New Oklahoma Sooners general manager Jim Nagy praises standout Sooners' coach for long history of NFL development
A few weeks after the hire of longtime NFL and Senior Bowl executive Jim Nagy as general manager of the Oklahoma Sooners was announced, Nagy has begun to settle down and begin his work in preparing to oversee all football duties. Part of that is getting to know all the people and staff around the […]
A few weeks after the hire of longtime NFL and Senior Bowl executive Jim Nagy as general manager of the Oklahoma Sooners was announced, Nagy has begun to settle down and begin his work in preparing to oversee all football duties.
Part of that is getting to know all the people and staff around the Sooners. One of those people most important to know is the Sooners' standout offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. A Stoops hire, Bedenbaugh has been a key cog of the Sooners for the last decade, building some of the best offensive lines in college football across three separate coaching staffs.
Coming from the NFL, Nagy is abundantly aware of Bedenbaugh's reputation as a developer of NFL-caliber players. In a recent video produced by the Sooners, Nagy spoke about his impression of Bedenbaugh and how he is viewed in the NFL.
"A great developer, you know? [With] High school offensive linemen, you're not getting a finished product. So, he gets them ready for the league. I've actually heard Creed [Humphrey] say it. That's the biggest advantage he felt like he had coming from OU was working under Bill, it wasn't a big transition for him to the NFL. So, if there's any OL recruits out there watching this, hope you're taking notes because maybe you could be the next Creed Humphrey."
Since he took over coaching the offensive line in 2013, Bedenbaugh has had 13 offensive linemen drafted in the NFL, including nine offensive tackles (most in the country by far) and back-to-back first-round picks in Anton Harrison and Tyler Guyton.
Now, Bill gets the help of a longtime NFL talent evaluator, and the staff he will bring under him, to help identify and bring in offensive line recruits and transfers. Combined with Bedenbaugh's ability to develop multiple different types of recruits, this could be a perfect match. The future of the trenches at Oklahoma looks promising with these two at the helm.
