NORMAN, OK – SEPTEMBER 08: Defensive Coordinator Mike Stoops of the Oklahoma Sooners during warm ups before the game against the UCLA Bruins at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners defeated the Bruins 49-21. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)Former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, who was fired by head coach Lincoln Riley this week, appeared on the radio in Oklahoma City today to discuss what happened with the Sooners. Things appeared to get a little heated.
Mike Stoops, the younger brother of former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, clapped back at a report that claimed there was some sort of altercation in the locker room at halftime of this past weekend’s game against Texas.
“Well, that’s ludicrous, number one, whoever would report such an erroneous situation and defame me and him is beyond ridiculousness,” Stoops said earlier today.
“Didn’t say one word to Curtis at halftime, didn’t even know he left … Didn’t know until after the game. That’s how crazy that is. Lincoln was upset, rightfully so, at our performance and he did most of the talking. Again, that’s just 100 percent false. It’s unfortunate that people would run with that without even checking with me or the source, that’s what’s unfortunate.”
Stoops was then going at Jim Traber of the Sports Animal in Oklahoma City.
Tyler Palmateer had the full rundown:
In a nutshell, Mike Stoops is getting after Jim Traber — on live radio — for Traber’s reports, which Stoops does not find accurate. #Sooners
— Tyler Palmateer (@Tpalmateer83) October 10, 2018
Mike Stoops: “I’m just trying to set the record straight for what happened Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.”
— Tyler Palmateer (@Tpalmateer83) October 10, 2018
Mike Stoops and Jim Traber are now making up.
Stoops: “I’m not trying to attack you, Jim.”
Traber: “I’ve always felt you were a great man and I hope you get a great job.”
— Tyler Palmateer (@Tpalmateer83) October 10, 2018
At least they made up at the end of the interview…
Lincoln Riley, meanwhile, said the following about his decision to part ways with Stoops. He said he wasn’t pressured to make a decision.
“Oh no. Oklahoma doesn’t work like that,” Riley told reporters this week. “Other places do and that’s why they go up and down. At Oklahoma, the people who make the decisions are the people that should make the decisions, and that’s why this place has been so good for so long.”
Oklahoma, meanwhile, is set to play at TCU on Oct. 20. The Sooners are off this weekend.
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