Mike Stoops

The Oklahoma Sooners may win a national championship this year, but don't expect Mike Stoops to be the reason why. 

Yes, the prodigal son has returned, but hold the nostalgia. 

When Stoops took Arizona's head coaching job in 2003, he left Norman with back-to-back-to-back-to-back top-10 defenses on his resume. 

He returns with a career .451 winning percentage as a head coach capped off by a mid-season firing, for which he has received a significant amount of national criticism.

But the real reason Sooner Nation needs to lower expectations may be even tougher to swallow. 

This is not the same game it was in 2003, and it's definitely not the same Big 12. Because in today's Big 12, there is no defense. 

In 2000, Bedlam was a 12-7 OU victory. The Sooners would later roll on to a 13-2 win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl for the national championship.

Those days are long gone. 

Last season, the Big 12 allowed 107 more touchdowns than the SEC. Only the Conference USA, Mid-American and Pac-12 conferences gave up more.

The conference has made a conscious decision to spread things out and score points. There's just no room for anything else. 

So stop kidding yourselves. If the Sooners find themselves hoisting the hardware at season's end, it will be on Landry Jones' shoulders.

More than in any other season of the Bob Stoops era, the Oklahoma Sooners are in great need of a championship. Even another Big 12 title would do, but fans in Oklahoma are craving a BCS National Championship.

Since Stoops' arrival in 1999, the Sooners have never gone consecutive seasons without winning a conference title. Oklahoma is at risk of doing just that if they can't win the Big 12 Championship this year. With 2013 looking like a rebuilding year, Stoops and his Sooners don't want to start a dry spell.

As successful as Stoops has been, his Sooners haven't won a national championship since 2000. In Oklahoma they call that a drought.

To put some perspective on how long it has been since this tradition-rich program won it all, take a look at what has happened since that title in Stoops' second season.

The tragedy of 9/11 was a year later and is already in the history books. The war in Iraq, which seemed to never end, has in fact, ended. The Boston Red Sox ended a century-long drought and have won multiple World Series rings. And the Oklahoma State Cowboys have won a Big 12 title and are on the rise as a program.

The last item is an actual threat to Oklahoma's reign atop the Big 12. The last thing Stoops wants is to give in to Mike Gundy on the recruiting trails.

The 2012 season may be Oklahoma's last chance at a title for a few years. The Sooners appear to have most of what it takes to get there, but there are still some question marks.

The biggest question is centered around how much of a difference Mike Stoops will make as defensive coordinator. Despite your thoughts on Landry Jones, it was the defense that faltered down the stretch and cost the Sooners their shot at a conference or national championship in 2011.

The secondary could be a weak spot for Stoops. That's why he has simplified the schemes a bit from what was used under Brent Venables. The Sooners have always had great athletes. Now their secondary can stop over thinking things and just use their speed and strength to make plays.

Say what you will about Jones, but he had plenty of reason to struggle in the second half of 2011. The quarterback lost his best receiver, best running back and never did have a tight end to throw to. What remained of his receiving corp was not able to step up in Ryan Broyles' absence.

That receiving corp is going to be in the spotlight almost as much as Jones, once the season begins. Fans and coaches want to know if freshman Trey Metoyer can live up to the hype and make a difference for this offense. Kenny Stills will also be asked to get off Twitter and start catching some passes.

Running back Dominique Whaley will return from a broken ankle that ended his magical walk-on season in 2011. Reports are that he's playing basketball and looking like new.

If you doubted Jones' ability to win big games or lead his team, you should prepare to be proven wrong. His commitment to sharpen his skills in the offseason by working out with quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr. should be evident right out of the gates.

In an interview with Jake Trotter from ESPN.com, Whitfield expressed that Jones proved to be "meticulous" and worked really hard in the offseason. Whitfield helped Jones to throw more with his body instead of just his arm and said, "if I'm a Sooner fan, I'm excited."

Maybe you've already counted Jones out, but that would be a big mistake. Stoops still has one of the best passers in the nation and his brother Mike could be just what they need to bring back a little Sooner magic.

After a three-loss season in 2011 that left Oklahoma football fans wanting more, the Sooners are once again primed and ready for a big year.

OU started 2011 as the No. 1 team in the nation. A loss to an eventual 5-7 Texas Tech team, followed by disappointing losses to Baylor and Oklahoma State, helped drop the Sooners from the national radar. 

Now, Oklahoma will use the experience gained to make another run at the program's eighth title. ESPN's Mark Schlabach slates OU as the No. 6 team in his appropriately named "2012 Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25," but the Sooners have many assets that will allow them to be in the title hunt.

Returning Starters

The Sooners have the experience to contend with anyone in the Big 12. On offense, OU has 15 players who have started at least one game. While 2011 may not have ended the way Sooners fans wanted, the experience gained will be invaluable to OU in 2012.

With the departure of DeMarco Murray after 2010, Dominique Whaley received considerable playing time as a walk-on in 2011. Whaley played in seven games before being sidelined by an injury, but that time on the field allowed him to learn the speed of the college game and how to succeed at this level. 

In addition to Whaley, Oklahoma will have Roy Finch and Brennan Clay running the ball, creating a trio with a combined 16 starts. Co-offensive coordinators Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell will be able to mix and match running backs to best fit each situation they encounter.

At wideout, junior Kenny Stills brings two years of starting experience to the receiving corps. Stills got his first taste at being the top receiver when Ryan Broyles went down against Texas A&M. While he did struggle in his first chance at the top, Stills will be working all summer to make sure he can handle his new role.

Defensively, Oklahoma has 12 players returning with at least one start. Travis Lewis' graduation has left a void in leadership on defense.

Junior safety Tony Jefferson will be looked at for leadership in 2012 with 21 starts. Jefferson is the leading returner in tackles for loss and interceptions. A position change from linebacker to safety will put Jefferson back in his comfort zone, allowing him to lead the defense by example. According to ESPN.com's Brandon Chatmon:

By all accounts, Jefferson has been one of the Sooners who has stepped up since the end of last season. He’s taken a leadership role on the defense with the goal of becoming part of the foundation of the 2012 team.

With such an abundance of experienced players, OU will have an advantage against its opponents in big games as it fights toward a title.

Mike Stoops Back in Norman

After being fired from his head coaching job at Arizona, Mike Stoops was brought back to Oklahoma by his brother Bob Stoops to fix the defense.

Mike coached the defense at OU under his brother from 1999 until 2004, when he was hired by Arizona to lead its football program. At Arizona, he had a sub-.500 record and reached only three bowl games in eight seasons. While he was unsuccessful at the helm, his ability as a defensive mind will prove to be important toward a chance at the BCS.

He has already displayed his intelligence through managing his personnel. In spring practices, Mike made the decision to move Jefferson back to safety.

“That’s where we feel like we can utilize his abilities and his strengths,” said new defensive coordinator Mike Stoops. “Tony is a very, very talented player. He can be good anywhere he plays. He’s very easy to coach, highly instinctual and is a tremendous tackler.” 

Stoops will also benefit from being back with his brother Bob and a coaching staff he has worked with before. Head coach Stoops told CBSSports.com's Bryan Fischer how it has helped the transition:

"It's been very easy," Bob added. "Most of the guys have worked with him before and with (linebackers coach) Tim Kish coming with him, they speak the same language. It's going well in practice and really been pretty seamless in how it transpired."

Landry Jones Stays for His Senior Season

TMZ-style speculation on the OU campus was that Landry Jones is returning to Norman to be with his fiancée, Oklahoma women's basketball star Whitney Hand. Whether he is staying for his team or his future bride, Jones will be crucial to Oklahoma's title chances.

The Sooners quarterback is the active NCAA leader in passing yards, completions, attempts and touchdowns. He has put up huge numbers in the pass-heavy Sooners offense since taking the reins from Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford in Jones' freshman season.

Jones has made 37 career starts and has played more than any other player on the OU roster. He has also managed to stay remarkably healthy, making 34 starts in a row.

Despite his overall success at Oklahoma, he had a disappointing end to 2011 after losing Broyles to an injury. Without his No. 1 receiver, Jones threw only one touchdown in the team's final four games.

Besides losing Broyles, Jones may have also had his confidence shaken with the emergence of Blake Bell. Late in 2011, OU developed the "Bell-dozer" package, utilizing the third-string QB as a runner in short-yardage situations. The constant removal from the game might have worn on the starter's self-esteem.

With a full summer to work with Stills and OU's other receivers, life after Broyles will become much easier for Jones. He will also have time to look over film and work out any kinks in his game to boost his confidence. Jones is a top quarterback in college football, and he needs to start thinking like it.

If he can keep his composure and lead the team in the manner expected of him, Jones could re-emerge as a Heisman candidate in a season that could be truly special for the Oklahoma Sooners.

There is always an ugly side to coaching changes at a top program like Oklahoma—lost recruits, transfers, angry pitchfork mobs going full-on Sherman's March through the streets of Norman.

For example, when former defensive-back coach Willie Martinez left in January, 4-star cornerback prospect Da'Vante Harris decommitted from OU and chose Texas A&M instead. Up-and-coming sophomore linebacker Kellen Jones followed long-time defensive coordinator Brent Venables to Clemson this March. Lastly, I personally led a group of 10-12 angry Sooner fans down Main Street, wreaking havoc amongst the locals.

Okay, the last part isn't true. But you get the idea.

Considering the uncharacteristic shortcomings of last season's defense, the appointment of Mike Stoops (defensive coordinator, secondary) and Tim Kish (linebackers) could not have come at a better time.

Venables had historically done very well suppressing high-powered units like Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, but the upward trend in Big 12 offenses—now considered by most to be the most potent in college football—had become too much to handle for the veteran coach.

So what was Mike Stoops' mastermind plan to revamp the defense he once led to a national championship in 2000?

He began by moving players around to new positions to try to take advantage of their skill sets. Stoops moved Tony Jefferson to free safety, Javon Harris to strong safety, Aaron Colvin to cornerback, Joseph Ibiloye to weak-side linebacker and Gabe Lynn to nickel-back and safety.

“Sometimes players are asked to do things they can’t do,” Stoops said. “Part of our responsibility is to get our players in position to do things they can do well. And that’s what we are trying to do.”

The next step was to simplify the defense. Venables had been at the helm of the Oklahoma defense since 2004—a relatively long stint for any assistant coach these days. All those years spent fine-tuning his defense had produced a scheme too complex for its own good.

"One of the things we were lacking last year was just not knowing exactly what’s going on," safety Javon Harris admitted recently. Harris was the scapegoat for much of the secondary's woes last year, but has enjoyed the changes. "In talking to some of my other teammates, I think everybody is liking the new defense and knowing exactly what they need to do."

The public's first look at the new defense was the annual Red/White game in April. Stoops was pleased, saying, "I've been encouraged with our guys all camp. Our position on the football was much better as the game went on."

But Stoops, a notorious "never satisfied" guy, identified a few problem areas. "Our pass rush needs to improve, and we still need to continue keeping position on the football in deep balls."

The rest of the off season will be spent shoring up problem areas and making the final touches in preparation for a tough 2012 schedule.

If it's any indicator as to how things are going so far, head coach—and big brother—Bob Stoops likes what he has see so far. "I’ve got great confidence in him of course and what he sees. It’s been great to have him back," Stoops said. "It gives me a strong sense of security that we’re doing things the best way we can."

It seems like the defense is in good hands with Mike Stoops. A strong defense combined with a potent offense is just what the Sooners need to bring the Big 12 Championship back to Norman and, most importantly, extinguish all of those angry mobs.

Rarely are the needs of a recruiting class as clear as they are for the Oklahoma Sooners for 2013.

The Sooners need defense, and they need it bad—especially after an offense-rich 2012 haul that consisted of only eight defenders out of 26 total recruits.

Oklahoma will have larger-than-usual turnover in the defense after this season, losing nine players out of the heavy rotation, as well as a few key backups, due to graduation. This is not including juniors Tony Jefferson and Aaron Colvin who, with big years, could easily make their way to the NFL a year early.

Let me put it this way: There is a good chance the Sooners will lose the entire five-man starting rotation on the defensive line as well as the entire starting secondary.

All in one year.

You can imagine my surprise then, when two of Sooners' earliest commitments came from the No. 2- and No. 3-ranked running backs in the nation (Greg Bryant, Kieth Ford)—adding yet more talent to an already deep position.

After severe weather kept several top recruits from visiting campus for the Spring Game, things were getting off to a rocky start for the revamped OU coaching staff.

Since then, however, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Mike Stoops, linebackers coach Tim Kish and defensive line coaches Bobby Jack Wright and Jackie Shipp have been very busy.

Most importantly, they are producing results.

Stoops has been vocal about his needs in the secondary, saying recently that the program needs to sign five quality players for the unit. He has made positive strides early, convincing in-state 4-star cornerback Stanvon Taylor to come on board, while also securing the services of former Arizona defensive back Cortez Johnson.

Johnson was a recruit of Stoops' last year and decided to follow the former Arizona head coach to Norman. “I just wanted to get back with Coach Stoops and be closer to home,” Johnson said. “Oklahoma – it just felt right. Everything went great and fell right in place.” At 6'2", 196 pounds, Johnson is the typical Stoops defensive back with good size and versatility.

Despite the early grabs, Stoops definitely has work left to do for his group. Last week, I wrote about three California teammates that Stoops is pursuing—two corners and one safety— that would fill out the class perfectly. The Sooners have offers out to almost 20 defensive backs.

Matt Dimon (No. 17 DE) was a good early get for Wright, but the big fish was top-ranked in-state prospect, D.J. Ward (No. 8 DE) out of Lawton.

Snagging Ward makes it two years in a row that OU has signed the state's top-ranked player. After signing three defensive ends last year, including a JUCO transfer, the Sooners are likely done at that side of the ball.

Defensive tackle isn't a huge need in this class, but one good recruit wouldn't hurt.

Kish has his hands full at linebacker and needs to bring in both quality and quantity in the 2013 class. The only 'backers to have ever seen playing time are seniors Joe Ibiloye and Jaydan Bird and juniors Tom Wort and Corey Nelson. Michigan transfer Kellen Jones was the most promising of the younger guys, but his recent transfer to Clemson leaves the unit hurting for depth.

Couple all of this with the fact that OU did not sign a linebacker last year (Eric Striker will play safety) and things become even more dire.

There are currently 18 outstanding offers to linebackers for 2013, but eight have already verbally committed elsewhere. If Kish wants to avoid the crippling wrath of local fans and media early in his Sooners career, he must prove himself during this class and bring in at least two high-quality players.

The Sooners will have one of the best defenses in the conference next season—on paper.

Still, the coaches still have a lot of work to do if they wish to continue head coach Bob Stoops' impressive run of talented defenses during his tenure in Norman.

There were plenty of things to take away from Saturday's Red/White Spring Game, but most notably was the new defensive formation deployed by coordinator Mike Stoops.

In the days leading up to the scrimmage, Stoops addressed the need to have more defensive backs on the field to deal with the pass-heavy offenses in the Big 12, saying, "You can't have linebackers out there lined up on the skill players we see week-in and week-out."

That scene is all-too familiar to Sooner fans who watched last year's defensive meltdowns against Texas Tech, Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Instead of the nickel base defense we have seen in Norman for the last several years—featuring two safeties, two cornerbacks, two traditional linebackers and one LB/DB hybrid—Stoops had the Sooners in a two-linebacker, three-cornerback set for nearly the entire scrimmage.

The first-string unit used Tom Wort and Joseph Ibiloye as the two linebackers and Demontre Hurst, Lamar Harris and Gabe Lynn as the three corners. Corey Nelson took Ibiloye's spot after he went down with an injury early in the game.

When last year's leading tackler Aaron Colvin returns from offseason shoulder surgery, he is expected to move to corner, likely taking Lynn's spot.

The new look performed well, albeit against a vanilla offensive playbook led by a rotation of three backup quarterbacks. The only big pass play was a deep lob from a scrambling Blake Bell that caught safety Javon Harris with his head turned the wrong direction, resulting in a 60-yard touchdown for Jaz Reynolds.

The tradeoff in exchanging a linebacker for a cornerback is that the defense becomes more vulnerable in the middle of the field, especially on run plays. If the running back gets past the defensive line, there is one less man there to challenge him. Brennan Clay and Danzel Williams both had a couple nice runs through the middle of the defense on Saturday.

It's not certain that this will be the permanent formation come the fall. Stoops will likely shuffle Corey Nelson on and off for the third cornerback, depending on the opposing team or the situation. The OU offense trotted out three receivers the entire scrimmage, so the defense kept three cornerbacks on the field to match.

Overall, it was a good sign of the coaching staff. They identified the problem and are taking strides to correct it.

One of my favorite guys in the business, Bryan Fischer of CBS's Eye on College Football, got a chance to talk to Bob and Mike Stoops as the Sooners go through spring practice. The interview was great as the brothers talked about being reunited and how Mike has designs on getting the OU defense back to where he, his brother and the Sooner faithful deem acceptable.

The Sooners should be ready to go, they will get great teaching from Mike Stoops and this defense, with the talent they have, they should be among the Big 12's best units.

However, the most striking part of the interview was Mike Stoops' candid discussion of the Arizona job and his situation in Tucson:

"We may have got it as good as it can get. You have to be realistic with what your expectations are and you should have high expectations, I certainly did. But what you're capable of and what the circumstances that are dealt to you, it's hard to achieve those big goals of winning a championship there," Stoops said of his time at Arizona. "There's a reason they haven't won a championship at Arizona and it's not bad coaching or bad players. You can blame it on anything you want, football and championships are about commitments made university wide. It's a commitment made to winning, not at all costs but there is a cost. 

"When you don't have a football facility and every Mountain West team has one and you don't, that's a problem. We were playing at a BCS level and I feel like I was fighting with a toothpick and they've got a bat."

Pretty damning words from the former head coach of the Wildcats. Words that could easily be sloughed off as sour grapes from a guy who could not get the job done when it came to pushing Arizona to the next level. But the fact of the matter is, regardless of where you stand on Stoops' firing, he's right. Plain and simple the man speaks the truth.

College football is an arms race and now, more than ever, teams have to be equipped to compete at the highest level if success is the goal. Yes, coaching matters. Yes, recruiting matters. But, in a BCS Conference where your weekly opponents have winning on their minds, you can't expect top tier results if the athletes and staff are not working with the best. It's like pedaling a Huffy while everyone else wheels BMC Time Machines.

In addition to scraping profits off the top and blowing up coaching salaries, the college football cash grab is about reinvesting in the program. Spending that money on upgrades for facilities, new facilities and new technology; in short "keeping up with the Joneses" or in this case the Alabama, Texas and Oregon types of the world.

To be fair Arizona is seeking to rectify the situation through building a $72 million dollar facility. Which is great and that should help with Rich Rodriguez's efforts in Tucson. The point here is this is a start. For a school in a state that doesn't produce a ton in the way of elite talent their commitment must be a continuous showing. Put another way, what the Wildcats are doing now is an effort to catch up to the college football world, as they catch up the programs ahead of them are improving. 

When you're behind the curve from a facilities standpoint it is more like a game of "Catching up to the Joneses" than "Keeping up with the Joneses." Programs like Oregon and USC are not standing still, just when you think you've caught up they are getting better and that means you have to play catch up all over again.

Commitment matters folks. It matters to the coaches that you want to hire. It matters to the kids that you want to recruit. It matters to how successful you can be at maximizing the talent and teaching that you have at your disposal. Take a look at your respective program and figure out how committed your school is to giving your coaches and athletes the best tools for success that they can muster.

After three well-publicized thrashings at the hands of Texas Tech, Baylor and Oklahoma State, the Sooners defense finished the season amid piles of criticism.

Fingers were pointed, heads rolled, the savior was introduced and, to the delight of Sooner Nation, things seem to be turning around.

For new defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, it all starts with personnel. Unlike most teams, though, it  isn't so much who is playing as it is where they are playing. Having to move one player to a new position to cover up a poor run of play creates a domino effect, rippling all through the defense and shuffling players here and there.

This domino effect starts at cornerback for the Sooners this spring. Jamell Flemming is off to the NFL and the race is on to replace him. JUCO transfer Kass Everette was expected to start in his stead, but converted wide receiver Joe Powell has been earning the lion's share of the reps. "He's gotten better," Stoops said referring to Everette. "He gets better everyday he's out there. It's just a different level of competition."

If both of those two prove unworthy, however, safety Aaron Colvin would be forced to fill the void, something he did against Texas Tech last season after Flemming got hurt and Gabe Lynn got torched. Colvin started every game at strong safety last year and played exceptionally well, but is currently  recovering from shoulder surgery so his role in the lineup remains to be seen this Spring.

If Colvin plays corner, Javon Harris would be the guy at strong safety. Most Sooners fans will cringe hearing his name while images of wide-open Baylor receivers flash through their minds. But that was with Harris at free safety, where he was more responsible for the deep section of the field. The move to strong safety suits his aggressive style of play, so don't expect the same ole' Harris next season if he gets the start.

No matter what happens at strong safety or cornerback, it appears Tony Jefferson, the most talented all-around defender on the team, has been moved from his hybrid nickelback position to free safety. Jefferson seems to enjoy the new assignment so far, saying, "It's fun coming down and hitting people on the runs and stuff, and also being back to play the pass. It's just a lot more instinctive, being back there at safety."

Jefferson's move means senior Joe Ibiloye gets the nod at nickelback. Ibiloye has five inches and 20 pounds on Jefferson and is better suited for the position, physically. Sophomore Julian Wilson has also been getting reps at the position.

To end on an optimistic note, Mike Stoops has a lot on his plate, but at least he has the players to right the ship. There are worse problems to have than "where do I play potential all-conference players to best exploit their talents?" I predict a much-improved, focused group next season that will go along quite nicely with what could be the most dangerous offense in football.