Bob Stoops's name has been mentioned for numerous openings since his stunning retirement in the summer of 2017, but he hasn't been close to taking any of them.
Making the media rounds as the XFL prepares for its third shot at its first season, Stoops has become the de facto face of the league. The head coach of the Arlington (née Dallas) Renegades, Stoops said he was drawn to the league because of its lax time commitment compared to college football and the NFL. And if he wanted to be a college head coach, he'd still be the head coach at Oklahoma.
"To say I didn't miss it would be totally wrong. I missed it terribly, especially the first couple of years, but I knew I would so that didn't surprise me," Stoops said on KTCK-FM in Dallas on Tuesday morning.
"I have been asked more than a few times, but no I haven't been close to coming back. If I thought I was ever going to do that I wouldn't have left in the first place. I was in a great situation with great people to work with, and it was just my time. When I left, no one believed me. I just wanted my own time and space. Everyone thought there's a smoking gun or there's health issues. Here we are six years later and everyone realizes I was telling the truth."
Stoops did return on an interim basis to provide a steady hand at Oklahoma between Lincoln Riley's departure and Brent Venables's arrival, but that was a specific time and a specific place. He's otherwise spent his falls as a fill-in for Urban Meyer on the Fox desk and as a football dad to Oklahoma fifth-year senior wide receiver Drake Stoops.
Still, that hasn't stopped some from linking his name to open jobs, particularly the previous opening at Auburn as well as Florida State.
Now 62 and in his seventh season observing from the stands instead of the sidelines, Stoops's name doesn't come up as often as it did in years past, but for the next time it inevitably does, keep this in mind.