This story was updated to add new information.
With the Oklahoma Sooners at 4-3 in their first season in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag] and the OU offense completely stuck in the mud, the offensive coordinator has changed.
After the Sooners lost 35-9 against South Carolina on Saturday, head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] decided to make a change.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach [autotag]Seth Littrell[/autotag] has been fired, according to a report from SoonerScoop’s and On3’s George Stoia. The report was also confirmed by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Littrell was the primary playcaller, and that duty will now be handled by co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach [autotag]Joe Jon Finley[/autotag] for the remainder of the season. [autotag]Kevin Johns[/autotag], who is an offensive analyst, will also have a significant role in the offense. Johns has been an offensive coordinator before, serving in that role at Duke.
OU is currently averaging just 22.1 points per game in the 2024 season, which lands them at 107th out of 134 teams at the FBS level. They’ve been held below double digits in their last two games, both losses, scoring just one touchdown.
“Seth is an all-time great Sooner,” said Venables in a release from the University of Oklahoma. “He has a deep love for this university and football program, and has poured his heart and soul into both. Despite that, our performance as an offense this season has not at all lived up to the OU standard and I felt a change was necessary now.
Littrell was promoted from an analyst role in 2023 to co-offensive coordinator with Finley before the bowl game last season. The move followed [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] leaving to take the head coaching job at Mississippi State.
“The leadership role Joe Jon plays on our team is critical. He has the confidence of our locker room and coaching staff, and I’m thankful to him for taking on this expanded role in the middle of the season. Kevin joined our staff last spring as an offensive analyst after serving as an offensive coordinator for over a decade. He has a wealth of experience coordinating offenses and coaching quarterbacks, and I’m looking forward to the fresh approach he’ll bring and the bigger role he’ll play in offensive game-planning. I’m confident Joe Jon, Kevin and the rest of the offensive staff will work tirelessly to put our players in positions to succeed and make us more effective on that side of the ball.”
Littrell was installed as the playcaller for the OU offense, but he lasted just eight games overall and just seven games this season before he was relieved of his duties.
The veteran coach was the head coach at North Texas until he was let go in 2022, making his way to Venables’ staff in Norman before last season.
Now, the attention turns to trying to salvage this season with an offense that can at least put something on the board, but perhaps more importantly, to the impending hire that Venables will make to run the offense in 2025.
The way things stand right now, next year is looking like a make-or-break season for Venables in Norman. It is absolutely imperative that he gets this OC hire right this offseason.