Reports: Former Oklahoma Head Coach John Blake Dead At 59

After playing for the Sooners from 1979-82, Blake served as defensive line coach, then linebackers coach before a stint as head coach from 1996-98.

Former Oklahoma head coach John Blake has died, per a tweet Thursday afternoon from KWTV sports director Dean Blevins.

Sad news. John Blake has died. Coach Switzer tells me it was a heart attack while out walking. Says he’d lost a lot of weight and was doing well. Prayers w the former #Sooners HC and devastated family. RIP. @news9 @OU_Football

— Dean Blevins (@DeanBlevins) July 23, 2020

Blake, 59, played nose guard for the Sooners from 1979-82 before beginning a coaching career that spanned three decades. 

After two years as an offensive assistant at Tulsa, the Sand Springs native returned to Norman in 1989 to serve as Oklahoma's defensive line coach. He then coached linebackers for the Sooners from 1990-92 before jumping to the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. During his time on Barry Switzer's staff, Blake won two Super Bowls as Dallas' defensive line coach.

After the Cowboys' victory in Super Bowl XXX, the Sooners lured Blake back once again, and he succeeded Howard Schnellenberger as head coach in 1996. Over his three seasons at the helm, the Sooners went just 12-22. Nevertheless, Blake's recruiting efforts helped set Oklahoma up for an undefeated national title run in 2000 under Bob Stoops.

After five years out of coaching, Blake resurfaced as an assistant at Mississippi State in 2003. He had subsequent stints as defensive line coach at Nebraska (2004-06) and North Carolina (2007-10). A one-year cameo as the Buffalo Bills' defensive line coach in 2016 brought Blake's coaching career to an end.

SI Sooners will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.

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