Why would somebody “interview” to say “not interested”?
That does not compute.
His office would be empty today had they offered.
My friend is a Florida State fan.
He says that Stoops is one of those insurance candidates in the 2nd tier if the elite guys say no. They want Urban Meyer, Brian Kelly, or someone like that.
FSU made the request to speak with Stoops to gage his interest. I think they talked about money and goals. He wanted to know where he stood. I think they basically said that they’re be interested if the top guys say no which would be into late December if it happened.
It was more of a due diligence check for FSU. That’s how coaches make their list and it’s smart to do after seeing what happened at Tennessee. He was on their list and they just wanted to see if he’d be willing to hold out and wait and he wanted to see where he was on their list. It keeps you from a big surprise and you know where you go if your big fish says no.
Stoops can leak it to the press that he’s not interested. They don’t want him to be their big target, but he can sell it as that big programs are interested and he needs a raise. Smart PR for him.
Similarly I bet Vince did a similar thing last season. He knew that Brohm was the target, but had Scott ready on speed dial if Jeff said no.