Youngstown flavor: Sun Bowl coaches have links to area

Bob Stoops is pitted against Ron Lynn and D.J. Durkin.

By JOHN KOVACH

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

Coaches from the Youngstown area will square off when Stanford meets Oklahoma in the 76th Brut Sun Bowl Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas

Assistant coaches Ron Lynn (Struthers) and D.J. Durkin (Boardman), both of Stanford, will help to match strategies against perennially-successful coach Bob Stoops (Cardinal Mooney) of Oklahoma in the nationally-televised contest starting at 11 a.m. in Sun Devil Stadium on CBS-TV.

Stanford (8-4, 6-3 Pacific-10 Conference), guided by third-year coach Ron Harbaugh (17-19 record to date), is making its 21st bowl appearance and first since the 2001 Seattle Bowl.

Oklahoma (7-5, 5-3 Big 12) is making its 43rd bowl appearance and 11th under Stoops, who is in his 11th season at the helm with a 116-29 record to date.

Stoops has enjoyed success after success at Oklahoma, including winning the 2000 national championship with a 13-0 record.

However, his five losses this year have equalled those in his opening 1999 season (7-5) in 1999, and a setback to Stanford would deal him his worst season (7-6) at Oklahoma.

And Stanford, enjoying its first winning season since 2001, is a threat to do just that.

The Cardinal, which got off to a 4-3 start this year, enters the Sun Bowl on the comeback trail with momentum and wins in four out of its last five games, including a 45-38 triumph over Notre Dame in the season finale.

Stanford and Oklahoma have met four times previously, all between 1978 and 1984. The Sooners lead the series, 3-1.

Durkin, a graduate of Bowling Green where he was a four-year starter at defensive end from 1997-2000, is in his third year coaching Stanford’s defensive ends and special teams.

Under Durkin’s guidance, the Cardinal’s defensive ends have helped the team to rank 11th nationally in sacks per game each of the last two seasons.

Durkin came to Stanford after serving two seasons (2005-06) on the coaching staff at Bowling Green,.

He also launched his coaching career at Bowling Green as a defensive graduate assistant for on Urban Meyer’s staff for two seasons (2001-02).

Then he went to Notre Dame as a graduate assistant coach on defense for two years (2003-04) before returning to the Falcons’ staff.

Lynn, a 1966 graduate of Mount Union where he played quarterback and defensive back from 1962-65, is in his second season with Stanford, sharing defensive coordinator duties with Andy Bush.

A coach since 1966 with a long line of college and professional experience, Lynn is considered one of the most respected defensive minds in the game.

Like Durkin, Lynn and Bush also are credited for helping Stanford to its No. 11 ranking in sacks per game the last two years.

Lynn has heavy NFL coaching experience, serving as defensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers (1986-91), Cincinnati Bengals (1992-93) and Washington Redskins (1994-96).

He also was a secondary coach with the New England Patriots (1997-99), Oakland Raiders (2000-03) and San Francisco 49ers (2004).

During his 11-year helm, Stoops has taken Oklahoma to four national championship games, while his Sooners have captured six Big 12 Conference championships.

Last year, Stoops became the first coach in Big 12 Conference history to win three straight league titles, after becoming the first to win two crowns in a row in 2007.

Also in 2008, he became the fastest Oklahoma coach to 100 wins in more than a century.

Stoops launched his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Iowa (1983-84), then became a voluntary assistant at Iowa (1985-87) before going to Kent State as an aide for one year (19888). Then he moved on to a seven-year assistant’s job at Kansas State (1989-95) before shifting to Florida as defensive coordinator for three years from 1996-98.

kovach@vindy.com