The Oklahoma Sooners are heading into a search for a new offensive coordinator once the 2026 season wraps, and the process may already be underway after the program moved on from Ben Arbuckle and handed the offense to interim coordinator and tight ends coach Jason Witten.
Given the way this season has gone under Brent Venables, the hire figures to matter. Oklahoma is expected to cast a wide net, and while college candidates will be part of the discussion, Jim Nagy’s NFL background could push a few pro coaches with college play-calling experience into the mix.
One name that fits that profile is Kliff Kingsbury.
Kingsbury spent six seasons leading Texas Tech, and the numbers were loud. The Red Raiders never averaged fewer than 30 points per game under him, and they topped 40 points per game twice. In 2015 and 2016, with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, Texas Tech finished top five in scoring.
After the 2018 season, Kingsbury moved on to Arizona, where he coached the Cardinals and former Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray. His offenses there consistently landed in the top half of the league.
Kingsbury then spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons in Washington, where he helped Jayden Daniels have a huge season and guided the Commanders to the fifth-best scoring offense in the NFL. He’s now on Sean McVay’s staff with the Los Angeles Rams as assistant head coach, and McVay’s reputation as one of the league’s best offensive minds only adds to Kingsbury’s appeal.
David Shaw is another NFL name worth watching.
Shaw’s background at Stanford includes time as both offensive coordinator and head coach, and his offenses leaned on the run game and multiple-tight-end looks. That approach worked well over a long stretch. He was part of offenses that featured Andrew Luck, Christian McCaffrey, Bryce Love and Zach Ertz, and Luck, McCaffrey and Love all finished second in the Heisman Trophy race.
As Stanford’s head coach, Shaw won nine or more games seven times in his first eight seasons. From 2011 to 2018, the Cardinal averaged at least 27 points per game and hit 30 points per game four times.
He’s now the passing game coordinator for Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions, who rank third in the NFL in scoring. Jared Goff is fourth in the league in passer rating.
Doug Nussmeier also belongs on the list.
Nussmeier has coached at both the college and NFL levels, and his résumé includes being Alabama’s offensive coordinator when the Crimson Tide won the national championship in 2012. He also put together three straight seasons of offenses averaging 30 points per game, from 2011 at Washington through 2012 and 2013 at Alabama.
More recently, he served as the quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in the season Jalen Hurts led them to a Super Bowl. He’s currently the offensive coordinator for Kellen Moore in New Orleans.
Nussmeier also has a link to Witten. He was on the Dallas Cowboys staff in 2019 when Witten came out of retirement to rejoin the team. Moore, now with New Orleans, was Witten’s teammate from 2015 to 2017 and later the offensive coordinator when Witten returned for that 2019 season.
If Witten handles the final four games well and Oklahoma decides to keep him on staff as offensive coordinator, Nussmeier could be the kind of experienced voice who helps mentor him.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Just Landed A Texas Legacy Fans Will Love
Oklahoma added an intriguing piece to its 2028 recruiting class with the commitment of Logan Lokey, a four-star defensive lineman out of Denton Guyer High School. Lokey has already built a reputation as one of the better young linemen in his class, and his rise has come with the kind of attention that usually follows top in-state prospects with multiple major offers.
What makes this one stand out is the family connection. Lokey is the son of former Texas defensive lineman Derek Lokey, and he had options that included the Longhorns, but he still chose Oklahoma. For Sooners fans, it is the sort of early recruiting win that can resonate well beyond one commitment, especially when a player with local ties and a strong profile decides Norman is the place he wants to be. [Read more 🡒]
LeeLee Bell Already Looks Like A Problem In Oklahomas Offense
LeeLee Bell did not waste any time making an impression in her first game for Oklahoma. In the No. 21 Sooners 91-79 win over North Carolina, the versatile newcomer scored a game-high 25 points and added eight rebounds and four assists, the kind of all-around debut that immediately shows why the staff was so eager to bring her in.
Bells fit in this offense was part of the appeal from the start, since she picked Oklahoma for its playing style and the freedom it offers on the court. After the opener, coach Jennie Baranczyk and teammate Sahara Williams both pointed to Bells skill set and work ethic, and if this first outing is any indication, the Sooners may have found another player who can make defenses uncomfortable in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Faces Another Offensive Reset Under Brent Venables
Another offensive reset is underway in Norman, with Brent Venables moving on from Ben Arbuckle in the middle of his second season as Oklahomas head coach. The change adds another chapter to a stretch of turnover that has made stability on that side of the ball hard to find, and it puts the Sooners back in the market for a fresh voice to guide the offense.
Jason Witten has been elevated to interim offensive coordinator in the meantime, giving Oklahoma a stopgap solution while the search unfolds. Venables is now looking to hire his fourth full-time offensive coordinator in six years, a reminder of how quickly the program has cycled through answers as it tries to settle into something more permanent. [Read more 🡒]