Witten will call plays for the remainder of the season as the 4-4 Sooners prepare for a trip to Florida.
Oklahoma named Jason Witten interim offensive coordinator and play-caller on November 2 after dismissing Ben Arbuckle. Witten will run the offense for the rest of the season.
File photo: Jason Witten signing autographs at the 2018 SEC Summerfest on July 15; not an Oklahoma coaching-session photograph. Photo: Thomson200. Source photograph · CC0.
Brent Venables announced the change in an official university statement, expanding Witten’s role beyond the tight ends position.
What Oklahoma changed
Witten’s new responsibilities include calling plays and directing the staff’s offensive preparation.
The school highlighted five receiving touchdowns by its tight ends through eight games, up from one in 2025: four by Rocky Beers and one by Hayden Hansen.
A difficult performance preceded the move
Oklahoma’s official report of Saturday’s South Carolina game shows the scale of the challenge facing the offense. The Sooners lost 42–25 at home on October 31 and fell to 4–4 overall, with a 2–3 record in SEC play.
They trailed 28–10 at halftime and 35–10 in the third quarter. Of their 359 total yards, 241 came in the fourth quarter, leaving 118 through the first three periods. The late production narrowed the final margin but came after South Carolina had established a substantial lead.
Oklahoma’s first-half scoring also included Kip Lewis’ 30-yard interception return for a touchdown. That defensive contribution is important context when reading the ten points the team had scored through three quarters.
The immediate task for Witten’s offense is therefore more specific than increasing a final yardage total. Oklahoma needs productive drives while the game is still taking shape, rather than relying on a late surge after a deficit has grown.
Witten’s path to the assignment
Oklahoma’s January hiring announcement documented Witten’s transition to the college staff after five years leading Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas. His teams won consecutive state championships in 2023 and 2024.
Before coaching, he played 17 NFL seasons and earned 11 Pro Bowl selections. His career totals included 1,228 receptions, 13,046 receiving yards and 74 touchdowns, with most of that career spent in Dallas and his final season with the Raiders in 2020.
OU’s hiring release described him as a two-time first-team All-Pro and noted he appeared in 271 of 272 regular-season games. Witten’s position-coaching work in Norman followed that unusually durable professional career.
That background supplies extensive experience playing and teaching the position. His new assignment expands the scope to the entire offense and its game plan.
The Sooners’ next game is at Florida on November 7, scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Central on SEC Network. Follow continuing college football coverage in Taken Social’s Sports section.
