are being talked about and that is the way it’s done now.

From the information I have gathered, the consultant that represents Notre Dame has talked to people from the Stoop’s party and have an agreement in place verbally for him to accept the job.

So, when Bob Stoops says he hasn’t talked to Notre Dame, he’s telling the truth. When Jack Swarbrick says he hasn’t talked to any coaches, he’s telling the truth. A middle man (lack of a better term) handles these things confidentially.

What I have heard from five different sources is that the Stoop’s party has agreed verbally to most of the contract between the two parties and is just waiting to get the final word on if his financial demands are going to be met by Notre Dame.

I was told Weis will be let go early this week and if all goes through with Stoops, he’ll be announced as head coach late this week.

I’m not citing my sources obviously or naming the middle man as I don’t want to screw anything up here if this information is all correct. These things can fall through and as I said, I’m going from sources here, but there is a lot of fire here, not just smoke. I will say that the sources go from the Oklahoma side, to the Notre Dame side and to neutral parties.

So, at this point all the information I am getting is that once the contract has ink on it, Bob Stoops will be the next coach at Notre Dame. The last step is monetary from what I have been told.

I have also been told that Brian Kelly is not an option at all, period. The reasons cited to me were his direct and indirect involvement with both Gary Hart (while he was a student at Assumption) and John Kerry during campaigns.

Matt Alkire
Recruiting Analyst
matta@scout.com

I ain't sayin', just sayin'.

If this were true, who would OU be interested in going after?

An no, I don't think this is good for Texas or the Big 12 in general. More recruits for the Ags, and Oklahoma falling down a few notches would not benefit the conference at all.

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:14 pm

Why? Why would Stoops want to leave OU for ND? That's not even a lateral move, and he sure as hell doesn't need the money.

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:25 pm

Jsc810 wrote:A friend of mine, who used to coach in the college and pros, told me that he wouldn't be surprised to see Nick Saban go to Notre Dame, especially if he wins a national championship this year.

And he was basing this on...?

Degenerate · Post by **Degenerate** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:26 pm

Jsc810 wrote:A friend of mine, who used to coach in the college and pros, told me that he wouldn't be surprised to see Nick Saban go to any team besides his current one, especially if he wins a national championship this year.

Fixed.

SunCoastSooner · Post by **SunCoastSooner** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 5:29 pm

If Stoops were to leave I'd think the main two targets would be Patterson at TCU and Sumlin at Houston.

War Stoops · Post by **War Stoops** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 6:06 pm

I still think it's very unlikely to happen, but to answer the original question, the top candidates would be (in no particular order):

Gary Patterson
Brent Venables
Kevin Sumlin
Mike Stoops
Butch Davis
Brian Kelly
Mike Leach

I'm in the minority here, but I'd go with Mike Stoops. I think he's done well with what he has in Zona and I think that hire would make for the easiest transition. The fan base wants Patterson or Kelly. But Venables would get the job.

War Stoops · Post by **War Stoops** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 8:36 pm

Stoops just gave an interview with the OU Rivals guy, Carey Murdock, where he stated flatly that he's staying at Oklahoma. The quote is below. Murdock was on the local sports radio later and said there was indeed an offer from ND of 8 years and $24 million with unknown incentives. That's a pay-cut by the way. I'm one happy Sooner...hoping nothing changes.

"I intend to be at Oklahoma. That's the only thing I'm looking to do. I will never confirm or deny whether I talk or not talk to anybody and I won't interview for any jobs," Stoops said just moments ago. "I'm going to be at Oklahoma next year. I can't be at two places at once."

-Bob Stoops

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 8:43 pm

Weis officially out...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4700891

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 8:44 pm

I can't be at two places at once.

Slacker.

-TimTebow(tm)

Terry in Crapchester · Mon Nov 30, 2009 8:50 pm

I was gonna report that Weis was out at ND, but BtH (and then Shoalzie) beat me to it.

Fwiw, I tried to get on ND Nation just now, and couldn't. Not sure whether they're getting more traffic than they can handle, or the Board Ops preemptively shut it down.

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 8:51 pm

Time for you to brush up your resume, Terry.

Oh, wait. You're too politically liberal for them. Nevermind.

SunCoastSooner · Post by **SunCoastSooner** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:54 pm

Stoops, Gruden, and Meyer have all already shot them down... who's #4 on the list?

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 10:26 pm

They can have Rocky Seto, Jeremy Bates or Johnny Morton. In fact, let's do a package deal. Please.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 2:15 am

SunCoastSooner wrote:Stoops, Gruden, and Meyer have all already shot them down... who's #4 on the list?

Funny....same thing happened last time. And when Weis was finally hired, ND Faithful claimed he was the one they wanted all along. Next thing you know, Bill Snyder will get the job and they'll claim he was the chosen one all along.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:22 am

Is there anyone here who would not listen to some recruiter trying to get your service to see what they have to offer? I'm sure that is exactly what Stoops did (again). Check the offer...if bigger than current salary, take it back to OU and ask for raise. In this case, the offer seemed lower so now he's in damage control saying he's going to be at OU while stating he will not talk about who he has talked to or not. He obviously had talks with ND. He didn't like the $ amount and stuck with OU. This is all normal. Cue the "nothing to see here" guy.

TheJON · Post by **TheJON** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 4:39 am

SunCoastSooner wrote:If Stoops were to leave I'd think the main two targets would be Patterson at TCU and Sumlin at Houston.

No offense to those coaches, but you're Oklahoma............those guys are mid-major coaches specifically. There's no difference between them and that dolt Mike Leach.

OU can do a lot better, not that it matters because Stoops isn't going anywhere.

SunCoastSooner · Post by **SunCoastSooner** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:00 am

TheJON wrote:
SunCoastSooner wrote:If Stoops were to leave I'd think the main two targets would be Patterson at TCU and Sumlin at Houston.
No offense to those coaches, but you're Oklahoma............those guys are mid-major coaches specifically. There's no difference between them and that dolt Mike Leach.

OU can do a lot better, not that it matters because Stoops isn't going anywhere.

Kevin Sumlin has a pedigree and Houston is just a stepping stone for that man. He has a future and is going to be a serious coach for whatever big program eventually picks him up. His offensive schemes and game planning are works of art.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:02 am

SunCoastSooner wrote:Stoops, Gruden, and Meyer have all already shot them down...

Where'd you get this information?

TheJON · Post by **TheJON** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:03 am

Kevin Sumlin has a pedigree and Houston is just a stepping stone for that man. He has a future and is going to be a serious coach for whatever big program eventually picks him up. His offensive schemes and game planning are works of art.

That's what they say/said about Charlie Weis and Mike Leach, but that doesn't make them good big-time CFB coaches.

OU could get pretty close to whoever they want. Settling for coaches that have proven nothing more than they can win at a mid-major would be striving far too low.

SunCoastSooner · Post by **SunCoastSooner** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:06 am

Terry in Crapchester wrote:
SunCoastSooner wrote:Stoops, Gruden, and Meyer have all already shot them down...
Where'd you get this information?

Gruden and Meyer were never offered or talked to but both have already stated that they are not interested in the position. Stoops, I believe, has made it pretty clear in his statements.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:10 am

One advantage ND has this year is that right now, ND has the highest-profile coaching vacancy in the country. IIRC, the closest confirmed competitors right now are Louisville and Virginia. Even if Bowden retires, as long as Florida State lives up to its promise and hires Fisher, there's no formal coaching search going on there. Yes, there's talk about Stoops leaving Oklahoma, but he'd be leaving Oklahoma for ND, so if the Oklahoma job comes open, by definition the ND job will have been filled in the process.

In 2004, by contrast, ND had to compete with the Florida job.

Killian · Post by **Killian** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:20 pm

IndyFrisco wrote:
SunCoastSooner wrote:Stoops, Gruden, and Meyer have all already shot them down... who's #4 on the list?
Funny....same thing happened last time. And when Weis was finally hired, ND Faithful claimed he was the one they wanted all along. Next thing you know, Bill Snyder will get the job and they'll claim he was the chosen one all along.

This is bullshit. There isn't a Notre Dame fan around that will say they wanted Willingham or Weis "all along". What ND fans wanted was a compitent search run by an AD that had a clue about what he was doing that didn't result in egg on ND's face. Kevin White was 0-3 if you count the O'Leary fiasco. The sad thing is that Swarbrick appears to be doing everything right this time around. He has already vetted multiple candidates, established a pecking order and is working his way down the order. If we had this type of search either of the last two times, ND would have wound up with Jon Gruden in 2001 or Urban Meyer in 2004.

ND fans were parsing the words of Stoops because there was a thought amongst some of the "in the know" crowd that intrest was reciprocated. After the "non denial, denial" yesterday most people put it to bed. Hearing the interview, it sounded as if Stoops may have been tap dancing around the question which gave it a second wind. His statements last night were the final death knell to any further speculation for most people. People were still thinking ND had a shot because he didn't offer an emphatic denial the same way he did to UF in 2004.

Gruden has not shot them down, although I don't expect him to be approached given Swarbrick's mission to hire a coach with experience building and maintaining a D1 program. Meyer did publicly shoot them down, but that hasn't stopped him from jumping ship before. No, ND will not be hiring Urban Meyer, but a public statement isn't the reason.

My guess is that by the beginning of next week, Brian Kelly will be hired as the head coach. If that's the case, it will be the same wait and see attitude that was there with Davie, Willingham and Weis. You would think at some point ND would have to luck into the right hire, but who knows. It will be another cycle of not knowing what the fuck is going to happen.

SunCoastSooner · Post by **SunCoastSooner** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:24 pm

Killian wrote:
IndyFrisco wrote:
SunCoastSooner wrote:Stoops, Gruden, and Meyer have all already shot them down... who's #4 on the list?
Funny....same thing happened last time. And when Weis was finally hired, ND Faithful claimed he was the one they wanted all along. Next thing you know, Bill Snyder will get the job and they'll claim he was the chosen one all along.
This is bullshit. There isn't a Notre Dame fan around that will say they wanted Willingham or Weis "all along". What ND fans wanted was a compitent search run by an AD that had a clue about what he was doing that didn't result in egg on ND's face. Kevin White was 0-3 if you count the O'Leary fiasco. The sad thing is that Swarbrick appears to be doing everything right this time around. He has already vetted multiple candidates, established a pecking order and is working his way down the order. If we had this type of search either of the last two times, ND would have wound up with Jon Gruden in 2001 or Urban Meyer in 2004.

ND fans were parsing the words of Stoops because there was a thought amongst some of the "in the know" crowd that intrest was reciprocated. After the "non denial, denial" yesterday most people put it to bed. Hearing the interview, it sounded as if Stoops may have been tap dancing around the question which gave it a second wind. His statements last night were the final death knell to any further speculation for most people. People were still thinking ND had a shot because he didn't offer an emphatic denial the same way he did to UF in 2004.

Gruden has not shot them down, although I don't expect him to be approached given Swarbrick's mission to hire a coach with experience building and maintaining a D1 program. Meyer did publicly shoot them down, but that hasn't stopped him from jumping ship before. No, ND will not be hiring Urban Meyer, but a public statement isn't the reason.

My guess is that by the beginning of next week, Brian Kelly will be hired as the head coach. If that's the case, it will be the same wait and see attitude that was there with Davie, Willingham and Weis. You would think at some point ND would have to luck into the right hire, but who knows. It will be another cycle of not knowing what the fuck is going to happen.

Stoops didn't emphatically deny Florida in 2004, he handled it pretty much the same way he did this, after he admitted having a meeting with the AD at Florida... Stoops listened to what Florida had to say and offer before declining... Might want to get your facts straight.

Van · Post by **Van** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:31 pm

Saban is non demonational, like all fallen angels.

Van · Post by **Van** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:33 pm

Yep, it was merely a cool typo.

I like it!

Killian · Post by **Killian** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:51 pm

SunCoastSooner wrote: Stoops didn't emphatically deny Florida in 2004, he handled it pretty much the same way he did this, after he admitted having a meeting with the AD at Florida... Stoops listened to what Florida had to say and offer before declining... Might want to get your facts straight.

This sounds pretty emphatic to me:

"I have great respect for the people at Florida and a lot of good memories from my time there, but to end the speculation that is ongoing, I want to make it clear that I have no interest in the position that is currently available there," Stoops said. "It is a privilege to be the head coach at Oklahoma and I am fully concentrating on having the best season we can have, and in building the strongest program we can build."

No where, this time around, did he offer anything such as "I have no interest in the position at Notre Dame". He tap danced around the question at his conference call yesterday and had to issue another statement about it later on.

So what was it again about my facts?

SunCoastSooner · Post by **SunCoastSooner** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 3:57 pm

Killian wrote:
SunCoastSooner wrote: Stoops didn't emphatically deny Florida in 2004, he handled it pretty much the same way he did this, after he admitted having a meeting with the AD at Florida... Stoops listened to what Florida had to say and offer before declining... Might want to get your facts straight.
This sounds pretty emphatic to me:

"I have great respect for the people at Florida and a lot of good memories from my time there, but to end the speculation that is ongoing, I want to make it clear that I have no interest in the position that is currently available there," Stoops said. "It is a privilege to be the head coach at Oklahoma and I am fully concentrating on having the best season we can have, and in building the strongest program we can build."

No where, this time around, did he offer anything such as "I have no interest in the position at Notre Dame". He tap danced around the question at his conference call yesterday and had to issue another statement about it later on.

So what was it again about my facts?

He made that statement after he had admitted talking to Foley and discussing the matter. He has emphatically stated this time around that he has had no contact with Notre Dame and neither has his agent.

Killian · Post by **Killian** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 4:01 pm

And I'm sure that's true, at face value.

MuchoBulls · Post by **MuchoBulls** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:04 pm

SunCoastSooner wrote:Stoops, Gruden, and Meyer have all already shot them down... who's #4 on the list?

Meyer has also said that ND is his dream job. If he were to win the National Championship again this season, then I can certainly see him fulfilling his dream job. He'd have nothing left to prove at UF if they won again, plus they will be losing a ton of players on both sides of the ball.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:33 pm

Killian wrote:If we had this type of search either of the last two times, ND would have wound up with Jon Gruden in 2001 or Urban Meyer in 2004.

Slightly off topic here, but I'll go out on a limb (not much of one, in reality) and say that ND's coaching search problems began with the search to replace Holtz in '96. Back then, ND's search should have included one name and one name only: Barry Alvarez. Alvarez had been the DC on ND's '88 national championship team, and had already established his head coaching bona fides by taking Wisconsin -- a team that had been a laughingstock prior to his arrival there -- to the Rose Bowl. No question in my mind that Alvarez would have jumped at the opportunity to coach ND back then. Instead, Wadsworth screwed around with the flavor of the month at the time (Gary Barnett), and when that didn't pan out, turned to Bob Davie. The rest, as they say, is history.

My guess is that by the beginning of next week, Brian Kelly will be hired as the head coach. If that's the case, it will be the same wait and see attitude that was there with Davie, Willingham and Weis. You would think at some point ND would have to luck into the right hire, but who knows. It will be another cycle of not knowing what the fuck is going to happen.

That's about where I am right now, as well. If PrimeX's link turns out to be credible (and I should stress that I have no reason to believe that the source for the link knows anything more about what's going on now than you or I do), then I suppose I could live with either Patterson or Peterson, again with a "wait and see" approach. Fitzgerald? Not so much.

Killian · Post by **Killian** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:49 pm

Herbstreit just said on ESPN that ND will meet with Stoops later this week. So, you can officially put this to bed. Stoops isn't coming to ND.

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:53 pm

Mark Patterson off the list too. He inked a new long term deal with TCU.

Killian · Post by **Killian** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:59 pm

I don't think ND is going after him, but how would that take him off the list?

indyfrisco · Post by **indyfrisco** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 6:31 pm

Well, I assume that because he is inking the long term deal today (or tomorrow) means he's sticking with TCU, but as I've said before, college coaches can be trusted about as much as Diego with your kids.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Dec 01, 2009 8:53 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:I'm hoping all his "goddamn"s and "ass" and "shitstorm"s over the last few games will give ND pause.

If salty language were an automatic disqualifier for the ND job, then they never would've hired Weis in the first place. Or at least, that can be inferred from some of the posters at the ND homer boards who claim to have known Weis back when he was a student.

Of course, Weis knows enough not to swear in the general vicinity of a television camera, but I suspect Saban does as well.

SunCoastSooner · Post by **SunCoastSooner** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:46 am

Believe the Heupel wrote:First I've heard of that, Sam.

Stoops on WWLS tonight "Hey, guys, calling in from South Bend..." :D

Did he really do that? I think that would be hilarious. The mouth breathers would go nuts and every Waffle House in the state would have cooks trying to commit suicide.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 3:08 am

if i had to live with the OKC media, i'd fuck with them mighty.

SunCoastSooner · Post by **SunCoastSooner** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 3:26 am

Believe the Heupel wrote:Apparently he did.

FWIW, he was in San Diego. Roy Finch claims he just had an in-home visit, though of course Stoops can't confirm that.

From what I understood from a very inside source conversation earlier in the week Finch was having an OU in home this evening but not with Stoops... For what it's worth.

Kid is as solid to OU as it gets and lets us know it every Friday night after the games when he walks to where we sit and does the basketball style O and then U with his hands and arms... pretty sweet IMHO.

TheJON · Post by **TheJON** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 3:41 am

King Crimson wrote:if i had to live with the OKC media, i'd fuck with them mighty.

I'm not familiar with the OKC media but I can guarantee you they are well below the Des Moines media in terms of douchebaggery.

Iowa State's football program is every bit as good as Iowa's. Don't believe me? Ask the Des Moines media, they'll tell ya!

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 4:00 am

i've got an email that is second hand from a guy who works for the hiring firm ND hired that says Stoops is ready to go to ND. allegedly, a personal source. and actually, I grew up in Norman and know peeps close to the program....since the late 70's.

i don't believe it. but, hey?

when Stoops is on the road recruiting in San Diego and says "he's going to be at Oklahoma next year"....i think that's right.