Castiglione knows time is of the essence
It’s that delicate balance that comes with most coaching searches, but it’s amplified 10 times as much for Oklahoma right now.
You have to be thorough enough to vet your candidates and make sure you have a hit. But you can’t take too long that it disrupts the flow of the program.
The early signing period is just over two weeks away, and the Sooners have already lost six commitments (three in 2022, three in 2023) since Lincoln Riley shocked everybody by leaving for USC on Sunday.
OU president Joseph Harroz and athletic director Joe Castiglione know they’ve got a monster challenge ahead. Also, though, a monster opportunity.
“I can tell you the response has been remarkable,” said Castiglione on Monday afternoon. “People are reaching out that some people would never believe would have interest in it. And that's Oklahoma for you. That's what we're going to use.
“As coach (Bob) Stoops said with such great assets to sell and surround the person that gets hired and their staff... Most important is we put our players first. And the student-athletes, helping them be successful.”
OU has found a stop-gap, if you can ever call a hall of fame coach a stop-gap with Bob Stoops running the show until a new permanent head coach is found.
To some, it feels like the program has been left in shambles with Riley going scorched earth taking defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, outside wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons, strength and conditioning coach Bennie Wylie and staff personnel Clarke Stroud with him.
Stoops? No, he knows shambles. He was there in 1998.
“When I arrived here Dec. 1, 1998, there was something to be concerned about, a lot to be concerned about — four straight years without a winning record, no bowl games, da-da-da-da-da, two years later, we were 13-0 and won the national championship,” Stoops said. “This place is in a hell of a lot better shape than it was Dec. 1, 1998.”
That was nearly 23 years ago to the day, and here we are with OU in the middle of its first legitimate coaching search after relying on Bob Stoops for 18 seasons and Riley for the last five.
The rumors were swirling like mad in the last month about Riley perhaps leaving Norman to become the head coach at LSU. Not once did anyone believe or insinuate it was Southern Cal on the prowl.
“We would have liked more notice,” Harroz said. “We were surprised by it yesterday. That was his decision. You can only impact those things that you can control. Once we had that information, he left, Joe and I looked at each other and said, ‘Well, that was a surprise, now let's get to work.’”
And back to work for Castiglione, who said he believes Riley wasn’t trying to purposely sabotage the program. Castiglione been there a couple of times this season, replacing retired basketball coaches Lon Kruger and Sherri Coale with Porter Moser and Jennie Baranczyk.
They both feel like quality hires and both came about from a process that is consistent with Castiglione. He’s not giving you any hints the rest of the way.
“It’s a great thing to be a part of here at the University of Oklahoma,” Castiglione said. “And certainly, as you would expect, it has already drawn interest that is off the charts. The process is a lot like it always is. It’s gonna be stealthy, as usual. But we know the importance of time and timing and what we need to do with everything that is going on in this very different and new world, so we’ll move it quickly.”
Stoops was a home run. The intensity of the moment might have some hard feelings for OU fans regarding Riley, but it’s hard to argue against his results.
Another home run has to be on the way. It’s OU’s only option.
“The type of coaching we’re looking for is the type of coach like Coach Stoops or Lincoln Riley,” Castiglione said. “That’s the kind of coaches we hire in our program. They really possess the competency, the confidence and the character the ability to develop the chemistry in the program and have the clear vision for how they’re to put this program in position to possibly compete for championships.
“And know they’ll be surrounded by all the resources and people that want the same thing. That is the Oklahoma way. The way it works is that we change with the ever-changing rules and environment that are required for us to be mindful of that, but we won’t don’t change our guidance system and we don’t change our passion. Those are locked in.”