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Revision as of 19:28, 18 December 2008
Michael J. Stoops (born December 31, 1961) was previously the head football coach at the University of Arizona, his first head coaching position. He previously served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa, Kansas State University and the University of Oklahoma. He is the younger brother of Oklahoma head coach, Bob Stoops.
In December 2008 Stoops accepted the Head Coaching position at Iowa State University joining his brother Bob as Big 12 Conference Head Coaches. Stoops agreed to a five year deal to coach the Cyclones at a reported $1.25 million per season. The contract is reportedly contingent upon Stoops' willingness to allow his image to be used on a commemorative coin.
Jamie Pollard, Iowa State's Athletic Director, proclaimed the hiring of Stoops as "a continuation of the unblemished record of success since I arrived at Iowa State, and a sharp stick in the eye to those hated Hawkeyes and their fans." He then wept openly.
Playing career
Stoops attended Cardinal Mooney HS in Youngstown, Ohio before playing for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes (1983-1986). He was a two-time all-Big Ten selection.[1]
Stoops' limited professional football playing career saw him play as a replacement player with the 1987 Chicago Bears during the NFL Strike. He played safety in three games with the Bears that year.
Earlier in the summer of 1987, Stoops would become one of the original 80 Arena Football League players when he suited up for the Pittsburgh Gladiators. Stoops was a key member of the Gladiators that season who went onto play in the inaugural ArenaBowl (losing to Denver 45-16).
In the six-game AFL regular season, Stoops caught 22 passes, scored 3 TD's, made 15 tackles and recorded an interception playing both WR and DB positions.
Coaching career
Mike Stoops' first coaching job was with the Rice Owls.
He has also held assistant coaching positions at the University of Iowa, Kansas State University and the University of Oklahoma. On his hiring by Arizona in November 2003, Stoops became the school's youngest coach at hiring (41) since Larry Smith.[2] Upon taking over, he hired his brother, Miami defensive backs coach Mark Stoops, as defensive coordinator and New York Jets wide receivers coach Mike Canales as offensive coordinator. Canales was replaced by Texas Tech co-offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes after the 2006 season. Dykes, named to the All-American Football Foundation's Mike Campbell Top Assistant Award, is cited as one of the countries brightest offensive minds and top ten college recruiters by Rivals.com.
Highlights
- In 2004, his first year, Stoops guided his team to an improved 3-8 record, including a victory over No. 20 Arizona State.
- In 2005, the Wildcats defeated No. 7 UCLA at home 52-14.
- In 2006, Stoops led the Wildcats to an improved 6-6 record, the first non-losing season for the school since 1998 when the Wildcats went 12-1 under Dick Tomey. The team also defeated No. 8 California at home 24-20.
- In 2007, his Wildcats defeated then-No. 2 Oregon Ducks, without injured QB Dennis Dixon, 34-24 in Tucson on Nov 15th, it was Stoops 4th win over a ranked team in 4 years, all in the month of November.
- In 2008 the Wildcats earned their first bowl birth under Stoops, playing in the Las Vegas Bowl
On the hot seat
After going 6-6 in 2006, the Wildcats lost 3 of their first four games in 2007, including a 29-27 loss at home to New Mexico. In that game, Stoops gained a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his behavior on the sideline, which led directly to a New Mexico touchdown.
Following a 21-20 home loss to Stanford, dropping the team to 2-6, local media began speculating as to whether or not Stoops would be fired.[3][4] However, subsequent statements by the athletic director and university president indicated that Stoops would return for an additional season.[5]
2008 Season
At the beginning of the season, many believed this to be the year Stoops and the Wildcats would reach their first college bowl game in a decade; a winning season was considered almost a must in order for Stoops to remain as Wildcats head coach[6]. Under the direction of Stoops, Arizona scored 70 points in the season opener against the Idaho Vandals, falling just 4 points short of a school record for points scored in a game. They went on to soundly defeat the Toledo Rockets, UCLA Bruins, Washington Huskies, and the California Golden Bears, but lost close games to New Mexico and Stanford.
They went on to defeat Washington State on the road to secure bowl eligibility at six wins, but lost to Oregon on the road after mounting a dramatic second-half come-from-behind rally, and to Oregon State in Tucson on a last-second Beavers field goal; the Wildcats' final game of the regular season was a 31-10 victory on December 6 in Tucson against archrival Arizona State in the annual Territorial Cup rivalry game. With the win and a final regular season record of 7-5, Arizona accepted a bid from the Las Vegas Bowl to face BYU; it will be the Wildcats' first bowl appearance since the 1998 Holiday Bowl.
Stoops' reputation in Tucson is mixed as the 2008 regular season ends on a high note; while the Wildcats have a winning record and are going to their first bowl in ten years, many fans were divided during the season as to whether or not he should be retained as head coach, as they expected Stoops to guide the team to an eight, nine or even ten-win season given the talent level and the offensive and defensive systems employed by the Wildcats (and with the overall talent level in the Pac-10 conference not as strong as usual in 2008). While Stoops has brought the Wildcat football program to a level of respectability which was lost during the era of John Mackovic, some are disappointed the program is not at the elite level of Stoops' former program Oklahoma or of perennial Pac-10 football power USC.[7] However, Stoops has been given strong votes of confidence by UA athletic director Jim Livengood, by university president Dr. Robert Shelton, and by several prominent Arizona football boosters.[8]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arizona (PAC-10) (2003–present) | |||||||||
| 2004 | Arizona | 3–8 | 2–6 | T–8th | |||||
| 2005 | Arizona | 3–8 | 2–6 | 8th | |||||
| 2006 | Arizona | 6–6 | 4–5 | T–5th | |||||
| 2007 | Arizona | 5–7 | 4–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2008 | Arizona | 7–5 | 5–4 | 5th | |||||
| Arizona: | 23–33 | 16–25 | |||||||
| Total: | 23–33 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
References
- ^ "2007 Big Ten Media Guide" (PDF). p. 93.
- ^ Arizona hires Oklahoma's Mike Stoops USA Today, November 29, 2003
- ^ As year careens downhill, expect some heads to roll by Greg Hansen, Arizona Daily Star, October 21, 2007
- ^ Dark days for Wildcats football by Anthony Gimino, The Arizona Republic, October 23, 2007
- ^ Prevenas, Nick (2007-11-08). "Resurgent Wildcats sticking with Stoops". Green Valley News. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Gimino: No wiggle room for Stoops", Anthony Gimino, Tucson Citizen, July 24, 2008
- ^ "Critics not bowled over by UA"; John Moredich, Tucson Citizen, Nov. 28, 2008
- ^ "UA football boosters still believe in Stoops", John Moredich, Tucson Citizen, December 4, 2008