How Oklahoma Players are Handling a Switch at OC

OU offensive coordinator Seth Littrell was fired Sunday as the Sooners still have five games left in their season.

The Oklahoma team locks arms before a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

College football is business. Coaches obviously know that, and so do the players. 

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables on Sunday fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell after only seven games in the role. With the move and five games still left, co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley took over playcalling duties and offensive analyst Kevin Johns was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. 

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"It's hard, but we all trust Coach BV and the decision," OU receiver Brenen Thompson said after practice Tuesday. "This is a players' game. No matter who's calling the plays or what's going on, this is a players' game and we can only control what we can control. Me and the rest of the guys, gonna give it everything we got."

“The vibe has been good,” offensive lineman Troy Everett said. “We hate the news that happened. The offense has been great. The energy has been up the last two days. We haven’t had any practices this season where people have been moping or kicking the dirt. Everybody has had really high energy and wanting to get better.”

Although he missed the first four games of the season because of injury, Everett has remained a team leader as a redshirt junior who started four games at left guard last season. Those leaders are vital for a group that not only lost its coordinator seven games into this season, but also at the end of last year when offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby left to become the head coach at Mississippi State. 

“When something like this happens, as a leader, you feel like you have to be responsible to help out,” Everett said. “For me, I’m very personable with all the guys. I love all those guys. Special teams, defense, everything. Just go out there and joke around. I just try to mess around and keep the energy high and spirits high. You’re going to go through stuff as a team. This is what makes us stronger is how we come out of it.” 

Regardless of what happened earlier in the week, this week is ultimately time for the Sooners to prepare for their next game against No. 18 Ole Miss at 11 a.m. Saturday in Oxford. And at 4-3 already, with a daunting schedule still ahead, OU can’t afford to grieve a week. 

“It’s unfortunate, but I think our biggest thing is we have to just focus on who we have next,” OU running back Jovantae Barnes said. “Just take it day by day. Just have to go out there and do our job, execute better as players."

Like Everett, Barnes, a junior who currently leads the Sooners in rushing yards, is another leader on OU’s offense with the responsibility of keeping this group motivated after losing back-to-back games and fighting to stay above .500 while performing as one of the worst offenses in the country in the midst of quarterback and coordinator shuffles. 

“I know what it looks like going 6-7. I know what it looks like having a positive season,” Barnes said. “So, just making sure guys keep going and just bring energy. Just making sure I’m heard, because I know I’m a quiet guy; sometimes I like to lean back and let people do what they have to do. I hate being a motivational speaker, but sometimes I have to be heard and show people this is serious, this is almost a job. 

“This is all we’ve been dreaming about since we were little, so why not go get it now? So, just making sure I’m heard, and everybody’s just out there having fun and doing their job, working on the little stuff.”

Everett, Barnes and plenty others on the offense have been through this change before. But it's nearly deja vu for tight end Jake Roberts. Roberts started his career at North Texas, where Littrell was the head coach before coming to OU. In 2022 after Roberts' junior season, UNT parted ways with Littrell. He then joined OU's staff as an offensive analyst for the 2023 season, while Roberts also left Denton for Baylor. But when Littrell was promoted to co-offensive coodinator, Roberts not only returned home to Norman, but was also reunited with his old head coach, at least for a little bit.

"I love Coach Littrell as a coach and a person," Roberts said with a smile. "This doesn't change a thing about that."