By Dennis Dodd
CBS SportsLine Senior Writer
Sept. 23, 1998
Layers of sound-proof glass and a locked door cannot keep Mike Stoops' invectives from leaking out of the coaches' box on game day. Warning to those who work within earshot of this blur of blue language: Kansas State might have the only X-rated press box in college football.
The decibel level of the Kansas State defensive coordinator's game-day home might be no different than at any other school. The difference is, at Kansas
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"Our yelling, that's kind of an attitude that our kids kind of respond to," Stoops said. "We can't ever lose our intensity or focus or we wouldn't be as good as we are. Our kids have to play at a certain level to be where they're at. Our kids respect that, understand it. It's a motivational thing. They know how much we care about them."
If that's care then let's hope Stoops never gets mad. Actually, it's part of the shtick of the hottest pair of coaching brothers in the business. Mike, 35, is in his third year as coordinator at K-State. Brother Bobby, 38, is assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Florida.
THEY REPRESENT THE BRAIN TRUST behind the so-called "press defense" that has redefined how to pressure offenses in the 1990s. Bobby used it to help the Gators win a national championship in 1996, his first season on the job. Florida's defense set a school record with six defensive touchdowns that year. Last year, Florida led the SEC in rushing defense and set a school record with 50 sacks.
Two times in the last three seasons, K-State has finished in the top five in the country in total defense. The Wildcats go into Saturday's game with Northeast Louisiana No. 2 in total defense.
"Their personalities are so much different except for one thing, you can't win an argument with either one of them," said Wyoming head coach Dana Dimel who coached with the brothers at K-State. "You play basketball with them, you touch them and it's a foul on you. The key thing is they're so competitive. They don't accept losing."
That attitude is projected to the field where both the Gators and Wildcats carry a swagger that seems to say, "We know we're good." Last week, K-State held Texas' Heisman candidate Ricky Williams to 43 yards -- the fourth-lowest total of his career. Florida's defense held Tennessee in check but was victimized by five turnovers by the offense.
Bobby wasn't fielding media questions Monday while trying to figure out how to put a new crease in the press.
"IT ALL STARTED BACK FIVE OR SIX years ago," said Mike, who coached at K-State with his brother from 1992-95. "It was just kind of us as a defensive staff. Bobby and Jim Leavitt (currently the head coach at South Florida) were the co- defensive coordinators at the time. We came up with this package. Pieces that keep falling and evolving together. We keep expanding here and there."
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Mike Stoops has turned Kansas State's defense into one of the nation's best.
(Allsport)
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Expanding to the point K-State is the nation's best producer of cornerbacks in the 1990s according to Sports Illustrated. Expanding to the point that Bobby has been close to becoming the head coach at Minnesota and Arkansas in recent years.
"I think he'll be a head coach within one, two or three years," Florida coach Steve Spurrier said. "There will be an opportunity soon he will probably go for."
For those on another planet who have yet to see the Stoops' press at work, forget everything you've ever known about the staid, conservative 4-3. The boys' father, Ron, had the idea years ago to pack the line of scrimmage with seven or eight players and leave the cornerbacks on an island, one-on-one with receivers.
Pass or run, the players up front swarm to the ball gambling they can get it before a running back turns the corner or a receiver gets open.
"PEOPLE ARE TOO GOOD AT RUNNING the ball these days," Mike Stoops said. "If you're going to hold up at any level, it becomes the cover corners and how good you are up front."
K-State has produced a gold mine of defensive backs who can lock up one-on-one with a receiver because of the scheme. Nine Wildcat defensive backs have been NFL draftees or signed as free agents since 1992. That list includes 1996 All- American cornerback Chris Canty, who was arguably the best player as his position as a senior.
The core of the former staff under Bill Snyder at K-State has taken the gospel of the press and spread it around the country. Leavitt uses it at South Florida, which expects to move up to Division I-A in 2000. Dimel used it in his first year at Wyoming in 1997 when the Cowboys were No. 2 in the country in interceptions. Not surprisingly, his secondary coach is Mark Stoops, the 31-year-old baby of the family.
While Bobby is certainly down this week after the loss to Tennessee, Florida's front seven is one of the most fearsome in college football.
"Bobby would yell too," Dimel said. "Between Bobby and myself the (K-State) press box would be lucky to survive a game. When he had to go to the sidelines at Florida, it was a big concern for him because he didn't want to be seen on TV doing that."
THE PRESS IS NOTHING NEW to most defensive coordinators. It's part of the defense at several schools. But at South Florida, Kansas State, Florida and Wyoming, it is the defense.
"Once you hang your hat on it, you get dang good at it," Dimel said. "All of a sudden teams come in and have to change their whole game plan. They get three days of executing (on offense) against a team that's been doing it for five years."
The idea for Stoops' version of the press germinated with their dad. Ron Stoops was the longtime defensive coordinator of Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio. The boys -- including Mark and Ron Jr., currently the defensive coordinator at Youngstown Boardman High -- frequently ate their dinner in the dark while dad showed game film on the refrigerator.
Something soaked through during those sessions. Bobby arrived at K-State in 1989 and Mike came in 1992 as defensive assistants. They rose to the point that Bobby was co-coordinator with Leavitt who left for South Florida two seasons ago. Mike was named coordinator after Bobby left for Florida in 1996.
They coached like they played. For almost a decade, a Stoops played safety at Iowa. Bobby, Mike and Mark (now the secondary coach at Wyoming) each wore No. 41. Former Iowa defensive coordinator Bill Brashier called Bobby the smartest and toughest player he had ever coached.
NOW, THEY ARE RULING THE college football world from the defensive side. In 1997, three of the top four teams in sacking the quarterback were No. 2 Wyoming, No. 3 K-State and No. 4 Florida. In his first year at Wyoming, Mark helped the Cowboys finish sixth nationally in pass defense.
"Mark's been chastised here already for yelling in the press box," Dimel said.
Somewhere, Ron Sr. is smiling. It was 10 years ago this season that he suffered a heart attack and died during a game he was coaching against Ron Jr.
"I did talk to him while he was still conscious," Ron Jr. said. "I said something like, 'There, you just scored. You went ahead.You can relax now.' I tried to make it seem like it was going to be all right.' "
Since then, a silenced voice has given rise to the game's vocal new breed.
Dennis Dodd is a senior writer in CBS SportsLine's Kansas City bureau.