The Oklahoma Sooners will look for a new offensive coordinator when the 2026 season ends. They've likely already begun the search after the Sooners decided to move on from Ben Arbuckle and pass the reins to interim offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Jason Witten.
Oklahoma will likely have a broad search for their next offensive coordinator. An important hire after another disappointing season under Brent Venables.
Our Aaron Gelvin looked at several names that could be fits from the college ranks. However, with general manager Jim Nagy's connections in the NFL, several NFL coaches with extensive college play-calling experience should be considered.
Kliff Kingsbury, Los Angeles Rams Assistant Head Coach
Kliff Kingsbury had a long tenure
with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. In six seasons at the helm, the Red Raiders never averaged fewer than 30 points per game and twice put up more than 40 points per game. In 2015 and 2016, with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, Texas Tech finished top five in scoring.
After the 2018 season, Kingsbury left Lubbock to become the head coach with Arizona, where he coached the Cardinals and former Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray. Arizona's offenses regularly ranked in the top half of the league.
Kingsbury spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons with Washington, helped Jayden Daniels have a huge season, and led the Commanders to the fifth-best scoring offense in the NFL.
Now, he's working on Sean McVay's staff as the assistant head coach. McVay is one of the NFL's best offensive minds.
Kingsbury's success across multiple levels and his time spent with McVay make him an intriguing option for the Sooners to consider.
David Shaw, Detroit Lions Passing Game Coordinator
David Shaw had a long run at Stanford as an offensive coordinator and head coach, where his run-heavy, multiple-tight-end offenses were very successful over a decade.
Shaw was a part of the offenses that produced quarterback Andrew Luck, running backs Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love, and tight end Zach Ertz. Luck, McCaffrey, and Love all finished second in the Heisman Trophy race.
Shaw won nine or more games seven times in his first eight seasons as the head coach. From 2011 to 2018, the Cardinal averaged at least 27 points per game and four times averaged 30 points per game.
He's currently with the Detroit Lions as the passing game coordinator for Dan Campbell. The Lions' offense ranks third in the NFL in scoring, and quarterback Jared Goff is fourth in the league in passer rating.
Doug Nussmeier, New Orleans Saints Offensive Coordinator
Doug Nussmeier is a veteran play-caller with experience at the college and NFL level. Most notably, he was the offensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide when they won the national championship in 2012.
He had three straight seasons of coordinating offenses that averaged 30 points per game from 2011 at Washington to 2012 and 2013 at Alabama. He was also the quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles the season Jalen Hurts led them to a Super Bowl.
The other thing that makes him an intriguing option is that he has a connection with interim offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Jason Witten. Nussmeier was on the Dallas Cowboys staff in 2019 when Witten came out of retirement to help the Cowboys.
Nussmeier currently serves as the offensive coordinator for Kellen Moore at New Orleans. Moore was a teammate of Witten's from 2015 to 2017 and then the offensive coordinator when Witten came back for the 2019 season.
If Witten has success over the final four games of the season and the Sooners want to keep him on staff as the OC, pairing him with Nussmeier could provide someone with experience to mentor the Sooners' assistant.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma Sooners NFL offensive coordinator targets
