The Mark Stoops Dynasty

[Chris]

Bro the Cardinals point spread

 

[CakeWalker]

Its crazy what happens when some of these teams rely on rookies just don't cut the mustard. I was thinking - do I push the difficulty, and then Seattle. Oh wait - no this is still my level. I think Dallas made the playoffs.

 

[CakeWalker]

Results From Wild Card Week:

Baltimore Ravens 28 - 34 Indianapolis Colts

Atalanta Falcons 23 - 23 Detroit Lions

Cleveland Browns 21 - 31 San Antonio Express

Chicago Bears 20 - 17 Dallas Cowboys

After the run of games from the wildcard round, Mark Stoops would be informed that the 49ers would be playing the Falcons in the divisional round. Stoops would make it clear that he had a lot of respect for the Falcons. Stoops would make it clear though that as much as he was wary of the Atlanta, the other NFC game involved Chicago taking on the Saints and Stoops would make it clear that he wasn't looking forward to another encounter with either of those two teams.

21 - 38

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Atlanta Falcons	0	14	0	7	21
San Fransisco 49ers	7	6	8	17	38

To a lot of people's disappointment the fixture would be as close as neutral might have wanted, but considering the season that San Fransisco had had against questionably weaker teams it was another stellar performance. Breida would score an early rushing rushing touchdown in Q1 before Gaylon would convert two FGs in the second quarter, although the Falcons would actually score two touchdown before the end of the half to take a lead at the break. Breida though would score a second rushing TD (2point PAT) in the third quarter, before Thurmond would throw to Pettis and Breida in Q4 with Gaylon piling on the pressure as the 49ers would find themselves advancing to the NFC Championship game for the second year in a row. Mark Stoops would find himself being compared to former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll as Stoops had the opportunity to winning the NFC Championship two years in a row, which Carroll had achieved in 2013/2014.

Results from the Divisional Round:

San Antonio Express 24 - 21 Pittsburgh Steelers

Indianapolis Colts 12 - 28 Miami Dolphins

Chicago Bears 38 - 3 New Orleans Saints

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP

After the Bears had crushed the Saints in the other NFC divisional round game, for the second year in a row the NFC Championship would see the Chicago face San Fransisco. For Stoops would be his third playoff encounter with the Bears, with the first having been Super Bowl LVI (with the Raiders). Many considered the 49ers as the favourites this year with a 13-3 record in comparison to the Bears 10-6, although a point must be made beforehand that last years the Bears were seen as the favourites but had gone on to lose the NFC Championship 17-40.

The game would begin with Matt Breida continuing his good run of form from last week by scoring a rushing down touchdown in the first quarter. It would be his fourth touchdown (rushing & receiving) in two games and the Running Back who had seen much less action than last season, was clearly enjoying getting the chance to show his worth once more, especially considering he had missed out on last year's playoffs because of injury. In Q2 Randy Bullock would convert a field goal for the Bears, whilst Gaylon would balance it out by converting for the 49ers, with the half ending as Anthony Miller would scoop a ball out of the air to tie up the game at 10-10 at the end of the half with a receiving touchdown.

(Anthony Miller - Chicago Wide Receiver)

Senior Running Back LeSean McCoy would score an important rushing touchdown in the third quarter, with the 49ers doing their best to close the gap and penetrate the Chicago's defence but found themselves having to settle for a field goal instead with the 49ers needing a touchdown rather than a field goal with the score at 17-13. In the fourth quarter the 49ers looked like they were going to to break through the Chicago lines, but found themselves blocked off once again. Gaylon was handing the responsibility of kicking a 50 yard field goal, but ended up hitting the crossbar with the 49ers still four points behind with very little time left on the clock. With two minutes left on the clock and with San Fransisco in possession, they were in the knowledge that if they lost possession of the ball they would lose the game. Thurmond would find himself throwing into heavy traffic, and would start to direct them up the field but would miss the mark which would result in a Chicago interception. With the 49ers having no more timeouts remaining, the Bears would just utilise the QB kneel to run down the clock and earn the Bears a spot at Super Bowl LIX. It would see the Bears have their second shot at the crown in the decade having lost to the Raiders in 2021. The Bears would looking to win their second crown, having won their first in 1985. For the 49ers their season had come to an end, with Mark Stoop hopes for winning back-to-back Super Bowl coming to an end.

17 - 13

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Chicago Bears	0	10	7	0	17
San Fransisco 49ers	7	3	3	0	13

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP

In the AFC Championships the Dolphins would find themselves being beaten by the Express 7-14 in what was a tight game. San Antonio (formerly the Charges) found themselves in their best form in recent years/

Mark Stoops would be one of the coach invited to coach the NFC at the Pro Bowl, but Stoops would decline the offer making it clear that he needed a few weeks away from the game as he was still was getting over the loss to the Bears. The following 49ers would find themselves being selected to represent the NFC: Thurmond QB1, Juszczyk FB1, Pettis, WR2, Hopkins TE1, Nick Holman, RT2, Nick Bosa RE, Buckner DT2, Kown Alexander ROLB, Hyder PR1.

The game itself would go to overtime with the NFC winning for the first time in years with a score of 27-30.

Perry Thurmond would end the weekend by winning NFC's offensive player of the year award, as well as being recognised as the NFL Most Valuable Player for the 2024 season in just his second year as a pro. Stoops would win his third Head Coach of the Year award, although wouldn't be available for comment as he was currently at an unknown location hiding from the press. Nick Bosa would be win 3rd place in the NFC Defensive Player of the Year.

42 - 28

Super Bowl LIX would be a much more entertaining contest than the previous year, and the Express would win their first super bowl crown in their complete franchise history (LA Chargers 1960, San Diego Chargers 1961-2016, LA Chargers, 2017-2020, San Antonio Express 2021-Present).



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[CakeWalker]

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[Chris]

THIS IS SUCH A HAPPY TIME FOR A LONG TIME AND LOYAL EXPRESS FAN LIKE MYSELF

Giddy fuckin' up

 

[CakeWalker]

@Nikita Chrischev I knew you would enjoy this win.

 

[CakeWalker]

2025 Season: Stoops Loses It - Part I
(I simulated the season to spice up the narrative)

Mark Stoops would announce that at the start of the season that contract talks between himself and the DeBartolo Family had broken during the offseason and that this would be his final year in San Fransisco and would make it clear that certain decisions were being made without his consultation and that 49ers General Manager John Lynch had started taking a more active role in how the franchise was run. Stoops would confirm that this lack of control had started the morning after the 49ers had lost the NFC Championship game. Stoops would go on to confirm Zack Martin (RG), Andrew Norvell (LG) & Stephen Tuitt (LE) had joined the team and that this had happened without any input from either himself or Jarno Stormberd.

(John Lynch - San Fransisco 49ers General Manager)

To make the situation even more difficult it would be announced that Lynch would be taking control of all the draft picks for the 2025 Draft. News would surface that the 49ers had traded away M.Thorton DT (80 Rating) and J. Parry RE (77 Rating) with the Green Packers in exchange for the #1 pick in this year's draft. To make the situation even more uncomfortable for Stoops, the 49ers would dismiss Defensive Coach (and Stoops' Number Two) Jarno Stormberd and replace him with former Packers head coach Doug Marrone. Although nothing was confirmed, it seemed as though Marrone was going to replace Stoops next season, but clearly the 49ers were unwilling to terminate Stoops' contract and have to pay out the compensation attached to it. Below is the draft picks chosen by John Lynch.
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2025 Draft Pick	Player/Position	University	Rating
Round 1 #1	Alante Higgins (CB)	Connecticut	71
Round 2 #30	Roland Cooper (FS)	UTEP	69
Round 3 #30	Dudley Drake (FS)	Delware	68
Round 4 #14	Dee Banks (HB)	Akron	63
Round 4 #27	Kevin Aguirre (C)	Colorado	61
Round 5 #11	Josh Long (LE)	USF	62
Round 6 #12	William Tramen (QB)	South Carolina State	59
Round 6 #30	Trade Browns R4 2025	N/A	N/A
Round 7 #30	Gerard George (QB)	UL Lafayette	53

(Cris Collingsworth)

Cris Collingsworth would share this thought on the 49ers' situation and question some of the strange draft choices the franchise had made, especially with Alante Higgins being a 2nd round pick at best and that they seemed to have trade away two much more talented players for an average cornerback. Collingsworth would make the point that San Fransisco clearly had lost their minds, as Stoops was the man that could of taken them to multiple Super Bowl Title and replacing him was only going to push the franchise backwards. On the other hand, Collingsworth would make the point that a number of franchises would be keen to sign Stoops for the 2026 season.
​

 

[Chris]

I admire your dedication to the narrative

 

[CakeWalker]

2025 Season: Stoops Loses It - Part II

Mark Stoops seventh season in the National Football League would prove to be the most difficult as it was clear that Stoops wasn't really enjoying himself, but he refused to resign from his post despite the clear intention of John Lynch. Instead, Stoops would do everything in his power to guide the 49ers into the playoffs. In a season where last season's MVP Thurmond would throw 29 Passing Touchdowns (3,391 yards) with Hopkins scoring 8 of them, as well as Matt Breida scoring ten rushing touchdowns it wouldn't be a bad regular season despite all the complications off the field. The 49ers would finished over 0.500 as they would go for 9-7 for the season. It would however, not be enough for the 49ers to earn their spot in the playoffs and so as soon as San Fransisco had beaten the Panthers in Week Seventeen, General Manager John Lynch would announce that Mark Stoops was no longer the Head Coach of the San Fransisco 49ers.​

Week	Road Team	Score	Home Team
1	San Fransisco 49ers	17 - 24	Tennesse Titans
2	San Fransisco 49ers	35 - 6	Jacksonville Jaguars
3	Los Angeles Rams	27 - 24	San Fransisco 49ers
4	San Fransisco 49ers	21 - 39	Detroit Lions
5	Seattle Seahawks	19 - 20	San Fransisco 49ers
6	San Fransisco 49ers	31 - 17	Los Angeles Rams
7	San Fransisco 49ers	31 - 35	Atlanta Falcons
8	San Fransisco 49ers	35 - 28	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9	Indianapolis Colts	21 - 28	San Fransisco 49ers
10	Bye	N/A	Bye
11	Arizona Cardinals	24 - 20	San Fransisco 49ers
12	San Fransisco 49ers	7 - 24	Houston Texans
13	New Orleans Saints	21 - 31	San Fransisco 49ers
14	San Fransisco 49ers	31 - 7	Seattle Seahawks
15	San Fransisco 49ers	13 - 34	Arizona Cardinals
16	Dallas Cowboys	10 - 20	San Fransisco 49ers
17	Carolina Panthers	7 - 28	San Fransisco 49ers

NFC WEST	W	L	%	Points Diff
Arizona Cardinals	11	5	0.688	+36
Los Angeles Rams	10	6	0.625	+26
San Fransisco 49ers	9	7	0.563	+43
Seattle Seahawks	3	13	0.188	-41

Mark Stoops would depart San Fransisco after three season at the helm which had included winning Super Bowl LVIII, but had experienced his worse season in the league at 9-7 and for the first time since working in the National Football League had failed to make the playoffs. Stoops would make it clear to the press that just like has had a lot of love for fans and players at Las Vegas Raiders, he held the same good feeling for the friends he had made in San Fransisco. Stoops would make the point that certain individuals shouldn't be involved in the decisions regarding how a football team is run and should instead focus on profit and loss margins and not play books. Stoops would confirm that he would be brining Jarno Stormberd as his assistant and that he was already communicating with a number of teams about being their coach in 2026.

Results From Wild Card Week:

Baltimore Ravens 7 - 24 Buffalo Bills

Dallas Cowboys 20 - 17 Arizona Cardinals

Miami Dolphins 45 - 16 Las Vegas Raiders

Atlanta Falcons 21 - 19 Minnesotta Vikings

After the Wild Card round of games Mark Stoops would reveal to the press that he had been in discussions with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but that he had not been prepared to relocate in Florida as he considered the distance and change in scenery something he was unwilling to put his family through. Stoops also hinted that the contractual offer had been lower than he had been expecting.

Results from the Divisional Round:

Miami Dolphins 17 - 28 Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys 31 - 17 New York Giants

Buffalo Bills 38 - 14 Indianapolis Colts

Atlanta Falcons 31 - 21 New Orlean Saints

A rumour would emerge that the Vikings had reached out to Stoops following their elimination at the hands of Atlanta in the Wild Card round, but Stoops would squash the rumour and make it clear that he had no intention of working for the Vikings and seemed to make a joke, although it was hard to tell if he was actually serious - saying that he had played the Bears far too much already and didn't know if he was willing to play them twice a year.

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP

Buffalo Bills 30 - 24 Cleveland Browns

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP

Dallas Cowboys 27 - 24 Atlanta Falcons

It would emerge during Pro Bowl Weekend that two teams were in the race to sign Mark Stoops for next season: the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans. It was clear that many felt Stoops taking over where Andy Reid had left off would be a natural fit, as Reid had departed the Chiefs by choice rather than having been forced out. Patrick Mahomes II was still the outfit's first choice Quarterback, which would make building the team around him quite a simple task. On the other hand the Texans last season had been an 8-8 season with a lack lustre team that were just hanging on in there. Stoops would reveal that he would announce his decision after next week's Super Bowl as would make it clear that the attention real should be on the Bills and the Cowboys.

SUPER BOWL LX

Dallas Cowboys 17 - 31 Buffalo Bills

The Bills would win their first Super Bowl in their franchise's history, it would also mark the second year in a row that the Lombardi Trophy had been earned for the first time for franchise (San Antonio Express last season). Only ten teams in the National Football League haven't won the Super Bowl: The Bengals, Browns, Cardinals, Falcons, Jaguars, Panthers, Texans, Titans & the Vikings, whilst only the Jaguars, Lions and Texans haven't even played in the prize match itself. All that was left now, was for football fans around the world to find out where Mark Stoops would work in 2026.​

 

[Bobby Barrows]

MINNESOTA VIKINGS RUN LET'S GO

 

[Chris]

Ah fuckin' hell I wanted two Texas teams to win back to back and THE FUCKIN BILL

 

[CakeWalker]

2025 Season: Stoops Loses It - Part III

Mark Stoops would host a press conference in San Fransisco (as he was still located in the city) and would be joined his long time assistant Jarno Stormberd. Stoops would confirm that he had already achieved more than he ever thought possible, and being the only man to win the Super Bowl with two different teams was an accolade that no one was ever going to be able to take away from him. Stoops would make it clear that his four season in Oakland/Vegas and three season in San Fransisco had been somewhat of a education for him about how business was rung in the professional game in comparisons to in college and that he felt there were some flaws present in the National Football League that needed to be corrected, and that this code of conduct had to be brought into action by all the various franchise owners that made the league possible.

Stoops would confirm that he signed a contract with a franchise and that this would be on a three year basis and that after that period of time he would hang up his boots as Head Coach. However, Stoops seemed to indicate that despite plans for the 2027 to be his last season as the role of Head Coach that he had something else planned from 2028 onwards. Stoops would say that he was unable to share any information on anything that far in the future at this time, and that he intended to spend his next three focusing on third and final team that he would act as a Head Coach for in the National Football League - the Houston Texans.

Stoops would reveal that the Texans offered him a unique challenge as they were only one of three franchise that had never participated in a Super Bowl contest and so he would make it clear that his objective was simply that - within his three year contract as a minimum requirement get the Texans to reach the Super Bowl. He would make the point that a win would be a bonus, but that he wanted to try and create a goal that was attainable. Although, the point was raised by a number of journalists that Stoops has won ever Super Bowl fixtures he has been a part of.

Stoops would indicate that this year draft process was going to prove to be slightly difficult, as he hadn't had access to material that the 49ers had been collecting so that he was going into the process not as prepared as he would have liked to have been, but would reveal that Cal McNair hadn't had any reservations about scouring the free agency pool ahead of the season. Stoops would also confirm that if any former Raiders or 49ers players were available and offered a benefit to the team, that he was likely to bring them into the setup although would make the point that as always only the best or most suited for the job would feature in the starting line-up.

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[Chris]

I can cheer for you now because you joined the great lone star state

 

[CakeWalker]

Offseason/Preseason

Mark Stoops' eighth season in the National Football League would begin with a very positive exploration of the free agency market. Jarno Stormberd would be given a blank cheque to travel cross country with the intention of signing a number of capable players to the Texans' roster.

(Demarcus Lawrence - Outside Linebacker)

Senior OLB Lawrence who had spent the previous eleven season with the Cowboys became the first man to be brought into the new Texans' setup. Demarcus Lawrence (Rating 83) had been brought to Houston. Lawrence would be joined by former 49ers MLB Paddy Fisher (79 Rating) who became the first former San Fransisco player to be reunited with Stoops and Stormberd. Stormberd would also sign Wide Receiver Randall Hyder (78 Rating) who had also been a 49er and have been an alternative option as WR2 for the 49ers. Jarno Stormberd though would make it clear that "we will not be looking to make an trades for previous favoured players, as we have a limited spending fund and so all signing are done following a rigid spending budget."

(KJ Hamler - Wide Receiver)

A second Wide Receiver would find himself joining the Texans, as former Penn State KJ Hamler (Rating 79) whose first six years at the Broncos had been less than magical to say the very least. Hamler was clearly being brought as an option, to give QB1 Watson as many options as possible going forward. Since the 2020 Draft Stoops had coached Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III previously, with Hamler having always been seen as a less version to the previous two. Stoops had hte opportunity to unearth some perhaps hidden potential from Hamler in KJ's seventh season in the NFL.

(David DeCastro - Right Guard)

David DeCastro (Rating 84) the former Steeler who was now in his twilight years at the age of 37 had been picked up by Houston, having only just been released by Pittsburgh, and would be find himself joined by another guard Ali Marpet (Rating 83) who had been quite the journeyman in recent years, although it being clear that both senior players had been brought into the team with Stoops and Stormberd clearly feeling the need to plug up a few holes.

(Ali Marpet - Left Guard)

Jarno Stormberd's travel would find him signing two player further players with both looking to have the potential of having a massive influence to both the offence and the defence.

(Byron Jones - Cornerback)

Byron Jones (Rating 89) formerly of the Cowboys and more recently the Dolphins had been brought in to the Texans setup with it being indicated that no real prospects were present in this year's draft class in the CB position. Jones would be joined by former Bears Halfback Tarik Cohen (Rating 88).

(Tarik Cohen - Running Back)

Cohen had featured in the Chicago Bears team that had lost to Stoops' Las Vegas @ Super Bowl LVI and also in the NFC Championship game against Stoops' 49ers two years later, as well as the Bears win the following season over the 49ers in the reverse result of the NFC Championship (only for the Bears to lose to San Antonio). Cohen would make the point that he had been an almost man too many times now, and that joining Stoops' new setup personally felt like the best option that had been presented to him after being released by Chicago.
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2026 Draft Pick​	Player/Position​	University​	Rating​
Round 1 #15​	Terrance Hopkins (SS)​	Oklahoma ​	72​
Round 2 #15​	Roy Knorr (LG)​	Michigan​	70​
Round 3 #15​	Grayson Callaway (TE)​	Drake​	67​
Round 4 #15​	Demarcus Wimbley (FB)​	Ohio State​	71​
Round 5 #15​	Marcus Grove (SS)​	Vanderbilt ​	63​
Round 6 #15​	Alonzo Gim (WR)​	UAB​	56​
Round 7 #15​	Judge Sanborn (K)​	Georgia Tech​	64​

Mark Stoop would make it clear that his first Texans' draft class was filled with potential, but that this season they would need to prove themselves in practises session and when called upon from the bench during the season. However, Houston's first choice kicker would injure himself during preseason which would mean that Judge Sanborn from Georgia Tech would be the first member of the 2026 Texans class to be selected to play for the first team, and a lot of pressure would be placed on Sanborn's shoulder as it was no secret that Stoops placed a lot of faith on his kicking teams.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Week One

(NRG Stadium - Houston, Texas)

Mark Stoops would open his account as the new Head Coach of the Texans in Week One at the NRG Stadium, as Houston played host to the Redskins. Rookie kicker Judge Sanborn would find himself kicking his first field goal of his pro-career that would give the Texans an early lead in the first quarter. Stoops' general game plan seemed to be proving effective, as Deshaun would throw his first passing touchdown of the season that would be caught by 2016 first round pick Will Fuller V. The second quarter would very much be similar to the first as Sanborn would convert his second career field gold, before KJ Hamler would score his first receiving touchdown as a Houston Texans as Houston would put themselves ahead 0-20. The Redskins would offer a comeback though after some poor defence that would see two fields goal and rushing touchdown from Washington turn the fixture into a one score game at 13-20 at the end of the first half. The second half would see the Texans' need running back Tarik Cohen score two touchdowns although Sanborn would fail to convert a PAT on the second. Washington would only manage to score a third field goal as the game would end with a score of 16-33.

16 - 33

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Washington Redskins	0	13	0	3	16
Houston Texans	10	10	7	6	33

After the game Mark Stoops would speak with the press present in the NRG Stadium.

Stoops would make it clear that he was incredibly pleased with the work that the team had put in during preseason and really felt that the football culture he always aimed to instil in all of his players was already starting to show in the approach a number of player had already brought to the table. Stoops would make it clear that he felt that Houston had a realistic chance of having a positive season, although his aim was to develop a squad that within the next three years would reach a Super Bowl. Stoops would make it clear when questions came his way in regards to his plan after Houston, that his sole focus at this time was his current role as the Head Coach of the Texans.


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