Speculation arose at the end of January that former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops may be looking to get back into the realm of football, and late on Wednesday night those rumors proved to be true.
Stoops announced, via KWTV in Oklahoma City, that he has been hired to take over as the acting general manager and head coach of the XFL’s Dallas franchise.
“It’ll be challenging for sure. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t do it,” Stoops told KWTV. “And if it’s not fun I won’t do it. But I respect the guys running things. But this is ‘real football.’ If it was something goofy or have those old goofy names, I wouldn’t be associated with it.”
The XFL, which will return with a 10-week season beginning in February 2020, is Vince McMahon’s second attempt to create a football league to run during the NFL’s offseason. The first go-around, which came in 2001, was marred by bizarre rules, gimmicks and dwindling fanfare.
Stoops, 58, went 190-48 in 18 seasons as Oklahoma coach, with one national title victory and 10 Big 12 titles. He has not coached since 2017 and previously said he wasn’t interested in returning to the sidelines.
