Riley’s staff drawing from Sooner alums
Cale Gundy was the lone OU football alumnus on Bob Stoops’ 2015 staff. That was an aberration. During Gundy’s long career as a Sooner assistant, he otherwise always had a fellow OU grad with him in the coaching meetings.
Jackie Shipp for 14 years. Josh Heupel for 10 years. Chris Wilson for five.
From 2005-09, all three of those former Sooners joined Gundy on staff.
All were gone by 2015.
Didn’t really hurt the development of Stoops’ program. The ‘15 Sooners won the Big 12 and made the College Football Playoff.
But as the 2021 season approaches, Gundy no longer is a lone soldier. In fact, OU alumni are nearing a majority.
Stoops hired Calvin Thibodeaux in 2016 to coach defensive line.
Thibodeaux was an OU defensive end from 2002-06.
In 2019, Stoops’ successor, Lincoln Riley, hired Brian Odom to coach inside linebackers. Odom played at OU from 2000-01.
A year ago, Riley hired DeMarco Murray to coach tailbacks. Murray was an OU star tailback himself from 2007-10.
And now Riley has hired Joe Jon Finley to coach tight ends and fullbacks. Finley was an OU tight end from 2003-07.
That’s five Sooner alums on Riley’s staff.
“It’s been awesome,” Thibodeaux said. “Guys you went to war with. Joe Jon Finley, DeMarco Murray, guys that you won games with, then to be part of this brotherhood as a coach now, it’s really phenomenal. So it’s good to have your brothers and be on this side of it in helping win. It’s really a blessing to be in this situation.”
A blessing and unusual.
In the Big 12, only Texas Christian’s four alums come close to OU’s total. OSU’s two (Mike Gundy and Greg Richmond) rank third in the conference. Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Iowa State and West Virginia have one each. Kansas has none.
A bunch of alumni on a football staff doesn’t guarantee success. In the last 100 years, only thrice has OU had no Sooner alums coaching football: 1946, 1954, 1955. The latter two teams were unbeaten and part of the historic 47-game winning streak.
Howard Schnellenberger’s 1995 team had just one OU alum (Kenith Pope), John Blake’s 1996 team had just one (Blake himself ) and Snorter Luster’s 1945 team had just one. None of those teams posted a winning record.
But that 2015 team won the Big 12, Bud Wilkinson’s 1956 team (Eddie Crowder) won a second straight national title, Wilkinson’s 1957 Sooners (Crowder) went 10-1 and Wilkinson’s 1953 Sooners (Bill Jennings) went 9-1-1, all with just one alumnus on staff.
And on the national scale this season, fellow national powers Alabama and Ohio State have just one each. But Clemson has four.
Cale Gundy, of course, was on the staff when all four of his OU colleagues played for the Sooners.
“When I look back on it, you could see the leadership skills that those guys had,” Gundy said. “They were competitors. We’ve had a lot of competitors around here. It takes something a little bit different to step out as a young assistant and be able to lead a room, to be able to have that energy and go on the road and recruit and be able to battle all the top college programs across the country.
“All of these guys that are here … first of all, very good people. High-character guys who never had problems. Never had any problems here. Never had any issues. Very successful college football players. Some of them had success after college (Murray, in the NFL). They are dedicated, great character, hard workers. All that stuff typically finds those guys.”
Barry Switzer staffs routinely were made up of several Sooner players. Five in 1976 (Steve Barrett, Gary Gibbs, Jerry Pettibone, Lucious Selmon and Jack Baer). Five again in both 1982 and 1983 (Gibbs, Scott Hill, Chuck Lester, Selmon and Sherwood Taylor).
As far back as the ancient days of 1927, Adrian Lindsey had four OU alums on his skeleton staff — ‘10s star Claude Reeds, future athletic director Jap Haskell, track coaching legend John Jacobs and longtime OU basketball coach Hugh McDermott.
But the OU record came in 1964 and 1965, when Gomer Jones’ two staffs included seven former Sooner players — Carl Allison, Bob Cornell, Dick Heatley, Brewster Hobby, Jay O’Neal, Joe Rector and Jerry Thompson.
Jones’ two teams went a combined 9-11-1, Jones was dismissed and none of his staff ever coached college football again.
So you never know. But Riley’s Sooner-heavy staff seems to be pushing all the right buttons.
“You just understand what the program entails, you realize how passionate the fans are,” Thibodeaux said. “It just means a little more to you. You understand what has to be done, not only as a player, but the expectations as a coach also.
“On the flip side of that, when things aren’t going right, you feel it a little bit more. That sting, that buzz. Sooner Nation isn’t happy, you feel it a little bit more. This is year 13 for me as a coach, you feel it a little bit more being an alum. ‘Man, it’s supposed to go this way. Boom, boom, boom.’ It just stings a little more.”
Murray was an OU freshman in Finley’s senior, 2007. Now Murray is the veteran, with Finley joining the staff. But Murray, who as recently as Christmas Eve ’17 scored an NFL touchdown, says he’s still learning from Finley.
“He’s still helping me,” Murray said. “He’s had a couple more years on this coaching deal than me, but no, it’s great to have Joe Jon. Great friend of mine. We were close when we played and obviously we’ve always kept in contact.
“Obviously great to have another Sooner on staff that kinda knows this place and the tradition behind it and what we’re looking for.”
Riley seems to be looking for coaches who have worn the crimson and cream.