Blatant Homerism: Breaking the hiring cycle
Historically, the Oklahoma football program has maintained a tight circle of coaches. Familiar names and faces – many of whom donned the crimson and cream in their playing days – often re-emerge in Norman to coach after stints gaining experience elsewhere. Brent Venables understands that as well as anyone, as his ties to OU undoubtedly gave him a leg up in the search for a new head coach five years ago.
Venables stuck to the OU-centric course when assembling his first coaching staff. That included retaining assistants such as offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh and adding alum Jeff Lebby as offensive coordinator. But if this offseason’s hiring cycle is any indication, the preference for candidates with ties to the program appears to be a thing of the past.
First, Venables and general manager Jim Nagy went way off the beaten path in January to replace OU alum Joe Jon Finley as tight ends coach. They landed on a big-name candidate to fill the role in Jason Witten, the beloved Dallas Cowboy who will be fitted for a gold jacket from the NFL Hall of Fame soon enough. The OU coaches are pursuing Witten’s touted son on the recruiting trail, but that’s the closest thing you will find to a link between the Sooners and the legendary tight end, who played his college ball for the Tennessee Volunteers.
When cornerbacks coach Jay Valai took an offer to join the Buffalo Bill staff earlier this month, early speculation around the opening focused on candidates like Xavier Brewer, a 36-year-old defensive analyst currently on OU’s staff, and Arizona cornerbacks coach Chip Viney, who worked for the Sooners for eight years as a graduate assistant and analyst. OU went off the board, though, to nab Lamar Morgan from Michigan as Valai’s replacement. Morgan also has stints coaching at Vanderbilt and Louisiana-Lafayette, but no previous ties to the Sooners.
Finally, the decision by running backs coach Demarco Murray to take the same position with the Kansas City Chiefs represented the biggest offseason departure by a member of the OU coaching staff. You couldn’t get much more inner circle for the Sooners than Murray, a star running back for the team in his collegiate days and an NFL standout who had been an assistant at OU for six seasons. The opening gave the Sooners a chance to bring veteran RB coach Deland McCullough into the fold. McCullough obviously knows Venables and company since his sons Dasan and Daeh both spent multiple seasons on the OU roster, and he also coached running backs at Indiana under analyst Kevin Wilson. That’s pretty tangential, though, compared to being the school’s all-time leader in touchdowns.
Looking back on the tenures of Finley and Murray as assistants at OU, you couldn’t blame anyone who surmised their pre-existing relationships with the program meant their coaching performances were graded on a curve. Finley became TE coach in 2021, and the position gradually devolved into the weakest on the roster by 2025. After five seasons, the unit was awash in highly touted busts and projects who ultimately remained just that.
And Murray’s case might offer an even better case of his reputation in the program papering over some obvious coaching warts. While the Sooners boast a star-studded parade of ball carriers throughout the program’s history, the position fell into disrepair under Murray’s watch. To wit, OU hasn’t produced a thousand-yard rusher since Tennessee transfer Eric Gray pulled off the feat in 2022.
Meanwhile, a cast of hyped recruits and transfers have come and gone, leaving little to show for their efforts. (The disappearance of pricy free agent Jaydn Ott in ‘25 capped off Murray’s spotty coaching stint.) Yet, despite the lack of production from his position group, Murray managed to leverage interest from the likes of Ohio State to secure new contracts from OU. Now that he is off to the NFL, it seems fair to say his track record at OU was way more sizzle than steak.
It feels as though the Sooners are getting the opposite from McCullough. He has an NFL pedigree, and he recruited and oversaw the development of runners such as Tevin Coleman at IU and Notre Dame star Jeremiyah Love. We’ll see what McCullough can do in his first season at OU with Tory Blaylock, Xavier Robinson and blue-chip freshman Jonathan Hatton.
Is it a good thing that OU went outside its usual circle to make these latest hires? On balance, it probably doesn’t make a huge difference. Mining ties to the program has probably worked just as often for the Sooners with hiring coaches as not.
For better or worse, though, the hiring playbook of the past felt stale. It never hurts to get fresh sets of eyes on your operation, either. At the very least, no one can accuse the OU brain trust of going through the motions to hire preordained candidates – that hasn’t always been the case.
Picks and Recs: Brian McCormick’s books on basketball coaching
I’ve fielded some questions lately from friends inquiring about good resources for basketball coaches. There are countless websites and videos out there with helpful information, but I find myself coming back to Brian McCormick’s books pretty often. (“The 21st Century Basketball Practice” is especially illuminating.)
McCormick emphasizes learning through games that mimic what actually happens on the court, as opposed to mechanical drills for skill development. To be sure, implementing his system in its entirety is a pipe dream for most youth coaches. He still offers plenty of insights into an approach to coaching that keeps kids engaged and develops their understanding of basketball at the same time.
Together We’re More: Colleen Thurston - Filmmaker
Each month the Choctaw Nation - the title sponsor of Through the Keyhole - releases a video highlighting the lives of tribal members and how they impact their communities.
Colleen Thurston is a filmmaker and proud member of the Choctaw Nation whose work connects tradition and modern innovation. With a deep respect for the power of stories, whether spoken around a family table or shared through film, Thurston has dedicated her career to elevating Native voices and perspectives while exploring the relationship between people, land, and water.