Every head coach to come from the Bob Stoops coaching tree

Since he was able to coach under three of the most legendary college coaches of the era, Hayden Fry, Bill Snyder, and Steve Spurrier, Bob Stoops was given the chance firsthand to see how to cultivate young coaches into the leaders of men they must be to become a successful head coach. To this point, 12 of Stoops assistants from his time at Oklahoma have gone on to become head coaches at the college level, and it seems as though every year another former Stoops assistant gets his chance to be the head honcho somewhere. Today we’ll take a dive into how each of those 12 coaches have done in the role of head coach, as well as the road they took to get there.

Mike Leach

One of the most lovable coaches in college football history, his postgame interviews were must watch television. On the football side of things, Leach will forever be associated with the air-raid offense, an offensive attack that leaned nearly exclusively on the passing game, a strategy he pioneered along with Hal Mumme during their time together at Valdosta State and Kentucky. The early stages of Leach’s career are maybe the most unorthodox of the modern era, a description that fits the rest of his career perfectly. Leach didn’t play football past high school, instead playing rugby at BYU from 1979-1983. Afterwards, Leach would complete law school at Pepperdine University, as well as gaining his masters in sports science from the United States Sports Academy in 1988.

Leach would get his first coaching job as the Cal Poly o-line coach in 1987. After a year as the head coach of the Poi Bears in Finland, Leach would return to the states as the offensive coordinator of Iowa Wesleyan under Hal Mumme. He would follow Mumme from there to Valdosta State, and then to Kentucky before being hired by Bob Stoops as the offensive coordinator for his first season in Norman. After just one season in Norman, Texas Tech gave Leach his first job as a Head Coach.

From 2000-2009, Leach accumulated an 84-43 record, and had cemented his legacy as the most decorated coach in Texas Tech’s history. Leach would go on to coach at both Washington State and Mississippi State after his time in Lubbock, and would compile a career head coaching record of 158-107.

On December 11, 2022, Leach was hospitalized after complications from a heart condition, complications which would ultimately take his life the next day at the age of 61. His death sent shockwaves throughout the world of college football, and continues to serve as a reminder to us all to enjoy the little moments in life just as Coach Leach did.

Chuck Long

One of the most decorated players in Iowa football history, during his senior season Long won the Maxwell Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Big Ten Player of the Year, was a consensus All-American, and was runner-up to Bo Jackson in the Heisman Trophy race. After being unable to replicate his college success at the professional level, Long would return to Iowa in 1995 as the defensive backs coach. An unusual position to hire your former quarterbacks coach for, but it worked out. Long was considered a successful hire during his three seasons as the DB coach before being moved to quarterbacks coach after the 1997 season.

After Mike Leach was hired by Texas Tech, Long was hired by his former teammate Bob Stoops to take over as Oklahoma’s quarterbacks coach. Long remained at Oklahoma through the 2005 season, moving up to co-offensive coordinator before the 2002 season, before being hired by San Diego State to be their next head coach. He was never able to replicate his assistant coaching success as a head man, only lasting just under three seasons before he was fired prior to the final game of the season. Long would later become the offensive coordinator for Kansas, as well as jumping around the XFL as an assistant, a position he currently holds. 

Mark Mangino

Mangino enjoyed a highly successful career on the field, but off the field he was on the end of too many controversies to keep him on the sidelines. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater Youngstown State in 1985. From there he would go on to be the offensive coordinator at Geneva College and then the head coach at Lincoln HS in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. After just one season there, Mangino took an assistant coaching position with Kansas State, a position he would serve in from 1991-1998.

When Bob Stoops was hired as the new Oklahoma head coach, he brought in Mangino as his first offensive line coach. After previous OC Mike Leach took the head coaching job at Texas Tech, Mangino was promoted to the same role, which he would fill for two years, including 2000 when Oklahoma won the national championship. Following the 2001 season, Mangino was hired by Kansas to be their next head coach, a position he kept until his resignation in 2009.

Mangino was very successful in Lawrence, leading the Jayhawks to their best season in recent history in 2007, a season in which Mangino would win nearly every coach of the year award that’s given out. After his time at Kansas, Mangino served short stints as an assistant at Youngstown State and Iowa State, and hasn’t coached since 2015.

Jay Norvell

Jay Norvell, son of former Michigan State Athletic Director Merritt Norvell, played his college football at Iowa under legendary coach Hayden Fry at the same time that Bob Stoops both played for and then served as an assistant coach for the Hawkeyes. He would return to Iowa to begin his coaching career as a GA for the Hawkeyes in 1986.

Norvell would jump around the college ranks as an assistant for 12 years before being hired by the Indianapolis Colts as their wide receivers coach in 1998. He would stay in the NFL until taking a job as the offensive coordinator for Nebraska in 2004. After a stint at UCLA in the same role, Norvell was hired by Oklahoma as an assistant offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach.

In 2017 Norvell was given his first head coaching opportunity at the University of Nevada. After a 3-9 record in his first year, Norvell never had a losing season throughout the rest of his tenure. In 2022 Norvell was hired away by Colorado State, where he remains currently. 

Bo Pelini

Although they weren’t there at the same time, Bo Pelini and Bob Stoops actually both attended Cardinal Mooney HS in Youngstown, Ohio. Pelini would play out his college career as a free safety at Ohio State University, before taking a common career path among those who coached under Bob Stoops, taking on a role as a GA under Hayden Fry at Iowa.

After a year coaching at his former high school, Pelini made the jump to coaching in the NFL, taking a role as a scouting assistant for the 49ers. Not long after he was promoted to the defensive backs coach, a role he served in until he was hired away by the New England Patriots. He would stay in the NFL until 2003 when he was hired as the defensive coordinator of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

It was here where he would get his first head coaching experience, serving as the interim for the 2003 Alamo Bowl against Michigan State. Nebraska would then decide to go in a different direction, hiring Bill Callahan to fill the role instead. Pelini would then go to Oklahoma where he would serve as the co-defensive coordinator for one season. After three seasons as the defensive coordinator for LSU, Nebraska was once again in need of a head coach, and this time they would name Pelini the man for the job.

Pelini was the head coach for six years until 2014 when he was fired amid off field controversies. He compiled a 67-27 record at Nebraska, and never lost more than four games in a single season during his time there. He would later become the head coach in his hometown at Youngstown State, as well as serving as the defensive coordinator for LSU for a second time, but never saw the same success he saw in Lincoln. 

Mike Stoops

Bob’s brother Mike was a polarizing figure for much of his career. Mike began his coaching career at Iowa as a GA and then later the linebackers and defensive backs coach. He stayed with the Hawkeyes until 1992 when he was hired away by Kansas State to be the defensive ends coach. Stoops served in many different roles for the Wildcats over his tenure there before he was brought to Norman by Bob in 1999 as the co-defensive coordinator. He was in Norman for four years until he was hired by Arizona as their next Head Coach in 2003.

His time in Tucson was a mixed bag, with many fans disagreeing on whether or not they believed he was the right man for the job. He was experiencing more success than his predecessor, but was never exceptional, and some fans thought he should be accomplishing more than he was based on the talent he had brought in. After a poor start to the 2011 season, Stoops was let go just halfway through the season.

He was brought back to Norman shortly after as the coordinator, where he would stay until 2018. After experiencing some early success following his return, it wasn’t long before he would become the sacrificial lamb for a putrid Sooners defense, that many consider the reason OU wasn’t able to get over the hump to the national championship.

After he was fired in 2018, Stoops would take a position as an analyst for Alabama in hopes to revitalize his career. He has taken assistant jobs at Florida Atlantic and Kentucky in recent years, and currently remains at Kentucky under brother Mark Stoops. 

Kevin Sumlin

Kevin Sumlin spent his playing days at Purdue as a linebacker, and was one of the best at his position in the country during his time there. After walking on to the team in 1983, Sumlin would go on to lead the team in tackles with 91 in his freshman season, earning Sports Illustrated’s walk-on of the year award. He was All Big Ten twice, racked up 375 total tackles, and helped lead the Boilermakers to one of their best seasons in program history in his final season. Three years after his days at Purdue were over, Sumlin had still been unable to get his footing in any professional leagues, so he turned his attention to the world of coaching.

He would take his first coaching job in 1989 as a grad assistant at Washington State. His journey would take him to Wyoming, Minnesota, and back to his alma mater Purdue, before he wound up at Texas A&M as an associate head coach and wide receivers coach. The next season he was promoted to offensive coordinator of the Aggies, a role he would only serve in for one season before heading to Norman to coach tight ends and special teams under Bob Stoops. In 2006, Sumlin was given co-offensive coordinator duties, a position he thrived in, producing top offenses both years in the role. After the 2007 season, Sumlin got his first head coaching opportunity with the Houston Cougars.

Sumlin spent four years at Houston, and led them to two conference titles, including a 12-1 record and appearance in the TicketCity Bowl in his final season. Sumlin never stepped on the field for the TicketCity Bowl though, as he accepted the head coaching job at Texas A&M before bowl season rolled around. In his first season in College Station, Sumlin led Johnny Manziel and the Aggies to an 11-2 season and a dominating win over Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.

He was never able to replicate the same success post-Manziel though, and was eventually fired at the conclusion of the 2017 season. After a forgetful tenure at Arizona, Sumlin found himself coaching the Houston Gamblers of the USFL. He has since made his return to the college level, taking the associate head coach and co-offensive coordinator job at Maryland. 

Kevin Wilson

Wilson began his career as a walk-on offensive lineman at UNC, but would eventually play his way to earning a scholarship. Immediately following his tenure as a player for the Tar Heels, he would begin his coaching career for North Carolina as a grad assistant. He continued in that role for three years, following it up with a job as the offensive line coach at Winston-Salem State. Over the next two years, Wilson would serve as the offensive coordinator for North Carolina A&T, and as head coach for Fred T Foard High School in Maiden, North Carolina.

After a one year stint at the high school level, Wilson returned to college, taking a job as the offensive line coach for Miami (OH), where he would remain for eight years, eventually working his way up the ladder to being offensive coordinator. From there, Wilson would serve as the offensive coordinator at Northwestern for three seasons before he was hired by Bob Stoops and the Sooners.

He spent eight years in Norman, a place he enjoyed a great deal of success, including winning the Broyles Award in 2008, before he was hired as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers. He somewhat revived an otherwise dead Indiana football program, leading them to bowl appearances in his fifth and sixth seasons, but after allegations of player mistreatment, was let go prior to the Foster Farms Bowl in 2016. In 2017, Wilson was hired by Ohio State as their offensive coordinator where he once again had great success in that role. After the 2022 season, Wilson was announced as the next head coach of Tulsa University. 

Lincoln Riley

A name that every Sooners fan young and old is certainly familiar with, Lincoln Riley began his playing career as a walk-on quarterback for Texas Tech where he played under another Bob Stoops protege, Mike Leach. After only one season on the roster, Riley made the switch to coaching, becoming a student assistant and then a grad assistant for the Red Raiders. In 2007 he was given a promotion to wide receivers coach, a position he held until 2010 when he was hired as the offensive coordinator of East Carolina.

He manned that post until 2015 when he was brought in by Bob Stoops as the Sooners Offensive Coordinator. After two successful seasons in that role, he was chosen to replace the legendary Coach Stoops as Oklahoma’s head coach. He would lead Oklahoma to the playoff in each of his first three seasons, but progressively found himself further from the winning side of those games. A tough Bedlam loss to end the 2021 regular season led to rumors swirling of Riley’s impending departure to LSU, however in his postgame interview, Riley assured Sooners fans he was not leaving for Baton Rouge.

Technically he didn’t lie, instead abruptly leaving for Los Angeles, taking the job as Head Coach at USC. In his only season so far at USC, the same defensive and late game issues that plagued his otherwise successful time in Norman, doomed the Trojans playoff chances as well.

Josh Heupel

The first quarterback of the Bob Stoops era in Norman, Josh Heupel will always be remembered for his exceptional season in 2000, helping to lead the Sooners to their last National Championship victory. After a short pro career, Heupel returned to Norman as a grad assistant in 2004. He spent one season at Arizona as the tight ends coach in 2005, before returning to Norman once again, this time as the quarterbacks coach, a role he served in exclusively until 2011. It was then that he got the promotion to co-offensive coordinator, which he served as until the end of the 2014 season.

After 2014 where the Sooners struggled on the offensive side of the ball, Heupel was controversially let go. He would later spend a season as the Utah State offensive coordinator, before landing his first job in the SEC with Missouri. After the departure of Scott Frost, Heupel was selected as the new head coach of UCF, his first head coaching job.

After three seasons with the Golden Knights where Heupel saw mixed success, Heupel was given the opportunity to turn around a Tennessee program who had heavy damage inflicted by NCAA sanctions. In his two seasons there, he has seen more success than even Vols fans likely anticipated, leading Tennessee to an 11-2 record in just his second season. 

Brent Venables

The current head man for the Sooners certainly took the long way on his journey to becoming a head coach, but Oklahoma fans hope his calculated approach will pay dividends on the field. After attending Garden City Community College, Venables played under coaching legend Bill Snyder at Kansas State for two seasons. He went straight into a coaching job following his time as a player, working as a grad assistant from 1993-1995 before getting the nod as the Wildcats linebackers coach prior to the 1996  season. He would serve that role until he was hired as the Sooners co-defensive coordinator in 1999.

Following the departure of Mike Stoops in 2003, Venables was made associate head coach and defensive coordinator of the Sooners, a position he stayed in until Stoops returned in 2011. Following the return of Stoops, Venables made a move to the east coast, becoming the defensive coordinator for Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers. Venables would turn down a slew of head coaching offers during his tenures at both Clemson and Oklahoma, but after Lincoln Riley’s abrupt departure, Oklahoma came knocking for their former defensive coordinator to fill the void.

Ultimately, the opportunity was too good to turn down and Venables had finally decided to make the jump into being a head coach. After a disappointing first season in Norman, Venables looks primed for a bounce-back year in 2023.

Ryan Walters

The newest addition to Bob Stoops’ coaching tree has actually yet to coach a game as a head coach yet, as he was hired this offseason by Purdue. Ryan Walters spent four seasons as a safety for Colorado from 2004-2008. After putting up relatively modest numbers during his time in Boulder, Walters would go undrafted, deciding to return as a student assistant for the Buffaloes for the 2009 season. From 2010 to 2015, Walters spent time at Arizona, Oklahoma, North Texas, Memphis, and finally would land at Missouri as a safeties coach for the 2015 season.

Columbia was where he finally found some stability, being promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2016, and then taking sole control of the defensive coordinator role in 2018. After 3 seasons at Missouri, Walters was brought to Illinois along with new coach Bret Bielema. He thrived in Champaign, and his defenses had the elite numbers to prove it. He was a finalist for the Broyles Award after a spectacular 2022 season in which the Illinois defense was ranked in the top three nationally in nearly every well respected defensive category. On December 13, 2022, Walters was officially announced as the man who would take over as Purdue’s head coach, replacing Jeff Brohm who left to take the Louisville head coaching job.