After a Chicago Sun-Times article mentioned Bob Stoops as a potential candidate for the soon-to-be-vacant Notre Dame job, the Oklahoma head coach almost immediately denounced the rumor as “ridiculous”.
That rumor had started to slowly sink below the surface, but now, today, Mr. College Football seems to be doing his best to resuscitate it.
Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, arguably the best and most connected college football writer in the country, has scooped the Stoops rumor up off the floor and tosses it back on the table in a note titled “I think Bob Stoops will at least listen to Notre Dame.”
Barnhart insinuates that 11 years in Norman may be enough for Stoops, and that the 49-year-old coach may have “one more move left in him.”
To be honest, Barnhart may be on to something. The criticism of Stoops has grown louder than it ever has this year, even as a good chunk of the Sooners’ disappointing season is directly attributable to injuries. Can Stoops turn a deaf ear to the critics, or will it open up an ear that would normally be closed to at listen to the calls that will inevitably come from South Bend?
All we know is, when Barnhart says something, it’s best to sit up and pay attention.