The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Bob Stoops

Followed John Blake. Bob Stoops took Oklahoma from Power Program II to Blue Blood.

191–48
1999–2021 · 1 stint
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Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Reached Blue Blood in his 2nd career season — faster than 53% of the 100 FBS coaches who have ever reached Blue Blood (rank #42 of 100 by seasons-to-arrival).

Oklahoma, 19 seasons
+26.9
Power Program II → Power Program I.

Style position and drift

Where each stint’s offense sat between run-first and pass-first, and how far it moved from one season to the next. The band is that stint’s real season-to-season range, not a fixed-width box.

40%50%Oklahoma1999–2021▲ 6.4pt
Pass rate — share of offensive plays that were pass attemptsfirst covered seasonmost recent covered seasonfull season-to-season range (3+ covered seasons)
How much that is, against every other stint

Season-to-season pass-rate range for all 258 FBS coaching stints with at least three covered seasons, 2014–2025.

Typical stint7.010.2 median13.9middle half of all stints
Oklahoma7.2pt#188 of 258 · a typical amount

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

25–11 against his rivals.

Rivalry record
25–11
69.4% · 2 rivals
One-score games
36–22
62.1% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
2–2
50.0%
Rivalry ledger
Texas11–761%
Performance by opponent class
Dynasty
2–2 50.0%
Blue Blood
11–10 52.4%
Power Program
62–25 71.3%
National Program
43–7 86.0%
Regional Program
66–3 95.7%

Coaching career

1999–2021
Oklahomatransformer
Power Program II → Blue Blood
Bob Stoops took Oklahoma from Power Program II to Blue Blood.

3rd-best Oklahoma tenure of 15 by the numbers.

Recruiter or developer?

Outperforms his recruiting talent on offense and underperforms his recruiting talent on defense.

Offense vs. talent
+28.3 pts
#15 of 208 · more than most
Defense vs. talent
-14.8 pts
#163 of 208 · less than most
Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.

Followed John Blake (1996–1998) · succeeded by Brent Venables (2022–2026).

Season19992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021Trend
Record & result
Record7–513–011–212–212–212–18–411–311–312–28–512–210–310–311–28–511–211–212–212–212–29–21–0
PostseasonL bowlCFP lossW bowlL bowlL bowlL bowlW bowlW bowl
Recruiting rank#14#15#19#8#9#6#11#11
Style — pass rate
Pass rate40.943.340.144.243.240.346.447.4
Coordinators
OCJay Norvell / Josh HeupelLincoln RileyLincoln RileyBill Bedenbaugh / Cale GundyBill Bedenbaugh / Cale GundyBill Bedenbaugh / Cale GundyBill Bedenbaugh / Cale GundyBill Bedenbaugh / Cale Gundy
DCMike StoopsMike StoopsMike StoopsMike StoopsMike StoopsAlex GrinchAlex GrinchAlex Grinch
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense608299100100978889
Defense588243494447053
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%36.640.032.441.537.434.937.542.6
Red-zone pass%26.943.432.543.235.737.440.744.1
4th-down go%opp. territory30.035.021.740.543.828.619.429.7
Roster construction · portal era

A typical amount of portal roster-building.

Portal arrivals
10
3.3★ avg rating
Portal departures
19
left via the portal
Net portal flow
-9
#125 of 187 FBS stints
Who they bring in

Brings in smaller-than-position-typical players than most.

Recruits older, more experienced transfers than most.

Avg. size (raw)
6′0″, 197 lbs
across 4 of 10 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix
Size vs. position-typical
-9.1 lbs
#256 of 255 · less than most
Avg. class year
Sr
#46 of 255 · more than most
Top states: TN (2), TX (1), NV (1)
Who won the portal our read
Talent added
30.6
position-weighted
Talent lost
43.9
position-weighted
Net
-13.3
arrivals minus departures
Best addition: Wanya Morris (OT) from Tennessee
Biggest loss: Brendan Radley-Hiles (CB) to Washington
Position-value-weighted (QB/CB weighted highest, depth-decayed within each position) — the same scoring engine as the Portal Heat feed, not a separate grade.
Does the system survive a coordinator change?
OC: co-Jay Norvell / co-Josh Heupel → Lincoln Riley · 2015
60th pct82nd pct0th100th
1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.
1st-down pass rate: 36.6% → 40.0% (+3.3 pts)
Confound, shown not hidden: only 83% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.
Roster size, by position
Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)
Quarterback
216 lbs
6′1″ avg · #293 of 767 · a typical amount
Running back
213 lbs
5′11″ avg · #171 of 791 · more than most
Wide receiver
191 lbs
6′0″ avg · #493 of 791 · a typical amount
Tight end
245 lbs
6′4″ avg · #361 of 731 · a typical amount
Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters
Interior line
323 lbs
6′5″ avg · #26 of 779 · more than most
D-line
282 lbs
6′4″ avg · #433 of 753 · a typical amount
Cornerback
190 lbs
5′11″ avg · #364 of 771 · a typical amount
Offensive-line size is one undifferentiated bucket — the source data almost never distinguishes tackle from guard from center, so we can't split them out.
Where the roster comes from, by position
Grows Tight end from high school
100%
#164 of 188 stints
Grows Running back from high school
86%
#187 of 208 stints
Postseason detail2014: Lost to Clemson 6–40 Russell Athletic Bowl2015: Lost to Clemson 17–37 CFP2016: Beat Auburn 35–19 Allstate Sugar Bowl2017: Lost to Georgia 48–54 Rose Bowl Game Presented By Northwestern Mutual - Cfp Semifinal2018: Lost to Alabama 34–45 Capital One Orange Bowl - Cfp Semifinal2019: Lost to LSU 28–63 Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl - Cfp Semifinal2020: Beat Florida 55–20 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic2021: Beat Oregon 47–32 Valero Alamo Bowl

114 NFL Draft picks: Jermaine Fazande (1999), De'Mond Parker (1999), Kelly Gregg (1999), Stockar McDougle (2000), William Bartee (2000), Torrance Marshall (2001), Josh Heupel (2001), Roy Williams (2002) + 106 more

191–48

Defining games during this era

2018 Rose Bowl semifinal · Georgia 54, Oklahoma 48 (2OT)