Sooners leaning on former OC to help fix run game woes

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The Oklahoma Sooners have made a handful of coaching staff changes this offseason, primarily the hires of Jason Witten to coach tight ends, LaMar Morgan to coach cornerbacks, and Deland McCullough to coach running backs. However, there’s a key returning assistant that is going to be taking on a larger role with the Sooners in 2026, and OU hopes it’ll help the offense take another step forward in Norman.

Kevin Wilson’s coaching career began all the way back in 1984, and he first became a college offensive coordinator at North Carolina A&T in 1988. Later, he was the OC at Miami (Ohio) from 1992 to 1998. His first stint as a coordinator at the power conference level came at Northwestern from 1999 to 2001, where he had enough success that we was hired by OU ahead of the 2002 season, as the co-OC, working with play-caller Chuck Long.

After the 2005 season, Long left to become San Diego State’s head coach, and Wilson was promoted to play-caller for the Sooners. During five years in that role, OU produced some of the most prolific offenses in the country, especially in 2008, when they had one of the best offenses college football had ever seen at that time. Quarterback Sam Bradford won the Heisman Trophy, and Oklahoma played in the national title game.

After the 2010 season, Wilson got his first college head coaching gig at Indiana. He coached the Hoosiers until resigning in 2016. Wilson landed as the offensive coordinator at Ohio State, where he was again successful from 2017 to 2022. That led to another head coaching position at Tulsa, but he lasted less than two seasons with the Golden Hurricane, and ended up back at Oklahoma as special assistant to the head coach/offensive analyst for the 2025 season.

Now, it looks like Wilson will be more involved with OU’s offense as the Sooners look to make a return trip to the College Football Playoff in 2026. He’s been promoted to Assistant Head Coach for Offense, and has reportedly been working with the offensive line since he got back to Norman.

Wilson’s impact is felt far beyond his title. He’s been a head coach, an offensive coordinator, and has coached offensive line, tight ends, fullbacks, and quarterbacks during his career. He’s seen it all on the offensive side of the ball, and he’s been a great asset for the Sooners.

Wilson knows game management as a head man, and that’s an area where head coach Brent Venables improved in 2025, despite also handling all defensive play-calling duties. No doubt, Wilson had at least a small part to play in that. He knows offensive play-calling, where he was surely a helping hand to offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, as he navigated the SEC for the first time. OU’s offensive line showed improvement in 2025, and Wilson was involved with that unit more than any other.

Additionally, Wilson also galvanized the team ahead of OU’s big matchup on the road against Tennessee that kicked off a stretch run to the CFP. He reportedly brought the team together the night before the huge win in Knoxville, and emotionally encouraged the players to start living up to the Oklahoma standard. The Sooners didn’t lose again in the regular season, and made a run to the playoff that looked improbable when OU was 6-2.

Now, Wilson takes on more responsibility in Norman, as Oklahoma looks to emphasize getting better at running the ball in 2026. McCullough coached for Wilson at Indiana, and will now take over the RB room. Together, along with Arbuckle, Witten, and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, they’ll be tasked with getting the running game untracked for next season.

The Sooners should be stout again defensively, but as they try to help out quarterback John Mateer more, good offensive line play and a strong running game would be excellent ways to do that. Oklahoma found a formula for winning that worked last year: Play defense, win the turnover battle, play field position, get grimy, and run the ball to chew clock. The Sooners were good at all but the final thing on that list down the stretch last season, and they want to focus on the run game next year, led by returning RBs Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock.

Oklahoma ran for just 118.5 yards per game last year, with Mateer carrying a chunk of that load on his shoulders. That has to improve for the Sooners to work through the SEC with similar success in ’26. For OU, that starts up front, with an offensive line that hopes to grow into a good unit together, after building the foundation in 2025 under Bedenbaugh and Wilson. Then, it extends to the backs, where McCullough should be able to provide a fresh voice and perspective this year.

After a strong 2025 season, and a solid offseason of player acquisition, the Sooners are now focused on internal development in the next few month as they get ready for 2026. Fortunately for OU, they’ll have an experienced, veteran voice back for another season, lending a bigger hand as the Sooners emphasize their run game for this fall.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Key OU assistant trying to help fix offensive woes

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