Mike Stoops confirmed to a Tucson CBS-TV affiliate he will be returning to Oklahoma after reports have been circulating for weeks he would rejoin the OU staff he left over seven years ago.

"Going back to Oklahoma was pretty much a natural fit for me spending five years there with Bob and getting to play in two national championship games was pretty special," Mike Stoops told KOLD Channel 13's Damien Alameda. "I have great memories of that and hope that we can rekindle some of those old flames and get back to a championship level team."

OU has not made an official announcement on Mike Stoops return to Norman because the Sooners don't yet have an official opening in Norman.

Defensive backs coach Willie Martinez has been job hunting and has been linked to openings at Kansas, Illinois and Auburn over the last week. But until Martinez lands a position with a new school, Mike Stoops announcement is on hold.

But on Wednesday, Stoops wasn't hiding his return back to Norman.

"I just felt the most comfortable with my situation being with my brother Bob and being at Oklahoma with some great friends, and some guys I coached with," said Mike Stoops.

With rumors that current defensive coordinator Brent Venables would be stripped of defensive play-calling duties, many have openly wondered if OU's linebacker coach and one of the Sooners' top recruiters might look at other options.

Mike Stoops indicated Venables would be on board when he joined the Sooners.

"The whole defensive staff will be the exact same way we started however many years ago I left, eight years," he said. "Other guys will be there that I was with during that period of time. So I'm excited to go back and work with those guys."

Bob Stoops has been asked several times about the possibility of his brother rejoining his staff over the last several months. His last public comments came the day after the Sooners' 31-14 victory over Iowa in the Insight Bowl.

"In the right circumstances. You never know, but he has a lot of good opportunities," answered Bob Stoops when asked if he could see Mike rejoining his staff. "There's still a lot of uncertainty with jobs out there. There's a bunch of them still waiting to be filled or solidified."

Part of the uncertainty, Mike Stoops confirmed, was interest by Ohio State and Texas A&M. Mike even mentioned Bob making a phone call on his behalf to Meyer to consider him for his vacant defensive coordinator opening.

"That was very enticing," said Mike Stoops about Ohio State. "Having the opportunity to work with a guy like Urban Meyer was really exciting to me and I got a chance to spend a day-and-a-half down there with those guys."

And Texas A&M?

Click Here to view this Link."Kevin SumlinClick Here to view this Link. is a guy at Texas A&M that I originally wanted to hire here at Arizona to be our first offensive coordinator and here's the irony of me going back to Texas A&M," said Mike Stoops. "The possibilities - Kevin and I had talked."

When it was all said and done, Mike Stoops ended up choosing Oklahoma for a variety of reasons.

"For me it was about a fit and where I fit in amongst the staff. That's why people have to let the process play out. Being able to identify what you're role is going to be at each particular place was going to be different," he said. "Your family plays a big role in all of this and I certainly feel very comfortable in this position."

A position that clears up a lot of that uncertainty Bob Stoops alluded to the morning after OU's Insight Bowl victory.