Bob Stoops Bought A $2.25 Million Chicago Home A Month Ago

Bob Stoops abruptly retired as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday in a move that shocked the college football world. Any time a 56-year-old coach walks away in the middle of a successful run at a big-time program it’s going to be a surprise. But a recent purchase by Stoops suggests this move was in the works for a while.

On May 11, the Chicago Tribune reported that Stoops and his wife, Carol, had purchased a $2.25 million home in the Gold Coast area of Chicago. The 5,500 square-foot mansion is actually next door to one they already owned. That house was purchased in 2006 for $2.2 million.

We don’t know if the family plans to use those as rental properties or as a home, but the place sounds pretty sweet. From the Tribune:

"“Now, through a limited liability company, Stoops and his wife have expanded their holdings with their new row home, which was rebuilt from the ground up in 2008. Built in 1886, the mansion has a greystone facade, 5½ baths, an elevator, a sunroom, a fourth-floor media room, a south-facing wall of windows, two fireplaces, stone baths and an au pair space on the lower level.”"

That sounds like the kind of place I want to live, not rent. But that’s just me.

Back in a 2013 interview, Stoops gave this answer to the question “What’s your favorite getaway?” “I love to take my wife to Chicago, her favorite city.”

Maybe the Youngstown, Ohio native is planning a move back to the upper-Midwest and knew his tenure at Oklahoma was winding down.