As the world was figuring out how to use Zoom in 2020, Bob Shoop took that time to reconnect with one of his former players.
The sports world was on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Shoop, then the safeties coach at Michigan, would connect each week with Robert Livingston, then the secondary coach of the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals.
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“We did Zoom calls with each other once a week for about two months during that period and just talked football for an hour each day,” Shoop, now the safeties coach at Marshall, said of those calls with Livingston, whom he coached at William & Mary from 2007-09.
The two would exchange thoughts and ideas and Shoop said, “It didn’t surprise me, but I was incredibly impressed (with Livingston).”
The fact that Livingston is now the defensive coordinator for the Colorado Buffaloes did surprise Shoop, but not because he thinks Livingston isn’t ready. In fact, he thinks CU head coach Deion Sanders hired a gem to run the Buffaloes’ defense.
“I really didn’t see a move like this coming, so it kind of caught me a little bit off guard, but I’m very happy for him and the opportunity to be a coordinator,” Shoop said. “Whatever the best version of the Colorado defense can be, you’ll see it because of who he is from a teaching organization perspective, teaching perspective, relationship perspective. He’ll connect with the coaches and the players very, very well.”
Sanders hired Livingston, 38, earlier this month and it surprised Shoop only because he didn’t know there was a connection between the two.
The connection is likely from Mike Zimmer, a long-time mentor of Sanders’ who worked with Livingston in Cincinnati several years ago. It may have been the Zimmer connection that got Livingston in the door with Sanders, but it was Livingston who secured the job with his background and interview.
“That just shows you the type of person Robert is that he went in and had an interview for your first time coordinator job with arguably one of the biggest names in college sports today, if not all of sports (and got the job),” Shoop said. “That just shows you that we’re talking about – no pun intended – a dude who’s ready for prime time.”
File- This Aug. 10, 2018, file photo shows Mississippi State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop practicing with the safeties during an NCAA college football practice in Starkville, Miss. (AP Photo/Jim Lytle, File)
Shoop, whose 35-year career has included defensive coordinator jobs at Mississippi State, Penn State, South Florida, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, first met Livingston in 2007.
Shoop was just starting his job as the coordinator and safeties coach at William & Mary, while Livingston was just getting there as a sophomore transfer from Western Michigan.
During the next three seasons, Shoop and Livingston helped turn the Tribe into one of the best defenses in the Football Championship Subdivision. W&M went 4-7 and ranked 111th in the FCS in scoring defense in 2007 and vaulted to 55th in 2008, while going 7-4. In 2009, Livingston’s senior season, the Tribe had the No. 2 defense in the country, finished 11-3 and advanced to the FCS semifinals.
“He may not have been the best player on the defense, but you could make a case he was the most valuable player on that defense,” Shoop said. “He was a good tackler, he could play the game, and he was a guy who was very confident in his ability. … He was very passionate and enjoyed playing the game as much as any player I’ve been around.”
What stood out, though, was how Livingston attacked film study and preparation.
“He spent every bit as much time in the film room as any of the coaches on the staff,” Shoop said. “I mean, you could just see that his passion was for the game of football. When they talk about a coach on the field, he embodied all that stuff. He not only knew what he was doing, he knew what the other 10 players on the defense’s responsibilities were on every single play.
“It was very evident that when (playing) football did expire for him that he was going to pursue a career in football in some way, shape or form.”
Livingston’s cousin is long-time Pittsburgh Steelers scout Phil Kreidler. Shoop and Kreidler have been friends for years and they wondered if Livingston would go the scouting route, as well.
“The coaching bug bit him and he’s obviously done a great job and is highly respected in the profession,” Shoop said. “It’s not surprising to see him rise up the ranks.”
Although Livingston has never been a coordinator and play-caller, he’s been mentored by long-time coaches such as Shoop, Jimmye Laycock at W&M, Zimmer and Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
“He’s incredibly intelligent,” Shoop said of Livingston. “I’m not even talking about football; he’s an incredibly intelligent person. He’s an incredibly composed person. He’s very confident. I’m quite certain he’s very, very prepared for this opportunity. Certainly there will be bumps in the road, but as far as being a first-time coordinator, he’s as prepared as any first-time coordinator there will be, anywhere.
“The guy coached in the Super Bowl. The guy’s coached in the NFL playoffs against the best teams in our industry. So, I’m quite sure that he’ll be ready for the challenge that is Big 12 football and Colorado Buffs football in the fall.”
As an analyst at Marshall last season, Shoop found himself staying up late to watch the Coach Prime-led Buffs and that’s before he had a connection to the team.
“Now that Robert’s there, paint me black and gold and I’m ready to watch Colorado Buffalo football this fall,” Shoop said. “I’m so excited to watch how the team does in the fall.”
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