Oklahoma football general manager Curtis Lofton pursuing entirely new career

Curtis Lofton, a former OU and NFL linebacker, is stepping down as the Sooners' general manager.

BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Oklahoma football general manager Curtis Lofton is going a completely different direction in his career.

Lofton announced via Facebook on Thursday that he stepping down as OU's GM, effective Feb. 1. In his announcement, Lofton said he is leaving the position to pursue ministry, but did not go into detail on what exactly he'll be doing.

Lofton served as OU's GM for less than a year after getting the job during last offseason. According to OU's website, Lofton's responsibilities as GM included helping with recruitment, managing team roster requirement, creating strategies to keep talent, overseeing NIL activity and helping players understand NIL.

Before he was promoted to GM, Lofton was Director of SOUL Mission. Brent Venables created SOUL Mission after he became the Sooners' head coach. SOUL is an abbreviation for, "Standing for serving our uncommon legacy." The purpose of SOUL Mission is to help players mature into successful adults with off-the-field initiatives.

The original leadership group of SOUL Mission consisted of OU football alumni Lofton, Josh Norman and Caleb Kelley, as well as former Kansas State standout Ryan Young. Their roles were to be mentors and role models for current players.

Lofton was an All-American linebacker under Bob Stoops before getting drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the NFL Draft. He also played for the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders during his eight-year career. Lofton started all 16 regular-season games for six straight seasons in 2009-14.

Stoops, Lofton's former coach, spoke highly of Lofton and his future plans on KREF radio.

But now the Sooners must replace Lofton and assistant GM Chuck Lillie, who left earlier this month to be West Virginia's general manager. Lillie, too, was just in the role for one season.

These general manager jobs are new but now necessary in college football with NIL and constant roster turnover through the transfer portal. At first, many programs were hiring former players for the positions, like OU did with Lofton, but not more former NFL front office employees are getting the jobs.

OU announced last month that former AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson volunteered to help the athletic department became more like a professional sports franchise. Even with Stephenson helping, though, OU will still likely replace both Lofton and Lillie.

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