The Oklahoma Sooners named tight ends coach Jason Witten the interim offensive coordinator this week after firing Ben Arbuckle. Witten has been on the job for just over 10 months, helping Oklahoma rebuild a tight end room that had personnel deficiencies under Joe Jon Finley.
Witten's playcalling experience is limited to the high school ranks. However, he was a part of some of the best offenses as a player in the NFL while with the Dallas Cowboys. Over 17 seasons, Witten built a Hall of Fame career, finishing fourth all-time in receptions in league history. He was the model of consistency and durability during his playing career, playing fewer than 15 games just once in his career; that was his rookie season.
As head coach at Legacy Christian,
his offense averaged 44.5 points per game over the final five years of his tenure before he joined the Oklahoma staff last winter.
"He's over exceeded our expectations," Venables said on Tuesday. "Just from a leadership, a cohesion, the improvement that he's helped us make at the tight end position. He's got incredible wealth of knowledge. His communication skills are elite. He's built trust and real relationships with our entire staff and our players... He makes people better."
If his time as an assistant and playcaller looks anything like his time as a player, the Oklahoma Sooners are getting a tough, knowledgeable offensive mind to lead the way. And Oklahoma needs all of that knowledge, experience, and toughness to get the Sooners back on track.
Who knows how his tenure is going to go as the interim offensive coordinator, but the Sooners need the mentality he brings. He's built a lot like head coach Brent Venables and brings that "run through a wall" and aggressive mentality to the offensive side of the ball.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: What is Jason Witten bringing as an offensive play-caller?
