Opinion: Bob Stoops helped save Oklahoma football after Lincoln Riley bolted for USC

NORMAN — Bob Stoops had no way of knowing if the players would listen to him, much less trust him.

Sure, he has a statue outside the football stadium and is part of Oklahoma’s holy trinity of coaches — Bud, Barry and Bob — but he wasn't sure any of that would resonate with the current Sooners.

Not in the hours after Lincoln Riley bolted for USC.

Not with so many hurting so badly.

But Stoops knew he had to try.

So, the morning after Riley’s unexpected departure, Stoops met with the team’s leaders, a group consisting mostly of seniors. He wanted to listen to their concerns, what they were going through and what they were thinking, but then, he wanted to remind them that there were other great football coaches out there, that they had already invested mightily in the program and that they, the players, were the backbone of the program.