It isn't as if Iowa couldn't attract some terrific candidates. A Big Ten job with great fan and administrative support is a pearl. Iowa isn't Indiana, which can't get 40,000 people to come to its homecoming game. It isn't Minnesota, which will be in the shadow of the Vikings as long as the NFL team stays in the Twin Cities. Iowa isn't Ohio State or Penn State, either, but it is a program you can take to New Year's bowls if you are sharp in building and running a program.
Stoops appears plenty sharp.
No, he hasn't been a head coach. No, he has never overseen an offense. Barry Alvarez was never a college head coach before going to Wisconsin, nor had he overseen a college offense. Come Jan. 1, he will lead the Badgers in the Rose Bowl for the second time. He was the defensive coordinator for Florida' s 1996 national champs.