Former Oklahoma DC Mike Stoops on the hardest part of being fired midseason

Since being relieved of his duties as Oklahoma defensive coordinator Monday, Mike Stoops said he has received a wave of supportive calls.

But Stoops hearing from those people might have made his firing even harder to stomach.

Former Oklahoma DC Mike Stoops on WWLS @sportsanimal, says he appreciated calls from many people since Sunday, including athletic director Joe Castiglione and former school president David Boren, then adds:
“I let a lot of people down. That’s probably the hardest part."

— George Schroeder (@GeorgeSchroeder) October 10, 2018

Stoops, the older brother of Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, was informed of his firing in the aftermath of the Sooners’ 48-45 loss against Texas. Oklahoma ranked 79th nationally in scoring defense through six games this season under Mike Stoops, giving up 27.3 points per game.

Getting fired seems hard enough on coaches for the usual reasons — the knock on their resume and having to uproot their family to find a new job, among others. But it’s pretty moving to see Mike Stoops say that what stings the most about it is letting other people down.

Mark Stoops said he’s confident his brother will “land on his feet,” and it’ll be interesting to see if Mike Stoops joins the Wildcats coaching staff in some fashion.