Oklahoma football: Barry Switzer resigned as Sooner head coach this week in 1989

When you think of Oklahoma football in historic terms, Barry Switzer’s name will inevitably come up. And deservedly so, because he is the living patriarch of Sooner football.

Switzer is not the winningest Oklahoma coach in terms of wins — he won 157 games at OU — but he owns the best winning percentage (.837) of any Sooner head coach.

In 16 seasons, from 1973 to 1988, Switzer’s Oklahoma teams won three national championships, including back-to-back years in 1974 and 1975, and 14 Big Eight championships (eight of them outright). His teams never finished lower than second place in the conference standings.

On June 19, 1989, Switzer resigned as the 17th head coach in Oklahoma football history amid recruiting violations and other scandalous allegations surrounding the Sooner program.

“It’s no fun anymore,” he said at a press conference held the day of his resignation announcement. “I’m drained. I don’t have the energy level to compete in this arena today.”

That was 34 years ago, but Switzer is still revered in the Sooner Nation for what he meant and still means to Oklahoma football.

Switzer’s career at Oklahoma actually began in 1966 as offensive coordinator under new head coach Jim Mackenzie. Mackenzie and Switzer were both assistants together at Arkansas. After Mackenzie’s untimely death from a heart attack the following spring, Switzer stayed on to coach the offense under new Sooner head coach Chuck Fairbanks.

Switzer will always be linked to the Wishbone offense, which he introduced and perfected as one of the most prolific ground attacks in college football. In 1971, Oklahoma set an NCAA record, averaging 472 rushing yards per game and over 500 points for the season. The rest is history.

Following the 1972 season, Fairbanks accepted the position of head coach of the NFL New England Patriots and Switzer was elevated to head coach of the Sooners. Switzer’s first three Oklahoma teams (in 1973, ’74 and ’75) finished 10-0-1, 11-0 and 11-1, respectively. He did not lose his first game as OU head coach until the 30th game of his tenure.

Oklahoma tied with No. 1 USC 7-7 in his second game as head coach. Twenty-eight games and a nearly two full seasons later, OU lost its first game under Switzer, a 23-3 upset by Kansas. That was the Sooners’ only loss in the first three seasons with Switzer as head coach.

A few fun facts about Switzer and Oklahoma football:

• Barry Switzer was 35 when he was named Oklahoma head coach. He is 85 now.
• He is one of four former OU head coaches who have won more than 100 games. In his first 100 games, Switzer’s record was 86-11-3. Bud Wilkinson was 89-8-3 in his first 100 games. Bob Stoops was 82-18.
• Switzer’s 1975 recruiting class, which included 1978 Heisman winner Billy Sims, has been recognized as one of the best classes in college football history.
• Sports Illustrated writer Rick Telander, following Switzer’s resignation, called the Oklahoma football program under Switzer an “ethical wasteland.”
• Switzer once called RB Marcus Dupree the most gifted and talented football player he ever recruited.
• Switzer’s record against Texas was 9-5-2; against Nebraska he was 12-5; and against Oklahoma State he was 15-1. including 8-0 in games played in Stillwater.