| Kentucky Wildcats | |
|---|---|
| Title | Inside linebackers coach |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1961-12-13)December 13, 1961 (age 63) Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 182 lb (83 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Cardinal Mooney |
| College | Iowa |
| NFL draft | 1985: undrafted |
| Position | Defensive back, No. 44 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Coaching | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Stats atPro Football Reference  | |
Michael Joseph Stoops (born December 13, 1961) is an Americanfootball coach and former player. He is theinside linebackers coach for theUniversity of Kentucky, a position he has held since 2022. Stoops also served as the head football coach at theUniversity of Arizona from 2003 until his firing during the 2011 season. He previously served as an assistant football coach at theUniversity of Iowa,Kansas State University, andUniversity of Oklahoma. He is the younger brother ofBob Stoops, the former head coach of theOklahoma Sooners football program, and the older brother ofMark Stoops, head coach of theKentucky Wildcats football program. He returned to Oklahoma as thedefensive coordinator in 2012. He served in the position until he was fired on October 7, 2018. After spending time at theUniversity of Alabama as an analyst, he spent one season as the defensive coordinator of theFlorida Atlantic Owls in 2021.
Stoops is one of six children born to Ron Sr. and Evelyn "Dee Dee" Stoops inYoungstown, Ohio. He attendedCardinal Mooney High School inYoungstown, Ohio, where his father was an assistant football coach and defensive coordinator.
After high school Stoops attended theUniversity of Iowa and played for theHawkeyes (1982–1984) as astrong safety. He played on the same team withquarterbackChuck Long and was a two-time all-Big Ten Conference selection.[1]
Stoops was signed as a free agent in May 1985 by theChicago Bears of theNational Football League (NFL),[2] but was cut on August 27.[3] In February 1986 he signed as a free agent with theAtlanta Falcons,[4] but he missed the Falcons May 9–15 minicamp with a ruptured gall bladder from an auto accident[5] and was later cut by Atlanta.
In the summer of 1987, Stoops became one of the original 80Arena Football League (AFL) players when he suited up for thePittsburgh Gladiators. Stoops was a key member of the Gladiators that season who went on to play in theinaugural ArenaBowl, losing toDenver, 45–16. He was named Second-teamAll-Arena in1987.
Stoops took time off from his job as agraduate assistant at Iowa to play as a replacement player for a limited time in 1987 with the Chicago Bears during theNFL strike.[6][7] Wearing #44, he played safety in three games with the Bears that year, suffering a concussion in an October 4 victory (35–3) against thePhiladelphia Eagles.[8] Other former Iowa players who were members of theNational Football League Players Association had harsh words for Stoops. He responded, "I don't give a damn what they think. I wasn't trying to hurt anybody, and deep down, I think they know that. But if they feel that way, fine, don't ever talk to me again".[6]
Returning to the Arena Football League, in the six-game AFL regular season, Stoops caught 22 passes, scored three touchdowns, made 15 tackles and recorded an interception, playing bothwide receiver anddefensive back positions.
Stoops held assistant coaching positions at theUniversity of Iowa,Kansas State University and theUniversity of Oklahoma. With his hiring by Arizona in November 2003, Stoops became the school's youngest coach at hiring at age 41, sinceLarry Smith.[9] Upon taking over, he hired his brother, University of Miami defensive backs coachMark Stoops, as defensive coordinator. Stoops then followed and hiredTexas Tech co-offensive coordinatorSonny Dykes after the 2006 season. Dykes, named as winner of the All-American Football Foundation's Mike Campbell Top Assistant Award and later head coach atLouisiana Tech,California andSMU, has been cited as one of the country's brightest offensive minds and top ten college recruiters by Rivals.com.
After going 6–6 in 2006, the Wildcats lost three of their first four games in 2007, including a 29–27 loss at home toNew Mexico. In that game, Stoops gained a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his behavior on the sideline, which led to a New Mexico touchdown. Following a 2007, 21–20 home loss toStanford, dropping the team to 2–6, local media began speculating as to whether Stoops would be fired.[10][11] However, subsequent statements by the athletic director and the university's president indicated that Stoops would return for an additional season.[12] At the beginning of the season, many believed this to be the year Stoops and the Wildcats would reach their first college bowl game in a decade; a winning season was considered a must in order for Stoops to remain as Wildcats head coach.[13] Under the direction of Stoops, Arizona scored 70 points in the season opener against theIdaho Vandals, falling just four points short of a school record for points scored in a game. They went on to soundly defeatToledo,UCLA,Washington, andCalifornia, but lost close games toNew Mexico andStanford. They went on to defeatWashington State on the road to secure bowl eligibility at six wins, but lost toOregon on the road after mounting a dramatic second-half come-from-behind rally, and toOregon State in Tucson on a last-second field goal. The Wildcats' final game of the regular season was a 31–10 victory on December 6 in Tucson againstArizona State in the annualTerritorial Cup rivalry game. With that win and a final regular season record of 7–5, Arizona accepted a bid from to theLas Vegas Bowl to faceBYU. It was the Wildcats' first bowl appearance since the1998 Holiday Bowl. Stoops' reputation in Tucson was mixed; while the Wildcats had a winning record and appeared in and won their first bowl game in ten years, many fans were divided during the season on whether he should be retained as head coach, as they expected Stoops to guide the team to an eight, nine or even ten-win season given the talent level and the offensive and defensive systems employed by the Wildcats (and with the overall talent level in thePac-10 conference perceived to be not as strong as usual in 2008). While Stoops brought the Wildcat football program to a level of respectability which was lost during the era ofJohn Mackovic, some fans were disappointed the program was not at the elite level of Stoops' former programOklahoma or of perennial Pac-10 football powerUSC.[14] However, Stoops was given strong votes of confidence by UA (laterUNLV) athletic directorJim Livengood, by university president Dr. Robert Shelton, and by several prominent Arizona football boosters.[15]
On December 18, Stoops was rumored to be a candidate for theIowa State head coaching job, which eventually went toAuburn assistantPaul Rhoads.[16] On December 20, Arizona defeated BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. On December 23, Stoops was given a contract extension through the 2013 season by Livengood.
"We're very pleased with the progress of Arizona football under Mike's direction," Livengood said. "His personal growth as a coach has been outstanding and we’re glad to continue moving forward with him as the steward for Arizona football."
Stoops said on the news of his extension, "I'm very excited about the extension...The administration always has shown a commitment to what we’re doing, and this bolsters that support...We’re working hard to build stability and the commitment from Jim and the university at this time will go a long way to solidify that effort. I’m happy to be here in Tucson for a long time as head coach of our Wildcats. This is where my family wants to be."[17]
The Wildcats compiled an 8–4 (6–3) record in the 2009 regular season, which earned them a share of second place in the Pac-10 and a bid to theHoliday Bowl. Stoops was named a semifinalist for theGeorge Munger Award,[18] but was not named a finalist.
The Wildcats compiled a 7–5 (4–5) record in the 2010 regular season, which earned them a seventh-place finish in the Pac-10 and a bid to theAlamo Bowl. This bid was due, in part, to only four Pac-10 teams being bowl eligible afterUSC was sanctioned from bowl eligibility, andArizona State was denied a bowl waiver from theNCAA, which it needed because two of ASU's wins came againstFCS teams. Both USC and Arizona State finished higher than Arizona in the Pac-10 standings.Oregon andStanford were selected for BCS bowls, and theRose Bowl selected an at large team,TCU, to pair with the Big Ten champion,Wisconsin, leaving the second highest Pac-10 affiliated bowl game, the Alamo Bowl, to choose between Arizona and Washington.
The Wildcats started the 2011 season losing five of their six games, and their first four games in the newly expanded Pac-12 Conference. After a loss on the road to previously winlessOregon State, Stoops was relieved of his duties on October 10, 2011, with the announcement made by athletic directorGreg Byrne. Co-defensive coordinatorTim Kish was named as interim head coach. Stoops received a $1.4 million buyout from Arizona.[19]
On January 11, 2012, Stoops returned to OU as co-defensive coordinator. He was to be teamed withBrent Venables, who shortly left to become the defensive coordinator atClemson. Kish was soon after named as Oklahoma's linebackers coach.[20] When his brother retired at the end of the 2016 season, Stoops was retained by his successor,Lincoln Riley.
In October 2018, Stoops was fired from his position as defensive coordinator shortly after losing to Texas (48–45).[21]
Nick Saban hired Stoops to be on his coaching staff as an analyst for the 2019 season.Mark Stoops, his brother, offered him a position as an assistant coach atKentucky for the 2020 season. He declined the position and stayed atAlabama as an analyst.[22] Alabama would go on to win the National Championship that season.
On January 28, 2021, it was announced thatWillie Taggart had hired Stoops to be the defensive coordinator forFlorida Atlantic.[23]
On January 7, 2022,Mark Stoops, his brother, hired him as linebackers coach atKentucky.[24]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Wildcats(Pac-10/Pac-12 Conference)(2004–2011) | |||||||||
| 2004 | Arizona | 3–8 | 2–6 | T–8th | |||||
| 2005 | Arizona | 3–8 | 2–6 | 8th | |||||
| 2006 | Arizona | 6–6 | 4–5 | T–5th | |||||
| 2007 | Arizona | 5–7 | 4–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2008 | Arizona | 8–5 | 5–4 | 5th | WLas Vegas | ||||
| 2009 | Arizona | 8–5 | 6–3 | T–2nd | LHoliday | ||||
| 2010 | Arizona | 7–6 | 4–5 | T–5th | LAlamo | ||||
| 2011 | Arizona | 1–5 | 0–4 | (South) | |||||
| Arizona: | 41–50 | 27–38 | |||||||
| Total: | 41–50 | ||||||||