Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: Sooner lose special teams coach to Texas

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 07: A general view of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium before the football game between the South Dakota Coyotes and Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 7, 2019 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 07: A general view of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium before the football game between the South Dakota Coyotes and Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 7, 2019 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
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The inevitable came to pass over the weekend when it was confirmed that Oklahoma football special teams coach Jay Boulware, with strong ties to the University of Texas, was leaving the Sooners to assume the same role for the Longhorns.

Boulware was originally hired by Bob Stoops and spent seven seasons as an Oklahoma assistant, working with special teams as well as the tight ends and running backs.

During his coaching tenue at Oklahoma, Boulware worked with tight ends Mark Andrews and Grant Calcaterra and with such talented Sooner running backs as Joe Mixon, Samaje Perine, Rodney Anderson, Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks. Andrews, Mixon, Perine and Anderson are all now in the NFL.

Although he has been at OU for seven seasons, working on the staffs of Stoops and current Sooner head man Lincoln Riley, Boiulware’s heart has always been in the Lone Star State.

He played football at Texas, as an offensive tackle, in the 1992-92 seasons. After that, he remained at UT and served as a graduate assistant and later as a tight ends coach. Before joining Stoops’ staff in 2013, he spent time as an assistant at Northern Illinois, Arizona, Stanford, Utah, Iowa State and Auburn.

If Riley looks inside to replace Boulware, he could turn to Shane Beamer, who has coached linebackers, running backs and cornerbacks in previous coaching stops at South Carolina, Mississippi and at Virginia Tech, where he worked for his father, legendary Hokie head coach Frank Beamer.

Riley also could go with Cale Gundy, a former OU quarterback (1990-93) and longtime Sooner assistant. Gundy has been an Oklahoma assistant since Stoops’ first season as head coach. For 16 seasons, he coached the running backs. For the last five seasons, the former OU quarterback has coached the Sooners’ inside receivers, and since 2005, Gundy has been the team’s recruiting coordinator.

There is also speculation that Riley could go outside the existing staff and bring in someone like Baylor defensive ends coach Joey McGuire. McGuire was considered a candidate for the Baylor head-coaching job when Matt Rhule resigned to become the head coach of the NFL Carolina Panthers.

McGuire was one of Rhule’s first hires when the latter took the Baylor job. He also coached OU wide receiver Charleston Rambo at Cedar Hill (Texas) High School and has close ties to Texas high school football, which would be a big plus for Oklahoma in recruiting the Lone Star State.

So while the Sooners will miss Boulware’s services, it could end up being a win-win for both parties

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