The Oklahoma Sooners have fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell. How did we get here? Who’s next on the chopping block? Who could Head Coach Brent Venables replace Littrell with?
Oklahoma Sooners Fire OC Seth Littrell Amidst Back-to-Back Losses
Background on Seth Littrell
Seth Littrell started his post-graduate coaching career as a running backs coach with Texas Tech from 2005-2008. Over the next eight years, Littrell would spend time with the Arizona Wildcats, Indiana Hoosiers, and North Carolina as an offensive coordinator. From 2016 to 2022, Littrell was the head coach for the North Texas Mean Green. He ended his time there in December 2022 with a 44-44 record. Oklahoma then snapped him up for their coaching staff in 2023.
He spent the 2023 season with the Sooners as an offensive analyst. In layman’s terms, that essentially means he spent more time watching film than anyone else and advised the other coaches on strategies. When then-offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby received an offer to become Mississippi State’s head coach, Oklahoma promoted Littrell to the job. At the time, this was the logical decision, and there are worse options than having a former head coach as your coordinator.
Less than a year later, and he’s officially out of a job yet again. For those wondering why there were so many extra offensive assistants on the field on Saturday against South Carolina, this is the reason. Venables and the University of Oklahoma were already preparing for the transition, and they made it official late on Sunday evening. Venables is promoting co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley to the position in the interim.
Oklahoma’s Drastic Downturn
This season has been a difficult one in Norman. The scare against Houston was hopefully going to just be that: a scare. Instead, it was a window of what was to come. Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr., two highly touted recruits, haven’t had more than a few week runs as the starting quarterback. Although Arnold was the leading rusher for Oklahoma until week four, neither he nor Hawkins have had much luck in passing. Between the two, they’ve led Oklahoma to being 126th out of 133 in total offense. They’re also 123rd in passing offense and 100th in rushing offense. A patchwork offensive line, hampered further by injuries, hasn’t made their jobs any easier.
Who’s Next for the Oklahoma Sooners after Seth Littrell?
Venables, currently, has taken two paths when it comes to filling out his staff. First, he spent a lot of money to bring in Lebby. Then, with Lebby’s departure, he promoted from within by raising Littrell to the job. While there’s nothing wrong with rewarding time and loyalty from inside, that requires a strong and steady program already being in place. So, who are the best candidates for the job?
Tim Beck, Offensive Coordinator at Vanderbilt: For the first time in over a decade, Vanderbilt football is in the Top 25. Beck can take a good share of the responsibility for that. After a long career with Pittsburgh State and turning around the New Mexico State Aggies, he’s proven he can take on big challenges and come out on top. Of course, one has to consider if Beck would be willing to part with a deal as good as this one- especially considering how substantially lower the stakes are at Vanderbilt versus Oklahoma.
Mike Shanahan, Offensive Coordinator at Indiana: Shanahan has spent time under greats such as Nick Saban and Curt Cignetti. He’s currently leading a top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers offense. At 34 years old, he’s in a perfect position to be a long-term investment for the Sooners as well. The only concern here is if his record is more due to Cignetti’s influence than his own. And he is of no relation to the NFL coaching family of the same last name.
Brennan Marion, Offensive Coordinator at UNLV: Marion is another coach who has made immediate overhauls to every offense he’s encountered. Even better, Marion is an Oklahoman native, having graduated from the University of Tulsa, which makes him easier to accept for much of the hometown crowd. The major concern here is that he’s never really spent longer than two years at any one program. However, a brief but massive turnaround tenure may be exactly what the Sooners need.
Kevin Wilson, Head Coach at Tulsa: Wilson is the, unarguably, safest option on the list. He’s had a long history with the Sooners program. Tulsa will likely let him go at the end of this season as well. Wilson was the offensive coordinator under Bob Stoops and was there, briefly, while Venables was the defensive coordinator. Wilson is also familiar with recruiting in and around Oklahoma. Plus, as a political factor, the boosters and administration will probably enjoy having another legacy coach on the staff.
Conclusions:
The only thing to find out now is if the fault lies with Littrell or if there’s a deeper issue. After all, this could easily be the symbolic firing that just so happened to fall on Littrell. At a recent press conference after the South Carolina game, Venables, visibly exhausted, took as much responsibility as he could for the situation, “We’re all falling incredibly short right now, but every single bit of it falls on my shoulders. It’s my responsibility and I’ve got to get it figured out.” While Venables may be uncertain if he can overcome this, the one thing we know for certain is that Last Word On Sports will be there every week to see if he can do just that.
