Stoops Speaks | by Pat

You had to figure the reaction to the firing would come out quickly. This one came way too fast for any ND fans liking. There was an incredible amount of smoke surrounding the "Stoops to ND" internet rumors the past few days. And Bob didn't waste any time in stamping them out.

"I intend to be at Oklahoma. Yes, that's what I intend to do," the Sooner coach said when specifically asked about the Notre Dame rumors. "I will never confirm or deny whether I talk or not talk to anybody, and I won't be interviewing for any jobs."

Asked for a little more clarity, Stoops said: "What I'm saying is I'm going to be Oklahoma next year, so I can't be at two places at once."

Now unless you believe Stoops is channeling Utah-era Urban Meyer, that's a pretty definitive statement. The timing is perhaps even more instructive, coming right on the heels of ND's official announcement(update: on second thought, it sounds like a regularly scheduled presser with the media, so maybe the timing isn't quite as instructive). Sure, we'd all love to think like Lloyd Christmas on this one, but for the moment, this feels like it did with Gruden in 2001 and Urban in 2004.

UPDATE: Give a listen to the Stoops presser yourself, here. Sounds a bit different in context. Maybe more than a bit.