The news is sad out of the Southwest for football fans as former Oklahoma head coach and Dallas Cowboys assistant John Blake has died at the age of 59.
Another former Oklahoma and Dallas coach, Barry Switzer, confirmed the news of Blake’s death to the Tulsa World Thursday:
“I recruited him out of Sand Springs,” Switzer said. “He played for me and captained for me. He coached for me. “I was close to John.”
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
Cause of death was a heart attack, per former Oklahoma QB Dean Blevins, now a News9 sports reporter in the Sooner State. Blake was stricken when he was on a walk.
Prior to his tenure as head coach in Norman, Blake had served as the defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys, working alongside former UNC coach Butch Davis (2007–11) as well as former Sooner and then Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer. The Dallas Cowboys won two Super Bowls (1993 & ’95) during Blake’s stint. Blake also worked as a defensive assistant at Oklahoma in the early 1990s under Gary Gibbs.
Blake also had assistant coaching jobs at Mississippi State, North Carolina, Nebraska, and in the NFL, with the Buffalo Bills on his resume.