Bob Stoops to Auburn? There have long been rumors linking the former Oklahoma Sooners football coach to the Tigers’ head coaching gig, but Stoops has previously denied any contact with Auburn officials and called the rumors “ridiculous” while saying “it’s just foolish speculation that is just thrown out there that has no basis to it.”
That all went down a year ago, however, but now the rumors are back.
Early Wednesday morning, the Twitter account Sports by Brooks reported that Auburn booster Jimmy Rane is eyeing Stoops if the Tigers fall short of knocking off their biggest rival this season.
“Source: SportsbyBrooks has learned that the richest man in the state of Alabama, Auburn superbooster Jimmy Rane, is targeting Bob Stoops to replace Gus Malzahn if the latter fails to beat Alabama this season,” Sports by Brooks tweeted.
We will have to see if this generates another response from the former Sooners coach. Stoops is currently set to serve as the head coach of the Dallas Renegades in the XFL. The league is set to officially relaunch this coming spring.
During his time at Oklahoma, the 59-year-old Stoops led the Sooners to 10 Big 12 championships and a national title in 2000.
Auburn currently sits at 3-0. The Tigers kicked off their 2019 campaign with a big win over the Oregon Ducks, before knocking off the Tulane Green Wave and Kent State Golden Flashes at home. Auburn is currently ranked No. 8 in the nation in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.
Auburn and the Crimson Tide will finally come head-to-head in the regular-season finale on Saturday, November 30 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The Tigers and Crimson Tide have faced off in the Iron Bowl a total of 83 times. Alabama leads the all-time series 46-36-1. Auburn has won just 3 of the last 10 meetings between the two, with their last victory coming in 2017. Last season, the top-ranked Crimson Tide trounced Auburn, 52-21.