Sputtering Sooners fire OC Littrell, elevate Finley

Eli Lederman, ESPN Personnel WriterOct 20, 2024

, 07:22 PM ET Close Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He signed up with ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.The Oklahoma Sooners have fired offensive planner Seth Littrell, it was announced Sunday.Oklahoma is carrying on from the first-year playcaller one day after

the offense sputtered once again in a 35-9 home loss to South Carolina. “Seth is an all-time great Sooner,”Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said

in a statement.” He has a deep love for this university and football program, and has actually poured his heart and soul into both. Regardless of that, our efficiency as an offense this season has not lived up to the OU requirement and I felt a modification was needed now.” Co-offensive planner Joe Jon Finley will take control of interim playcalling duties while expert Kevin Johns, the former Duke offensive planner, has actually been promoted to interim quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator.Editor’s Picks 2 Related The unranked Sooners, who are 1-3 in their SEC launching, head to Ole Miss in Week 9 ranked 128th nationally in overall offense and 107th in

scoring. They have 11 turnovers in 7 games.Littrell, the previous North Texas head coach, was set to earn $1.1 million in his first year in charge of Oklahoma’s offense in a contract

that was set to run through completion of the 2026 season. He presumed the OC role in December 2023 following Jeff Lebby’s departure for Mississippi State.Before Littrell’s shooting, the Sooners moved Finley from the sideline into the coaches booth along with Littrell and Johns for Saturday’s game.

“The leadership role Joe Jon uses our group is vital,”Venables said in the declaration.”He has the confidence of our locker space and coaching staff

, and I’m thankful to him for handling this expanded role in the middle of the season. “… I’m positive 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 efficient on that side of the ball.”The Sooners’offense has been stuck by injuries, quarterback modifications and an output that has Oklahoma last in the SEC in rushing(112.1), backyards per play (4.31)and third-down performance(27.5%). Injuries to top wide receivers Deion Burks, Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq, Jayden Gibson and Andrel Anthony have limited the death game this fall. On the offending line, where Oklahoma had to change 5 beginners from a year earlier, the Sooners have actually struggled for health and constant play within a system that has allowed 29 sacks, second-most among FBS offenses. The running game sits 114th nationally.Yet the Sooners ‘most glaring problem under Littrell came at the quarterback position.Sophomore Jackson Arnold, the former five-star possibility, was benched in the 4th game after he dedicated 3 turnovers in the first half of a loss to Tennessee. Freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. started the next three games before Oklahoma reversed to Arnold versus South Carolina after Hawkins turned the ball over on each of the Sooners’very first three possessions.Including the 34-3 loss to Texas on Oct. 12, this is the very first time Oklahoma has been held below 10 points in successive games since 1998.”[ I] dislike it, it’s regrettable, it’s unacceptable, “Littrell said later.”We need to be better.

I have to be better. I’m going to continue to combat to do that.” Upon Littrell’s departure, the Sooners will now turn to Finley to call plays for the foreseeable future. The 39-year-old assistant signed up with Oklahoma’s training staff as tight ends coach under Lincoln Riley in 2021 and was promoted to the function of co-offensive coordinator alongside Littrell in late 2023. Finley previously worked as the death game coordinator at Ole Miss throughout the 2020 season.Johns remains in his first season at Oklahoma and now will have a considerable voice in the offense. While Littrell held the title of quarterbacks coach, Johns has actually also worked primarily with the group’s quarterbacks this fall. Duke averaged 29.8 points per

game across Johns’2 seasons calling plays for the Blue Devils from 2022-23. Johns likewise has been an offending

planner in the Big 10(Indiana )and the Huge 12 (Texas Tech)too at Memphis and Western Michigan.