Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables won't make the same mistake when looking for his next OC
The Oklahoma Sooners made a mistake this offseason. And it's not to be rude, but it was a pretty big one. I think head coach Brent Venables wishes he could get back the hiring of offensive coordinator Seth Littrell. If he didn't, Littrell would still be with the team. Things started to get very bad, […]
The Oklahoma Sooners made a mistake this offseason. And it's not to be rude, but it was a pretty big one. I think head coach Brent Venables wishes he could get back the hiring of offensive coordinator Seth Littrell. If he didn't, Littrell would still be with the team.
Things started to get very bad, as the Sooners could barely get a first done, let alone score consistently every single game. The scheme looked terrible, where it looked like it was often times making the assignment for each player much harder than it had to be, just to get a worse result.
That's not supposed to happen. And, sure, the Sooners have dealt with a ton of injuries this season — some very unfortunate ones. But, that's the reality of football, no matter what level you play at. But, the ultimate reason the offense has been bad is without a doubt the offensive coordinator.
And, that kind of falls on Venables for hiring Littrell. At the time it seemed like a great idea to bring in a former OU player who was a captain during a very successful time at OU. But, that can cloud judgment. That's not always a good idea, and in this case, was a mistake.
Venables won't do that again.
“I could care less about OU ties. It doesn’t matter to me at all," Venables said earlier this week.
The Sooners will be looking for a new OC this offseason, and they will have plenty to choose from.
If it were up to me, I'd take a look at the most successful offensive coordinators or head coaches who have been fired, and look at which one can put points on the board. It doesn't matter how it looks, as long as the points get on the board because right now, that's not happening at all.
In their first year in the SEC, the Sooners score just 22.1 points per game, which is second to last in the SEC above just the Kentucky Wildcats. They have the least amount of total yards in the SEC, with Kentucky having 200 more than them.
Last year the Sooners were top 10 in a pot of statistical categories on the offensive side of the ball. So, it can be done with a defensive head coach. Only, last year the defense wasn't as good as this year's team. They have to find a way to have both in the SEC, or you will get left in the dust.
"At the end of the day, the vision is for us to have a high-scoring, explosive, diverse offense that recruits are going to want to play for," Venables continued. "There’s a body of work here at the University of Oklahoma. We can have the best coaches on the planet here in coaching, venturing, and developing, and we’ll have that. That’s really been the message for recruits and certainly their families at the end of the day."
The answer isn't always in the past if that makes sense. The Sooners don't always need to look at a guy who played for the team. Some of the best coaches and coordinators the team and school have ever seen didn't come from the school. Does it make everything a bit cooler and give the fans more to connect with? For sure. But, it also makes the job harder at times.
The Sooners need to have the blinders on when it comes to hiring an OC, and not look anywhere near an OU alumnus or former OU coach. They will let Joe John Finley call the plays as the interim offensive coordinator and Kevin Johns will help a bit as the interim quarterbacks coach.
And, who knows, against Ole Miss those two could do well, and have a huge season so much so that they could just get elevated into the positions for next year. We really have no idea what Venables will do, and as of right now, I'm not sure he knows. But, don't get a former player turned coach from OU. Let's change things up.
Brent Venables ‘could care less’ about Oklahoma ties regarding next Sooners’ offensive coordinator
The Oklahoma Sooners finally did the inevitable and fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell. While they won't be making a new hire anytime soon, they will have plenty of criteria and pull to hire the best possible candidate. One thing head coach Brent Venables won't be looking for is ties to Oklahoma. Both of his offensive […]
