Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops has been named head coach and general manager of the new XFL’s team in Dallas, Texas.

The XFL will begin play in February of 2020 with eight teams. Each team will have 45 players to cover a 10-week schedule (and a two-week post season slate).

The XFL will also field teams in Washington, D.C.; Tampa, Florida; Seattle, Washington; St. Louis, Missouri; Los Angeles; New York; and Houston, Texas.

The Dallas team will play at Globe Life Park in Arlington (home of the Texas Rangers baseball team).

Why did Stoops, a legendary coach at Oklahoma, decide to get back into coaching?

Some of the reasons are:

• The XFL is going to play at a fast pace.
• The rules will be simpler than the NFL.
• Dallas is close enough to Norman so that Stoops can come see his son Drake play for OU in the fall. And the schedule doesn’t conflict with the college schedule.
• Stoops is friends with former West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck – now commissioner of the XFL – and he is a fan of XFL founder Vince McMahon, who is also chairman and CEO of WWE (and Alpha Entertainment).
• Stoops said that he felt somewhat out of sorts his first year out of coaching and even though he initially said he wasn’t going to coach again, he reconsidered.

“Oliver reached out to me initially about the idea,” Stoops said in a press conference. “I have a lot of respect for him and when he talks I listen. But my initial thought was, ‘No, that’s not something I’m interested in.’ Then little by little, and after some further consideration for about a week, I thought this may fit me just right.

“So I visited with my wife, Carol, about it and just continued to think that this is something that could work really well for me. Once we talked through it, she also felt that this could fit in a good window for us and be something challenging and exciting for a certain part of the year in a great town and market.”

Stoops won one national title (2000) and 10 Big 12 Conference titles from 1999 to 2016. He coached the Sooners in 18 bowl games and four national championship games.

“It will be different at the professional level with your work day,” Stoops said. “There isn’t any recruiting time in there. Your players aren’t in class. So a lot of it will be different, which will be fun to experiment with, work through, be a part of and see how it goes. So I’m excited about the opportunity.”

“We’re incredibly excited to have an individual as accomplished as Bob Stoops join the XFL family,” said Luck. “Bob’s achievements at Oklahoma are legendary, and he’s the perfect person to lead our team in Dallas. Having a coach as successful as Bob share the XFL’s vision to reimagine the game is energizing and further validates our mission.”