Tramel's ScissorTales: Nearly half of Big 12 football teams have new coordinators in 2022

Big 12 football will have a new look in 2022. And not just because the conference has a new commissioner, a new champion and three head-coaching changes.

Significant coordinator makeover has occurred as well.

In addition to the six new coordinators supplied by new head coaches Brent Venables (OU), Sonny Dykes (Texas Christian) and Joey McGuire (Texas Tech), new coordinators are in place at OSU (Derek Mason, defense), Kansas State (Collin Klein, offense) and West Virginia (Graham Harrell, offense).

That means 45% (nine of 20) of Big 12 coordinators are new to the job. That could mean, should mean, a new-look Big 12.

The Thursday ScissorTales look at the Big 12's extension of its contract with Arlington to host the conference championship game, and we check in on Southeastern State football. But we start with the nine new coordinators in Big 12 football.

Here are the new Big 12 coordinators and what they might bring to the conference.

More:Why Mike Gundy is happy to have 'magician' at QB as Oklahoma State football ups the tempo

Graham Harrell, West Virginia offense

A well-remembered Big 12 quarterback. Harrell spent three seasons, 2006-08, starting for Texas Tech. He was part of that glorious era of Big 12 quarterbacking that included Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Zac Robinson, Chase Daniel, Josh Freeman and Todd Reesing.

Now Harrell is 37 (can you believe it?) and has quite the coaching résumé. OSU as a quality control assistant, Washington State receivers, North Texas offensive coordinator and Southern Cal offensive coordinator.

Now Harrell has been handed the reins by WVU coach Neal Brown, who has mostly run his own offense in three Mountaineer seasons, though still-on-staff Gerard Parker had the coordinator title.

"Graham Harrell has been very beneficial,” Brown said at Big 12 Media Days. “We remade our roster to mirror the type of football team that we want to be and that gives us the best opportunity to win in this league.

“Graham has brought ... a different energy about him. He's confident without being arrogant. He's extremely humble. It helps that he was a great player in this league, and I think that gets the players' attention on your current roster but also in recruiting.”

Harrell played at Tech in Mike Leach’s Air Raid. But the Air Raid – under Leach protégés like Lincoln Riley and Dana Holgorsen – has morphed into different threads.

“He's had great success at not only USC but at North Texas, as well,” Brown said of Harrell. “He's been able to have success with different types of players and different types of offenses. I'm excited about what he can bring. He's been a great staff member.

“I think we're going to see the benefits. The biggest for me is he's got a great feel on game day. So that's something that I think is going to be a huge positive, and it'll be not only for our players but for me.”

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Collin Klein, Kansas State offense

Another Big 12 star quarterback, Klein led K-State to the 2012 Big 12 championship. Since then, Klein has coached only at KSU, other than a 2016 stint at Northern Iowa.

But Wildcat coach Chris Klieman fired offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham after last season, before the Houston Bowl, and elevated Klein.

“I'm so excited for Collin Klein,” Klieman said. “He's earned the opportunity during our three weeks leading up to the bowl game and then playing as well as we did in the bowl game and just watching him lead and command the room and have the respect of the players.”

Klein will not bring a revolutionary style to K-State. First off, he’s been on the staff already. And KSU has been playing the same power, heavy-on-quarterback-runs offense since back in Klein’s playing days under Bill Snyder.

“Just continuing to put Collin's own spin on the offense,” Kleiman said of the change. “We're going to make some adjustments. We probably are going to keep some things the same, some of our terminology that we'd had when Mess was here, but we're still going to try to find a way to get 22 (Deuce Vaughn) the football. Everyone wants to make sure Deuce gets his touches.”

Still, Klein’s promotion coincides with the arrival of Nebraska transfer quarterback Adrian Martinez.

“I'm excited to see Collin and Adrian, because they are very similar type of players, type of people, and they both are very driven,” Klieman said. “I'm looking forward to seeing how those two mesh together. I'm excited because I know they will mesh really well.”

More:How Oklahoma State football star Trace Ford returned to 'full go' after second ACL injury

Derek Mason, OSU defense

Jim Knowles became a sensation as the Cowboy defensive coordinator, so much so that Ohio State hired him away.

So Gundy turned to Mason, the Auburn defensive coordinator and the former head coach at Vanderbilt.

“Derek has been fantastic,” Gundy said. “It's been a smooth transition. He's a first-class person. He understands loyalty and hard work. He has a great relationship with the players.

“I became interested in him when I found out — well, obviously I knew about his history in being a head coach, being a coordinator, being in successful programs, and so the players have rallied around him, and the transition has been very smooth. Couldn't be happier.”

Gundy has said he likes to hire coordinators who adapt to OSU’s scheme, so it’s yet to be determined how different the Cowboy defense will look.

But Mason, 52, has a solid résumé. Three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Three seasons as Stanford’s defensive coordinator during the Cardinal’s golden days. Plus stops at Mesa (Arizona) Community College, Weber State, Idaho State, Bucknell, Utah, St. Mary’s, New Mexico State and Ohio U.

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Garrett Riley, TCU offense

Yep, Lincoln Riley’s brother has followed Dykes from Southern Methodist. Riley, 32, already has had a busy career.

A high school stop in Roosevelt, Texas. Then Augustana, East Carolina (working under his brother), Kansas, Appalachian State and finally SMU, the latter as offensive coordinator.

But in truth, Dykes, another Air Raid disciple, runs his own offense.

More:Derek Mason's progression and top storylines for Oklahoma State football at preseason camp

Joe Gillespie, TCU defense

Tulsa’s defensive prowess in recent years landed Gillespie the offer from Dykes.

Gillespie, a 1994 Angelo State graduate, descends from the Art Briles coaching tree. Gillespie was on Briles’ staff at Stephenville High School, which won Texas state championships in 1998 and 1999. Gillespie also coached at Stephenville under two other coaches, including Chad Morris, who went on to become head coach at SMU and Arkansas.

Gillespie was Stephenville’s head coach for seven seasons, 2008-14, winning one state title, then was hired by new Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery, a Briles disciple who had come from Baylor.

Tulsa’s 3-3-5 alignment became quite the sensation.

“It's my fourth head coaching job, but it was really the first opportunity I had to go out and be able to get really who I wanted,” Dykes said. “To have the kind of resources that we needed to go hire the best defensive coordinator in college football.

“So we started looking at names, started talking to people. Obviously I'm paying attention to trends all the time. That's one of the things that I do as a head coach, is watch trends. I had an opportunity to play against Tulsa four years. Did not enjoy those experiences of playing against that defense at Tulsa. So Joe Gillespie was certainly on the radar from day one. It became pretty obvious to me that he was the right guy.”

Of course, TCU has set a high standard for defense, with 21 years of Gary Patterson as head coach. But the Frog defense has slipped in recent years. Gillespie gets the chance to rectify that.

“Just loved his coaching style,” Dykes said. “The way you measure a defensive coach, in my opinion, is how hard does his team play for him? What's the effort that that defense shows down in and down out. To me, that's all coaching.

“When we played Tulsa, they played harder than any defense we played against in college football. They had a great scheme. Loved what they do. It's going to be very similar to what you see Iowa State do every Saturday. Felt like the scheme was good, felt like it made sense in this league, felt like it had been successful in this league.”

More:Why new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is an 'absolute perfect fit' to follow Bob Bowlsby

Zach Kittley, Texas Tech offense

Kittley has been one of the rages of college the last couple of years, first at Houston Baptist, then at Western Kentucky.

Kittley, 30, was a student assistant at Texas Tech (so was Lincoln Riley), then was a three-year graduate assistant at Tech before going to Houston Baptist. So it’s a young, condensed career.

“The one thing about Kittley is he'll say we have Air Raid concepts, but we're not a true Air Raid,” McGuire said. “Where I fell in love with him, we've been talking a lot over the last couple years, but in the interview, he said, ‘Coach, I'm going to find our best 11 players, I'm going to get them on the field, and we're going to score a lot of points.’

“He said, ‘You know, whenever I was at Western Kentucky, it was our best 11. We had four really good receivers. At Texas Tech, we have three really good tight ends. So it's going to look a little bit different.”

McGuire, who turns 51 this week, is a defensive coach – and not all that experienced in college football. McGuire left the high school ranks only after the 2016 season. So he and Kittley will be an interesting tandem.

“At the end of the day, you've got to score one more point than your opponent to win the game, and he's going to figure out how to do that,” McGuire said. “Really excited, man. One of the brightest young coaches in the country.”

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Tim DeRuyter, Texas Tech defense

DeRuyter is the opposite of Kittley. DeRuyter, 59, has tons of experience, including head coach at Fresno State.

DeRuyter has been defensive coordinator at Oregon, Texas A&M, California, Air Force, Ohio U. and Navy. He’s also worked at Nevada.

“It was really big to hire Tim DeRuyter,” McGuire said. “He's been a head coach. There's so many times that I go into his office and say, ‘Hey, take your defensive coordinator hat off, put your head coaching hat on, make sure I'm going in the right direction.’ That was huge.”

More:OU football was 'so dysfunctional' in 2021. Can 'humbling summer' fix that in 2022?

Jeff Lebby, OU offense

You know all about Lebby. He’s 38, not only a Briles disciple but Briles’ son-in-law and has a solid recent history of coordinating high-performing offenses at Central Florida and Ole Miss.

Lebby was a student assistant at OU, coached a year of high school at Victoria, Texas, and then was hired as a quality control coach at Baylor, where he worked himself up.

The only hiccup in Lebby’s career was the Baylor sexual assault scandal that cost Briles his job and eventually swept out the Bears’ staff. Lebby got back into coaching with a year at Southeastern University, an NAIA school in Lakeland, Florida. Then his OU pal Josh Heupel, hired Lebby at UCF.

The Baylor offense is not the Air Raid. It’s a super-spread offense that tries to create either wide gaps for tailbacks or mismatches in the secondary. But Briles’ offense, like the Air Raid, has transformed over time, so we’ll see how Lebby meshes the Riley remnants with the Briles Baylor look.

More:After backup role for OU football in 2021, RB ready 'show everybody who Eric Gray is'

Ted Roof, OU defense

Still to be determined is how much Venables keeps his hand in the defense. Venables has been a coordinator or co-coordinator for a quarter century at big-time programs K-State, OU and Clemson.

Roof, 58, has not been quite as stationary as Venables. He’s been head coach at Duke and coordinator at Massachusetts, Western Carolina, Georgia Tech twice, Duke, Minnesota, Auburn, Penn State, Central Florida, Penn State, Appalachian State and Vanderbilt. Roof also has worked at Alabama, North Carolina State and Clemson.

There they are. Nine new coaches who will give Big 12 football a different look in 2022.

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Big 12 anchors in Arlington

The Big 12 Championship game is staying at JerryWorld in Arlington through the 2025 season, and that’s good news for the conference.

An anchor site is the best way to go in league title games.

Arlington’s AT&T Stadium has been a big hit since the title game returned in 2017, and even in 2021, when neither of the conference heavyweights, OU and Texas, were involved, the event was a smash. The OSU-Baylor game drew 65,771. The OU-Baylor title game from two years earlier drew 65,191.

The extension through 2025 will mean Arlington as host of 11 straight Big 12 Championship Games, 2009-10 and 2017-25. The event was discontinued from 2011-16.

Before coming to Arlington, the championship game was moved around. Kansas City hosted in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008. Houston hosted in 2002 and 2005. St. Louis hosted in 1996 and 1998. San Antonio hosted in 1997, 1999 and 2007. Irving, Texas, hosted in 2001.

But the event is best served in Arlington, which has the best football stadium in the world and sits in the middle of the conference, an easy drive for at least six schools, with great flight connections for fans from farther away.

When OU and Texas leave for the Southeastern Conference, replaced by Houston, Central Florida, Brigham Young and Cincinnati, the league can reassess. But those geographic factors remain. Sure, a Cincinnati-UCF title game is possible, and it would be nice to play that in Charlotte. A West Virginia-BYU title game could happen, and Kansas City wouldn’t be a bad spot.

But you don’t know those matchups until a week before kickoff. If someone has a better idea than Greater Dallas for even those scenarios, I haven’t heard it.

The SEC has played its title game in Atlanta since 1994, after the first two events were held in Birmingham, Alabama. The SEC is contracted to stay in Atlanta through 2026.

In Atlanta last December, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was asked if the league would consider moving the game, potentially to Dallas or Houston, considering the likes of OU, Texas, Arkansas and Texas A&M soon will be SEC members.

“Well, we have great relationships in Texas, and I enjoyed attending the Texas A&M and Arkansas game at AT&T Stadium this past September,” Sankey said. “We have a long term agreement here in Atlanta ... this is in many ways an important city, even as we move westward. Not to even mention the contractual situation. So we’re really happy here. Movement of this game has not been a part of the expansion conversation at all for us.”

The Texas market would appeal to the SEC for marketing purposes and recruiting purposes. But leaving Atlanta would be a huge political problem.

The vast majority of the legacy SEC would have no interest in moving and would face pushback from its fan bases.

The Big Ten Championship Game began in 2011 and has been played in Indianapolis every year, with a contract to continue through 2024, though commissioner Kevin Warren has expressed a desire to move it around. Detroit and Minneapolis are Big Ten markets with domed stadiums.

Would the Southern Cal-UCLA move to the Big Ten entice the conference to play a title game in California? That would be risky. A Penn State-Ohio State game in Los Angeles would be fascinating but not particularly convenient for anyone.

The Atlantic Coast Conference title game has been played in Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando, but Charlotte has hosted 11 of the last 12 events and is contracted to host through 2030.

The Pac-12 played its first three title games, 2011-13, on campuses but moved to the 49ers’ new stadium in Santa Clara, California, for six games, then to Los Angeles in the pandemic season of 2020. The Raiders’ new Allegiant Stadium in suburban Las Vegas hosted in 2021 and will host in 2022, but the game’s future beyond that is unknown.

The best conference title games have been anchored. For the Big 12, that means Arlington.

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Could Southeastern State be a GAC contender?

Great American Conference football has been dominated by Arkansas schools. The Natural State has produced the top three teams in the Great American standings every season since 2015, when Southwestern Oklahoma State tied for second.

But Southeastern State went 8-3 in the GAC a year ago, good for fourth place. The Savage Storm beat Harding, the league champion. Southeastern beat Ouachita Baptist, which tied for second. The Savage Storm lost to Henderson State, which tied for second, 27-24.

Our series of state-college football previews continues with Southeastern State.

"We’re definitely competing with those schools,” Southeastern coach Tyler Fenwick said. “Definitely in the hunt. I can say that with the team we’ve got coming back, it’s similar to the team that went toe to toe with those schools.”

Quite a revival from Fenwick’s first season in Durant, when the Savage Storm went 1-10.

“Obviously, excitement level is at a high,” Fenwick said. “Having nine wins and all that. But in reality, you get to enjoy that for a year. When we start back on Sunday, it’s back to 0-0. Anybody can beat anybody.

“I think the other thing, too, people know we’re not the 1-10 team we were in 2019. Our opponents are going to know we’re going to be a competitive football team. You’re going to have to bring your A game against us. It’s a little bit different mindset. I don’t think anybody realized we were going to be as good as we were.”

Southeastern figures to be led by defense, where Fenwick lists five all-conference caliber players.

Outside linebacker Maalik Hall (Athens, Texas) was all-GAC last season. Defensive back Josh Mulamba (Coppell, Texas), outside linebacker Conner Swope (Frisco, Texas) and defensive lineman Kevin Simes (Prosper, Texas) were either second-team all-conference or honorable mention.

Defensive back Ja’Lon Freeman (Cedar Hill, Texas) plays all over the field.

All are veteran and proven players.

The Savage Storm returns veteran quarterback Daulton Hatley (Clovis, New Mexico). Hatley has a bunch of talented receivers at his disposal -- Braxton Kincade (Troup, Texas); Katrell Blakely (Mesquite, Texas); Duce Pittman (Frisco, Texas); and Marqus Gray (Tyler, Texas).

Tailback Deundre Wheeler (Winona, Texas) scored 15 touchdowns last season. Offensive tackle James Walker (Red Oak, Texas) made all-conference. Lineman DeJante Granger (Beaumont, Texas) was honorable mention all-GAC.

“There’s a lot of experience out there,” Fenwick said.

A lot of experience that has achieved success. Southeastern was picked third in the preseason GAC poll; the Savage Storm was picked 11^th last season in the 12-team league.

“Some things bounced our way, the kids started believing in what we were doing,” Fenwick said “We’ll have a chance.”

2022 Southeastern football schedule

Sept. 1 Arkansas Tech 6 p.m.

Sept. 10 at Harding 7 p.m.

Sept. 17 at Southwestern Oklahoma State 6 p.m.

Sept. 24 Southern Nazarene 6 p.m.

Oct. 1 at Henderson State 2 p.m.

Oct. 8 Southern Arkansas 2 p.m.

Oct. 15 at Northwestern Oklahoma State 2 p.m.

Oct. 22 Oklahoma Baptist 2 p.m.

Oct. 29 at Arkansas-Monticello 2 p.m.

Nov. 5 Ouachita Baptist 2 p.m.

Nov. 12 at East Central 2 p.m.

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Mailbag: What happened to the All Sports Association?

The death of Bill Russell this week has many basketball fans remembering some great times.

Bob: “How blessed I was to attend high school in OKC in the ‘50s. Thumbs up to the All Sports group who organized the All-College Tournament during the holidays. They were able to get the very best teams in the country to travel to Oklahoma and play on a temporary floor in an auditorium not suited for basketball. Never read much about the SF (San Francisco) team, but when Russell got that first rebound, passed it to (K.C.) Jones, then proceeded to beat them down the floor for the score, you knew you were observing greatness .... Elgin Baylor, Pistol Pete, many others who went on to stardom in the NBA played in OKC. My question is, what happened to the All Sports Association? My guess, with the move to an NBA team, the need for a college tournament was not worth the effort. Maybe it is time to return to the best in college basketball during the holidays. We have the hotels, nice arena and support to be successful. Like the college softball tournament, which is historically successful, it could add visibility to our city.”

Tramel: The All-College's demise came long before the NBA hung out a shingle in Oklahoma City. By the late 1970s, the All-College had lost its luster; by the 1980s it had become a four-team event based almost solely on OU or OSU hosting; by the 1990s it was no longer a tournament. Soon enough it was gone.

College basketball is a tough sell these days anywhere, but particularly tournaments played anywhere other than exotic locales like Orlando, Hawaii or Las Vegas.

The All Sports Association kept the All-College alive as long as possible, but it was mostly a nod to tradition. The All Sports ran the Women’s College World Series from the outset and helped make it a huge success. Over the last 20 years, that’s where the All Sports made its money.

But the WCWS was a four-way partnership – the city, the NCAA, the All Sports and USA Softball. In contract negotiations, the All Sports’ share of proceeds was cut significantly, and the organization basically couldn’t go on financially. It folded in 2018.

More:OKC Blue, NBA G League affiliate of Thunder, to remain at Paycom Center for 2022-23 season

Thunder ranks among least-expensive fan experiences

Paycom Center for a Thunder game ranks as the sixth-least expensive venue to watch a North American major-league sporting event, according to research by money.co.uk.

The website averaged the prices of beer, soft drinks, hot dogs, game tickets, parking, lodging and cab fare from the city center. If you don’t want to include lodging and cab fare (and I wouldn’t), the rankings don’t change substantially.

The 10 least-expensive coliseums are all for baseball and basketball. The Thunder ranks behind only the Minnesota Timberwolves among NBA teams.

Here is the top 10:

1. Camden Yards, Baltimore Orioles, $252: $10 beer, $2.50 soft drink, $3 hot dog, $30.10 ticket, $10.66 parking, $189 lodging, $6.62 cab.

2. Target Field, Minnesota Twins, $274: $5 beer, $2 soft drink, $4 hot dog, $32.65 ticket, $10.29 parking, $215 lodging, $5.45 cab.

3. Comerica Field, Detroit Tigers, $283: $5 beer, $5 soft drink, $5.50 hot dog, $26.84 ticket, $9.40 parking, $227 lodging, $4.20 cab.

4. PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates, $288: $6.50 beer, $4.50 soft drink, $4 hot dog, $25.46 ticket, $10.41 parking, $230 lodging, $7.43 cab.

5. Target Center, Minnesota Timberwolves, $294: $11 beer, $6.25 soft drink, $6.25 hot dog, $41.45 ticket, $9 parking, $215 lodging, $5.01 cab.

6. Paycom Center, Oklahoma City Thunder, $297: $8 beer, $4.50 soft drink, $5.50 hot dog, $63 ticket, $10 parking, $200 lodging, $5.53 cab.

7. Progressive Field, Cleveland Guardians, $300: $5 beer, $3.75 soft drink, $4.50 hot dog, $30.53 ticket, $12.75 parking, $238 lodging, $5.08 cab.

8. Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati Reds, $302: $6.49 beer, $6.49 soft drink, $5.99 hot dog, $24.25 ticket, $10.48 parking, $241 lodging, $7.20 cab.

9. SAP Center, San Jose Sharks, $305: $10.69 beer, $6.09 soft drink, $6.89 hot dog, $65.52 ticket, $17.14 parking, $192 lodging, $6.58 cab.

10. Vivint Arena, Utah Jazz, $306: $10 beer, $5.75 soft drink, $7 hot dog, $58.24 ticket, $12 parking, $206 lodging, $6.84 cab.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. 

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Big 12 football, including OU & OSU, has nine new coordinators in 2022