College Football: 5 head coaches that aren’t taking over at your school

3. Bob Stoops

After 18 years at Oklahoma, Bob Stoops suddenly and surprisingly retired from coaching in the offseason. The Sooners have survived under his replacement, Lincoln Riley, but it was still a stunning blow for a program that was a model of consistency under Stoops. College football lost one of its great coaches when Stoops stepped away from a national championship contender.

Stoops won the Big 12 championship in 10 out of his 18 seasons in Norman. His 2000 Oklahoma squad also won the 2001 Orange Bowl over Florida State to claim the BCS national championship. There were certainly some serious issues with players recruited to play with the Sooners during his tenure. But plenty of good head coaches have been hired multiple times after questionable practices and policies surfaced in public.

Yes, Stoops plateaued in terms of postseason success with the Orange Bowl win over the Seminoles at the turn of the century. He lost two other chances at a BCS championship, first to USC in the 2005 Orange Bowl and then in the 2009 BCS National Championship (played fittingly in Miami) against Alabama. But Stoops is also the only coach to win all four BCS bowls over the course over his career.

His overall success among coaches during the 21st century is unquestionable. Many teams would love to land a coach of Stoops’ caliber for their roster, and several will surely come calling as soon as they have a vacancy. Stoops will rebuff every offer that comes along this season, though he may eventually make his way back to the game in 2019.