It’s early November, so welcome back to the vagaries of a Power Five coaching search.
Overnight, there were reports indicating that former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops was closing in on an agreement to take over for the dismissed Willie Taggart at Florida State. We were told to tap the brakes on such speculation, while Bruce Feldman of The Athletic tweeted that he “spoke to... two people very close to him who were really skeptical he’d want to come back to being a college coach and take that job.”
In addressing the rampant speculation, FSU athletic director David Coburn told the Tallahassee Democrat that the current head coach and general manager of the XFL’s Dallas franchise is a candidate...Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is the top target for FSU, according to multiple Democrat sources.
While Coburn didn’t go that far, he acknowledged Stoops is a candidate.
“He’s on the list, and he’s certainly somebody we would consider,” Coburn said.
FSU has made contact with Stoops about the opening and there is interest from his side, according to sources.
... while Stoops has publicly stated that reports that have him as a candidate for the job are not accurate:
Spoke w/ Bob Stoops this morning. He tells me the rumors/reports of him being a candidate for the Florida State job opening are not accurate. Says he was at the new Hard Rock Casino all day yesterday and at a Dan Marino Foundation party last night. Not interviewing for FSU job. https://t.co/Uwf7a4TCwQ
— Carey Murdock (@CareyAMurdock) November 5, 2019
So, there you have it. Stoops is a candidate for the FSU job, unless he’s not.
Coburn did confirm to the Democrat that the university is “on schedule to have someone in this position by end of the month.” The chances that a new coach is hired this week? “Virtually zero.”