FORT LAUDERDALE – The Oklahoma Sooners and coach Bob Stoops were treated to some Tuna, Miami-style Saturday.
That’s “The Tuna,” Miami Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Bill Parcells, the architect of some of the greatest turnarounds in National Football League. Parcells won a pair of Super Bowls with the New York Giants and also laid the foundations for solid teams in New England, the New York Jets, Dallas and now Miami.
Parcells, whose Dolphins engineered a remarkable comeback from a 1-15 record in 2007 to win the American Football Conference’s East Division with an 11-5 record, gave the Sooners a pep talk Saturday at the team’s practice at nearby Barry University one day before the Dolphins play host to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
“For most of you, this may well be the highlight of your athletic life,” Parcells told the team as captured in a video on the Oklahoma University athletic website. “You are playing for big stakes on a big stage, something you are going to remember for a long time. So what you’ve got to do in this situation is promise each other in that dressing room that you are going to do everything you can to help your team win. You leave it right there – that’s all you need to say. Everyone who does that, usually the results have been pretty good.
“In pro football, we’re looking for guys who like it, that are accountable, that have good character, that are not too cool for school, that are reliable guys who want to play football and help our team to win year after year after year,” Parcells continued. “That’s why I am here today. You guys have a great team and a great opportunity, a great coaching staff and a great tradition. You’ve got everything going for you.”
Stoops and the Sooners were naturally impressed.
“I’ve always been a big fan of the way he coaches and the way he handles you media guys, too,” Stoops joked. “When you get a legendary figure and a guy that’s a Hall of Fame coach, I just like to have our players see and hear from those kind of guys. And he always has a great message for them.
NO INTEREST: With rumors swirling in Denver newspapers and on internet websites that the Broncos have an interest in Stoops to replace the fired Mike Shanahan, the Oklahoma coach denied any contact with the team or any knowledge that the Broncos had made contact with his agent.
“We’re preparing for a national championship and that’s all my focus and all my concentration’s on,” Stoops said. “So obviously, I’m not a candidate. I’m sure someone might have told me other than you guys if I was a candidate.”
The Sooner players who talked with the print and electronic media earlier in the morning didn’t think there was much to the rumors.
“No, he hasn’t brought it up,” center Jon Cooper said.
Nor will Stoops.
“There’s no story. I’m not a candidate,” he said. “This is the first I’ve heard about it. Once it’s addressed with my guys, it’s not an issue. My guys know that there’s a lot of stuff that’s said about me that isn’t true. They’re used to that.”
On the other hand, Stoops wasn’t ruling out a move to the NFL in the future. “At some point in my life or career that may be the case,” he said. “Everyone wants you to tell them what you’re going to do 10 years from now. Who knows? I don’t know nor do you.”
A REAL LOAD: Football players, college or pro, don’t come much bigger than Phil Loadholt, Oklahoma’s 6-foot-8 left offensive tackle who tips the scales at 337 pounds. He’s not someone you want to challenge – on the football field or off.
Just to be sure, a writer asked Loadholt when someone last challenged him.
“Oh, I get messed with a lot,” Loadholt said. “We’ve got a lot of jokesters on the team.
Bet you Loadholt has the last laugh. Rest assured, you don’t want to make him angry. But last year’s 48-28 loss to West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl certainly did.
“It definitely was embarrassing,” he reflected. “It left a sour taste in our mouths.”
The loss, however, galvanized the Sooners, whose rallying cry for the 2008 season has been “WTLG” – Win the Last Game. Since their 45-35 loss to Texas in the Red River Rivalry game at the Cotton Bowl, the Sooners have won their last seven, scoring 60 or more points in their final five.
“The loss was disappointing,” Loadholt said, “but (coach Stoops) told us, ‘If you stick with it, we still have a chance to accomplish everything we planned.”
Loadholt and his linemates take pride in their quick-striking, no-huddle offense which has helped to produce 702 points – the most points in the modern era of college football and an average of 562.1 yards a game while producing two 1,000-yard rushers (Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray, who is out of the game with a torn hamstring), a 1,000-yard receiver (Juaquin Iglesias) and a 4,000-yard quarterback in Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford, who was sacked just 11 times.
“We take a lot of pride in keeping Sam clean,” Loadholt said.
We’ll take his word for it.
STEP RIGHT UP: Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson on quarterback Sam Bradford’s accuracy: “He could win a lot of teddy bears at the county fair.”
SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE: The Sooners’ defense, led by coordinator Brent Venables, will meet with the media Sunday morning in Fort Lauderdale. Oklahoma is scheduled for a 1 p.m. practice at Barry University.