Lincoln Riley begins his sixth season at Oklahoma in 2020 and his third as head coach.
In that short time, Riley has become the dean of Big 12 coaches, not in seniority but rather in what he and the Sooners have accomplished under his leadership.
Riley, who will turn 37 next month, has won three consecutive Big 12 championships in his three seasons as head coach of the Sooners. Coupled with the two conference crowns OU won while he was offensive coordinator under Bob Stoops, Riley is a perfect five for five in first-place finishes while he has been in Norman.
In addition to winning the Big 12 the last three seasons and mentoring two Heisman Trophy- winning quarters as well as a Heisman runner-up, Oklahoma also has represented the Big 12 in the College Football Playoff.
No Oklahoma football coach has won more games in his first three season than Riley, yet he would be the first to tell you that it was a collective team effort and that he shares the credit with an outstanding group of assistants, a number of whom he inherited from the Stoops coaching staff.
When Stoops brought in Riley as offensive coordinator in 2015, the Sooners . were coming off of a 2014 season in which their offensive production was good — 23rd in the country in total offense and 20th in scoring, averaging 36.4 points a game — but had become stale and somewhat predictable. In his two season as OC, Oklahoma jumped to seventh in total offense in 2015 and No. 2 the following year. Scoring wise, OU improved to 43.5 the first season under Riley and 43.9 in 2016, both ranked in the top-five nationally.
The difference between a good offense and a great one is not just talent on the field, but the coaches who recruit and develop that talent, and the Sooners are blessed to have two of the best in Cale Gundy and Bill Bedenbaugh.
Gundy, a former Oklahoma quarterback (1991-94), has been on the Sooner coaching staff since 1999 and is the longest tenured Sooner assistant. He was part of the Stoops’ coaching staff that took over in 1999 and coached the running backs for 16 seasons. For the last five seasons has coached the inside receivers. Gundy’s brother, Mike, is the head coach at Oklahoma State.
Bedenbaugh has been a Sooners’ assistant since 2013 and is recognized as one of the best offensive line coaches in college football. Bedenbaugh is a primary reason the Oklahoma offensive-line play has been so outstanding in recent years.
In addition to their position-unit responsibilities, Gundy and Bedenbaugh serve as co-offensive coordinators, although Riley is the one calling plays on game days.
Stability and familiarity are strengths of the Oklahoma football coaching staff.
Oklahoma added two new assistants in the offseason. Former Oklahoma and NFL star running back DeMarco Murray has returned to Norman as running backs coach, replacing Jay Boulware, who left after last season to become an assistant at his alma mater, Texas. Boulware was on the Sooner staff four seven seasons (four under Stoops and three under Riley)
Murray, who is seventh on the career rushing list at OU and played seven seasons in the NFL, where he was the 2014 Offensive Player of the Year and a three-time Pro-Bowler, has a big task ahead, as the Sooners are without their top four rushing leaders from a year ago to start the 2020 season.
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The other newcomer to the OU coaching staff in 2020 is Jamar Cain will coach the outside linebackers and defensive ends. He joins the Sooner staff after a one-year stint at Arizona State, where he coached the defensive line. His previous coaching stops include Missouri State, Oklahoma first opponent to open the 2020 season, North Dakota State and Fresno State.
Cain has a stellar recruiting reputation, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, where the Sooners would like to gain a stronger presence.
Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch begins his second season at Oklahoma. The Sooners saw a marked improvement in several key defensive categories in 2019 under Grinch’s leaders. Most notable was the progress made in pass defense. The year before Grinch arrived, Oklahoma ranked dead last among 129 FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams, allowing 294 passing yards per game. Last season, the Sooners were 58th in the country in pass defense, allowing 222 yards per contest.
The Sooners also made major improvement in total defensive, going from 114th in the country in 2018 to 38th among FBS teams last season. As Grinch is able to bring in the players who best fit his system, Oklahoma is expected to continue to make positive progress on the defensive side of the ball.
The remainder of the Sooner coaching staff for 2020 includes Dennis Simmons, who is in his sixth season at OU coaching the outside receivers; Calvin Thibodeaux begins his fifth season as defensive line coach.
Shane Beamer, son of legendary Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer, joined the Sooners in 2018. His primary responsibility is working with the tight ends and H-backs (also known as the fullback position) and also plays a role in overseeing the OU special teams unit.
Like Grinch, Roy Manning and Brian Odom are in their second season on Riley’s coaching staff. Manning works with the cornerbacks and Odom coaches the inside linebackers.
Last but far from least in his contribution to Oklahoma football is director of special performance Bennie Wyle, who is responsible for strength and conditioning of the Sooner players. Wylie, along with Riley, Simmons and Bedenbaugh, all worked together in the early 2000s on the Texas Tech coaching staff under Mike Leach, himself a former Oklahoma assistant.