Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: The state of the program

By Christopher Dukes

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 25: Head Coach Lincoln Riley of Oklahoma Sooners during warm ups before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated West Virginia 59-31. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 25: Head Coach Lincoln Riley of Oklahoma Sooners during warm ups before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated West Virginia 59-31. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
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With the State of the Union Adress coming tonight, it seems like as good a time as any to take a step back and examine exactly where the Oklahoma football program sits.

Don’t worry, there will be no politics in this post, just a long look at what the last year has brought to the Oklahoma football program and what we can expect from the next.

Coaching

It was a tumultuous year for the Oklahoma football coaching staff, to say the least.  The Sooners had three different men claim the title of defensive coordinator inside the last 365 days with Mike Stoops starting out in the position. He served in the role until a 45-42 loss to Texas led to his firing. After which time Ruffin McNeil took the helm and held it until the end of the year. Alex Grinch was brought on at the end of the season.

With a new coordinator comes new coaches and Oklahoma football has a new-look defensive staff to carry out Grinch’s vision for the future. Gone are defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks, inside linebackers coach Tim Kish and outside linebackers coach Bob Diaco. Oklahoma brought in Roy Manning to coach cornerbacks and Brian Odom to coach the linebackers. Grinch will handle the safeties himself.

Despite the turmoil, Oklahoma football became the first team to reach the College Football playoff after firing a coordinator in the middle of the season. Much of that comes from the top-down leadership shown by Lincoln Riley when it was needed most.

On offense, the staff didn’t change much over the past 12 months other than the addition of Shane Beamer. Beamer handles the h-backs and tight ends as well as some special teams duties. His addition allowed Jay Bulware to focus more on his running back group. He also helped mentor Carson Meier into an effective weapon in the OU offense.

The rest of the staff kept the Oklahoma football offensive machine humming right along. The Sooners had a Heisman trophy winner in Kyler Murray, two 1,000-yard rushers in Kennedy Brooks and Murray (with Trey Sermon finishing just shy of the mark at 947 yards). Marquise Brown and CeeDee Lamb each went over 1,000 yards receiving. Perhaps most importantly the Sooners’ offensive line won the Roy Moore award for the best group in the country behind the leadership of Bill Bedenbaugh and is very likely to produce four NFL draft picks come April.

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