Those former Fry assistants were courted heavily after Hayden Fry announced his retirement in 1998. Bob Bowlsby, who had succeeded Bump Elliott as athletic director in 1990, entertained several candidates for the position, but one candidate was clearly the fan favorite. Bob Stoops, who had played defensive back on the 1982 Rose Bowl team and later coached under Fry, was the defensive coordinator under Steve Spurrier at Florida. Most Hawkeye fans saw him as a natural successor to Fry. Shortly after an interview with Iowa, Stoops decided to take the coaching job at Oklahoma. Most Iowa fans were furious at Bowlsby for not doing enough, in their minds, to convince Stoops to take the Iowa job. Many fans were not appeased when Bowlsby announced that Kirk Ferentz would be the next Iowa coach.