Former Florida boss Steve Spurrier shares his thoughts on Bob Stoops' retirement

Stoops served as a defensive coordinator at Florida for four seasons under Spurrier

By Tom Fornelli

& Adam Silverstein

Jun 7, 2017 at 5:46 pm ET • 1 min read

Longtime Florida coach Steve Spurrier, who gave then-assistant Bob Stoops a massive break by hiring him as the Gators' defensive coordinator in 1996, issued a statement in wake of Stoops' retirement on Wednesday.

"It was a surprise but not a complete shock," said Spurrier. "Bobby always indicated he wasn't going to coach forever. There is life after coaching, and once he decided the time was right, he was going to move on. He wanted to go out at the right time and he feels good about where the program is right now.

"He has left a good team for Lincoln Riley and the Oklahoma program."

Spurrier hired Stoops away from Kansas State after Florida's defense allowed an embarrassing 62 points to Nebraska in the 1995 national championship. The very next season under Stoops' tutelage, the Gators gave up just 20 points to Florida State on their way to capturing the program's first national title.

Florida then went 20-4 under Spurrier and Stoops in 1997-98 before the Sooners decided to jump in and poach one of the hottest young coaches in the nation out of the SEC.

As the Gators have been forced to change coaches often over the years, Stoops was always a name that some fans hoped would return to Gainesville, Florida. Whether there was any legitimate interest following the departures of Spurrier, Ron Zook and Urban Meyer is a topic for another time, but Stoops ultimately chose to remain at Oklahoma where he became the best coach in the history of the Big 12.