Bob Stoops, former Oklahoma head coach and current UFL Arlington Renegades head coach, joined Afternoon Drive on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland to talk about the merger between the XFL and USFL, the biggest challenge for the league, and the state of college football.
When it comes to the biggest challenge with spring leagues, and the NFL’s take on the UFL, Stoops remarked, “We’ve had many players have opportunities to go into the NFL from these leagues, and a lot of made it, some haven’t. The bottom line, we’re a platform for them to show they could still play. The NFL is actually excited about what we’re doing. They get to evaluate all these guys.”
With Stoops stepping away from college football, and now going on year three of coaching in the XFL and UFL, what keeps him going in the spring leagues?
“When I did step away from Oklahoma, I wanted my own space and time. After a few years, you realize, ‘I got too much of my own space and time,’ and your wife likes the fact that you’re gone once in a while. So this kind of fits perfect,” Stoops explained. “It’s a 10 to 12 week season, so this just fits a good time of the a year. I’m down here in Arlington, Texas, which is only two and a half hours from my home. So my wife, and kids, could come back and forth, you know, when they want to. So it just sort of fits me right now.
“I really enjoy working with these players,” Stoops continued. “They’re older guys, a lot of had NFL careers or had a few years in the NFL, they played a lot of football. So they pick everything up easily. There’s no babysitting, I don’t have to go to an academic meeting. I don’t have to call Johnny’s parents because Johnny won’t go to class or Johnny won’t go to study hall. I don’t have to go to a recruiting meeting. So it’s just football. It makes it kind of fun and easy.”
Stoops went on to say the state of college football has changed. “It’s not very good. I don’t think it’s very good for anybody,” Stoops said. “The people who are in the leadership positions need to come up with some solutions, because it doesn’t look very good.”
Stoops went on to explain how the college football recruitment and compensation model is not sustainable in its current state, and the NCAA needs to get ahead of the problem.
“I believe we should ditch the pro model,” Stoops said. “It’s a pro model and the NCAA is governing it. So at the end of the day, we need to have a commissioner, we have to have salary caps on what you can spend, and you’ve got to have contracts. I don’t see how you cannot, in my opinion.”
Stoops was referring to the fact if there are contracts, players would not shop themselves around for a better deal and see what the market is going to give them.
“In the NFL, you’re not able to do that, and that’s what’s happening in college football. Not all the time, but that’s happening with some people,” Stoops said.
