Looking Back At OU Coaching Staff Changes

By Charlie Gaasch

Since the 2023 regular season wrapped up for the Sooners, head coach Brent Venables has been hard at work, making adjustments to his staff across the board. Coach Venables has certainly had his work cut out for him as both sides of the ball required leadership transitions. Former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby announced his departure from the program, officially being named the Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach on November 26th. Shortly into the new year, OU announced that the program had agreed to mutually part ways with defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Ted Roof. Regardless of the fact that this was more of a firing, Roof was named the new DC at Central Florida, staying in the Big 12 and uniting with Gus Malzahn. Both moves began their respective searches for OU’s replacements as the program makes the transition to the SEC.

Only two days were needed for Brent Venables to name the successors to Jeff Lebby at offensive coordinator. Coach Venables opted to name co-offensive coordinators to replace Lebby. Both coaches came from within the program and are beloved by the fanbase and more importantly, the players.

The first of the two is Joe Jon Finley, former tight ends coach for the Sooners. He will continue his role with the tight ends while absorbing more responsibility with the offense. Finley is a former OU tight end and played five seasons for the Sooners, being made team captain as he finished. Notably, Finley played for the team while Brent Venables was an assistant with the program. After a few years jumping around the NFL, Finley decided to resort to coaching and began with high school. He later returned to Oklahoma as a grad assistant in 2012 before making stops at Baylor, Mizzou, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss. At Ole Miss, Finley was a passing game coordinator under Jeff Lebby, showing experience on offense outside of just tight end work. Successes at each school led him to be hired on Lincoln Riley’s staff in his last year at OU and was later retained in the same role by Brent Venables. Continuity is clearly important to Coach Venables for his blooming stars on offense and that is made evident by the hire of Joe Jon Finley. Finley is just 39 years old as he begins the most important part of his journey as a coach and how his Lebby-inspired offense will unfold, remains to be seen.

The other side of the co-offensive coordinator coin is the experience heavy Seth Littrell who will also coach the quarterbacks. Littrell is popular amongst fans due to his strong roots with OU. He is truly Sooner born and Sooner bred as his father and him both played football for the university. Littrell, born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, played fullback and linebacker and was a team captain for OU’s last national title in 2000. Just like Finley, Littrell spent time playing for OU while Brent Venables was on staff as an assistant, showing clear connection. Shortly after graduating from OU, Littrell became a grad assistant with Kansas under former OU offensive coordinator Mark Mangino. From there, Littrell made potentially his most influential stop in his career at Texas Tech. There, he was a running backs coach under the late, great, Mike Leach. This began foundations in Littrell’s air raid philosophy, learning from the architect of the system, Coach Leach. Littrell then moved to Arizona where he worked his way up to the OC job under Mike Stoops before fulfilling the same role for Indiana and North Carolina. These jobs led into his tenure as the North Texas head coach where he spent the years 2016 through 2022. After going 44-44 and 0-5 in bowl games for the Mean Green, Littrell was fired. In the spring of last year, Littrell accepted an off-field offensive analyst role for the Sooners, making his return to his roots. Replacing Coach Lebby with Joe Jon Finley provides an opportunity for Littrell to prove himself once more and learn to find balance in his offense.

Just under a month after the announced hires, Joe Jon Finley and Seth Littrell were faced with their first major task on the field. The pair of offensive coordinators made their debut with the Sooners in the 38-24 Alamo bowl loss against Arizona. There have been many concerns voiced by fans regarding the dynamic of two coordinators attempting to lead the team. Media days for the Alamo bowl provided the first opportunity for these questions to be asked directly to the two coaches. It was there that the public learned the way the coaches would operate the offense, most notably with Littrell being the play caller for the team. Only so many deviations could be made for the bowl game for Littrell’s offense to be fully put in place. Littrell made assurances that he would review the evolution of the team’s plans for the offense in the offseason once the bowl was finished.

It is safe to assume that while continuity is key for the Sooners, that Littrell’s air raid base will be further immersed in the scheming of the offense. Have no fear for the run game and budding star Gavin Sawchuk however: Littrell finished with passing and running offenses both in the top 40 nationwide multiple times in his tenure at North Texas. While the bowl game left much to be desired, Littrell and Finley showed many flashes of what they could do with a quarterback like Jackson Arnold. The six turnovers were certainly concerning but the control the coordinators had over the team to continue bouncing back was impressive. Finding ways for Arnold to grow comfortable in a new offense will likely be the top priority for Finley and Littrell heading into the SEC and their track records show they have what it takes to do just that.

While the lights shined on the new offensive coordinators amidst the Lebby departure, the other side of the ball made a quiet adjustment, letting go of Ted Roof. The rumors began the same day as the formal announcement of Roof’s departure by Coach Venables. Nine days later the job search was formally closed, having a replacement ready: defensive coordinator Zac Alley from Jacksonville State in South Carolina. Venables is highly familiar with Alley after working together at Clemson for most of his time there. Alley is young at just 29 years old and does not have collegiate playing experience but rather spent all four years at Clemson as a student assistant and staying on as a grad assistant with the team. From there, he landed at Boise State, serving as both the outside linebackers coach and co-special teams coordinator for the Broncos. Brent Venables himself then recommended him to Louisiana Monroe for the defensive coordinator position and he took over at the age of 27 where Rich Rodriguez served as the offensive coordinator. Rodriguez was then hired to be the head coach of Jacksonville State and Alley followed him there keeping his same role. In his one season there, Alley’s defense ranked 33rd nationally in points allowed.

Alley has been referred to by players as a “mini version of Coach V.” This is due to his intensity and focus on the small details that might otherwise be overlooked. When asked about the comparisons, Alley has taken them in stride making it known that he looks to emulate Venables in all facets. Alley is a competitor and has been seen at the on-campus rec center, Sarkeys, playing pickup basketball with James Skalski, former Clemson linebacker and current OU grad assistant, where the tension has been quite palpable. Alley will look to bring that intensity to the SEC with the defense who returns most production. OU returns 79% of their 2023 defensive production, a number that ranks 8th in the country and 1st in the SEC. That element cannot be understated. Alley will lead a mature defense and return under Venables’ guidance and both parts will ensure that his transition to high level college football can be smooth. He will also reunite with his co-DC, Todd Bates, with whom he served alongside at Clemson. There are plenty of supports in place for Alley to ensure he is successful, but it will most certainly come down to his ability to call the defense and nothing thus far says he won’t do well.

The OU coaching staff will certainly look different for the inaugural SEC season in 2024, but the on-field production should hopefully remain consistent if not better. Continuity has been the keyword for Coach Venables heading into spring football and he has ensured his offense will know their coordinators and respective systems well. The defense will likely feel even more aggressive as Zac Alley matches Venables’ intensity in a refreshing way and is his brainchild of sorts. Spring practices will show how the new systems are put in place and the response from the team will give a good idea as to how well the Sooners stay on pace to succeed in a new league.