The Stoops and Kittle families’ lifelong friendship brought George Kittle to Norman, where his father served on Bob Stoops’ staff and George played at Norman High. With Kittle and his San Francisco 49ers a win away from the Super Bowl, the star tight end joined Bob Stoops on this episode of Conversations with Coach to talk about family, football and Kittle’s rise to the top of his profession.Episode highlights:1:30 How the Stoops-Kittle friendship dates to when Bob Stoops and Bruce Kittle were teammates and roommates at Iowa.4:20 Kittle on his large family and their longevity 6:30 Stoops plans to attend the NFC Championship game in San Francisco6:48 What Kittle and his wife like to do in the offseason7:45 Kittle’s offseason regime9:05 Kittle’s Tight End U and the involvement of former Sooners11:12 Kittle’s path to Norman High School and his relationship with Stoops’ sons Drake and Isaac13:40 Iowa’s tradition of producing great tight ends15:00 What George Kittle taught his son about run blocking15:55 Kittle’s love for WWE 18:21 Kittle’s keys to a 49ers victory Sunday over Detroit21:15 What it's like playing next to former OU tackle Trent WilliamsThanks to these sponsors:Rose Hill Builders | https://www.rosehill.builders/First Fidelity Bank | https://www.ffb.com/Louie’s Grill and Bar | https://louiesgrillandbar.com/Follow Bob:On X.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoachBobStoopsRelated content:Bob Stoops on his connections to Nick Saban, Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll | https://selloutcrowd.com/oklahoma/2024/01/13/bob-stoops-salutes-and-reminisces-about-nick-saban-bill-belichick-and-pete-carroll/Bob Stoops and Jim Ross on why recruiting rules college football and pro wrestling | https://selloutcrowd.com/conversations-with-coach/2024/01/03/bob-stoops-and-jim-ross-on-why-recruiting-rules-college-football-and-pro-wrestling/Find Conversations with Coach on:Sellout Crowd https://selloutcrowd.com/bobstoops/Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@Sellout-CrowdSpotify https://open.spotify.com/show/7uAmIj21rhvzPDZavm14Li?si=4fd2998bd0ee4bb0Apple Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conversations-with-coach/id1706379766Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/20074681-5d73-4c4d-8cd2-167a8a29746b/conversations-with-coachCredits:Producer: Jacquelyn MusgroveCreative Director: Michael LaneSocial media team: Michael Martin, Bobby HowardDirector of Content: Mike Sherman

Nick Saban and the Stoops family go back a long way, from Saban recruiting Mark Stoops to hitting Youngstown’s high schools in search of players and often having lunch with Bob Stoops’ uncle, also named Bob Stoops, including a memorable day at Talk of the Town, when the football talk was so riveting, they didn’t notice the joint was being robbed. Bob Stoops and Berry Tramel talk about Saban, Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll on the latest episode of Conversations With Coach.2:52 Bob Stoops on the demands of modern coaches5:08: Bob Stoops on the relationship between Nick Saban and the Stoops family10:02 Bob Stoops on what made Nick Saban great13:07 Bob Stoops on Bill Belichcick18:43 Bob Stoops on replacing legends21:26: Bob Stoops on Pete Carroll23:14: Bob Stoops on Pete Carroll saluting the Stoops SoonersProducer: Jacquelyn MusgroveCreative director: Michael LaneSubscribe on Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music

Professional wrestling and college football have a few major similarities. There is a locker room to manage, a roster to construct and — most importantly — top-level talent to recruit.On this episode of Conversations with Coach, Bob Stoops and legendary wrestling announcer Jim Ross discuss the similarities between their professions, JR’s career, road stories and their shared optimism about OU football.Among other topics discussed:*Where Ross’ love for sports came from. (2:45)*How he got started in pro wrestling. (9:43)*How Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson came to be (15:06)*JR’s favorite Oklahoma football memories (31:24)*What the XFL and USFL merger will produce (35:33)Producer: Jacquelyn MusgroveCreative Director: Michael LaneSubscribe on Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music

The Gundy brothers blazed their unique football-playing and coaching paths from their home in Midwest City — Cale at OU and Mike at Oklahoma State.In this episode of Conversations with Coach, Bob Stoops is joined by Cale Gundy to discuss how the brothers found success.Among the topics covered:*Who Cale was named after. (0:20)*What it was like growing up in Midwest City. (1:11)*OU’s transition from the wishbone to a passing offense. (8:52) *Gundy’s suggestions for changes to name, image and likeness rules and other potential moves for college sports. (17:53)Producer: Jacquelyn MusgroveCreative Director: Michael LaneSubscribe on Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music

On this episode of “Conversations with Coach,” Bob Stoops is joined by six different Oklahoma football state champion head coaches to review their title-winning weekends and great overall seasons:(00:50) Bixby High School head coach Loren Montgomery(05:59) Tipton High School head coach Travis White(11:35) Lincoln Christian High School head coach Jerry Ricke(15:55) Blanchard High School head coach Jeff Craig(20:29) Carl Albert High School head coach Mike Dunn(27:55) Muskogee High School head coach Travis HillProducer: Jacquelyn MusgroveCreative Director: Michael LaneSubscribe on Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music

- Mark Mangino AKA “Bear” a name that Stoops has been calling him since their days together at Kansas State- Mangino got to KState in 1991 a couple of years after Stoops- Mangino became the Kansas head coach in 2002- 12 win season in 2007- Mangino and Stoops used to get into trouble taking too much time during their lunch breaks playing racquetball- Coach Bill Snyder and fun Kansas State stories- Kale Gundy guest experience and talking about his friendship with Mark Mangino- Mike Leach funny stories- Mangino becomes OC after the 1999 season and helped OU win the 2000 national title- Mangino being able to delegate and crowdsourcing ideas from around his offensive staff room.- Josh Heupel predicted everything that would happen that season before the year started in a meeting.- ”Why not us?”- Heupel went game by game and asked why OU couldn’t win every game?- Taking over Kansas in 2002 and the process of turning things around that peaked in the 2007 season.- Stoops’ brother and Mangino still run up Bob’s bill at a local country club around Youngstown- Mangino nicknamed Drake and Isaac Stoops as “Mugsy and Sluggo”- Stoops getting a black eye in his front yard playing basketball with his kids and showing up to an OU staff meeting with a shinerProducer: Jacquelyn MusgroveCreative Director: Michael LaneSubscribe on Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music

On the latest episode of “Conversations With Coach,” Bob Stoops tells hilarious stories from the 1999 Independence Bowl, including getting run over by a Ruf-Nek and bowl officials trying to present the Sooners a runner-up trophy. Stoops also reveals that still on his bucket list are an African safari and a Packers game at Lambeau Field. (1:20) SEC & Big Ten “more physical” than Big 12(4:07) A Ruf-Nek wiped out Bob Stoops in ‘99 Independence Bowl(10:05) Stoops: ‘never say never to coaching college again’(19:02) Stoops would have loved to coach Larry Fitzgerald(22:55) Lambeau Field & African safari on Stoops’ bucket listProducers: Jacquelyn Musgrove and Michael MartinCreative Director: Michael LaneSubscribe on Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music

On this episode of “Conversations with Coach,” Bob Stoops previews four Oklahoma high school playoff games with coaches involved in the matchups:(00:38) Robert Bernard, Fairview High School, whose team plays Woodland at 7 p.m. on Friday in the Class A semifinals at Harrah High School.(8:57) Jeff Craig, Blanchard High School, whose team plays Wagoner at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the Class 4A championship game at UCO.(15:44) Brad Beller, Washington High School, whose team plays Jones at 7 p.m. Friday in the Class 2A semifinals at Yukon High School.(22:34) Gary Manuel, Seiling High School, whose team plays Regent Prep at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the Class B semifinals at Western Heights High School.Producers: Jacquelyn Musgrove and Michael MartinCreative Director: Michael LaneSubscribe on Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music

In the transfer portal era of college football, players are moving around more than ever. Lane Johnson did the opposite. He faced all types of adversity while changing positions four different times between high school, junior college and his days as an Oklahoma Sooner. On this episode, Bob Stoops and Johnson recount his perseverance in difficult times serves him as a mainstay of the Philadelphia Eagles.Among other topics:* What Stoops remembers about moving Lane to the offensive line; *Lane’s role in recording a Christmas album with Eagles teammates;*Stoops and his “East Popcorn State” line.Producers: Jacquelyn Musgrove and Michael MartinCreative Director: Michael LaneSubscribe on Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music

On this episode of “Conversations with Coach,” Bob Stoops previews four Friday games in the Oklahoma high school football playoffs with coaches involved in the matchups. They are:(0:37 mark) Brett Bogert, Heritage Hall, whose team plays Marlow at 1 p.m. in a Class 3A semifinal at Newcastle;(7:19) Robert Jones, Del City, whose team plays Claremore at 1 p.m. in a Class 5A semifinal at Noble;(13:15) Loren Montgomery, Bixby, whose team plays Owasso at 1 p.m. in a Class 6A-1 semifinal at Sand Springs;(19:35) Chris Elerick, Drumright, whose team plays Velma-Alma at 7 p.m. in a Class B quarterfinal at Western Heights.Producer: Kris MurrayCreative Director: Michael LaneSubscribe on Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music