Nick Saban is making one thing clear: he refused to have another defensive meltdown like the one Alabama suffered through the latter portion of 2018.
To pair with the solid hires he had made, the 67-year-old decided to bring on Mike Stoops as a defensive analyst for the Crimson Tide. George Schroder of USA TODAY Sports broke the news Wednesday morning as Stoops falls in the same category with Saban, Kirby Smart and Jeremy Pruitt, in possessing a background in playing defensive back.
Stoops was a standout athlete at University of Iowa from 1982-85, before spending three years in both the National Football League and Arena Football League with the Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Gladiators and again with the Bears from 1985 to 1987.
Much of his time in coaching was spent between University of Oklahoma and University of Arizona.
RELATED: New name has emerged at Alabama for DL coach
As the middle brother of Bob and Mark Stoops, Mike’s first stint with the Sooners was from 1999-03 – serving at assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach.
He and the eldest Stoops brother would deliver the program to a BCS national championship in 2001; the lone title Bob carries for his head coaching career.
While he did not have the greatest success as a head coach at Arizona from 2004 to 2011, Mike Stoops did build a defense that allowed an average of over 30 points per game only once. Opposing schools totaled 35.4 points per matchup versus the Wildcats in 2011, but aside from that, teams were held to 25.1 points.
Stoops boasted a secondary that had 96 interceptions in his eight years — including former first-round pick of the 2008 NFL Draft, Antoine Cason, who finished his career with 15 picks and three returned for touchdowns.
The talented cornerback was an All-American and Jim Thrope Award winner in 2007, as he had a strong seven-year professional career from 2008 to 2014.
His next six years in the Big 12 with Oklahoma did not see him hoist a national championship trophy; nevertheless, Stoops did put together some pretty good defensive units. Last season was the lone incident where the Sooners allowed an average of over 30 points per game.
Stoops’ group surrendered sixteen 40+ point matchups in six years, with six of those contests coming from the 2018 bunch. Along with 84 interceptions collected under him, the 57-year-old navigated a defense that tallied 12 pick-sixes.
Getting him to Alabama means that Saban must have a game plan in mind if the Tide ends up facing Jalen Hurts and the Sooners in the College Football Playoff.
After having a strong career with the Tide, Hurts is now a part of the Big 12.
As an analyst, Stoops will be cutting game tape, sitting in on defensive meetings, dissecting tendencies of opponents, and providing his thoughts.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber only content!*
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
