Tramel's ScissorTales: Personal stories from OU football coaching candidates
The OU coaching rumor mill marches on, and I must admit, I have no idea who Joe Castiglione will select to succeed Lincoln Riley.
But I know a little to a lot about most of the candidates.
The Thursday ScissorTales salutes all-Big 12 quarterback Spencer Sanders and provides a list of coaches who have willingly stepped away from blueblood schools.
But we start with OU’s coaching search. Here are some personal snippets about some of the coaches whose names have been tossed out:
'We have to move quickly': OU president Joe Harroz says no coaching hire imminent, but search is aggressive
Brent Venables
A scene from the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve, 2015. Clemson, down 17-16 at halftime, shut out the Sooners and won going away, 37-17, to reach the national championship game.
Bob Stoops and his brother, Mike, had just finished up their interview responsibilities. Mike Stoops’ was in his fourth year back as the OU defensive coordinator, and that Sooner defense was excellent. The Big 12’s best.
Venables had been with Mike Stoops for a decade and a half at Kansas State and OU, and Venables’ only detachment from Bob came in 1996-98, when Bob was Steve Spurrier’s defensive coordinator at Florida.
When Mike Stoops became head coach at Arizona in December 2003, Bob Stoops elevated Venables to d-coordinator, a post he held for seven years. But when Mike Stoops returned in 2012, presented as a co-defensive coordinator with Venables, Venables thought long and hard about his career and took a job at Clemson.
And in 2015, Venables’ defense helped the Tigers reach the national title game, at the expense of OU.
And maybe an hour after that game, in the bowels of Sun Life Stadium, the Brothers Stoops set out on a journey. They found Venables on the field near one of the tunnels. They embraced and congratulated their friend and protege. The idea that there was ill will or disenchantment was scattered to the wind.
Venables had spread his wings and embarked on a third chapter of what continues to be a glorious career.
I remember that night and know that if OU hires Venables, it will be the closest Joe C. can come to hiring a Stoops without hiring a Stoops.
Carlson: Why the Sooner coach hire is the biggest ever at OU — and why the right
Matt Rhule
In July 2017, at Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas, I was chatting with Cedric Golden of the Austin American Statesman, and we stumbled upon a guy standing by himself, waiting for his next assignment.
That guy was new Baylor coach Matt Rhule. We introduced ourselves and spent 10 minutes being blown away by Rhule’s personality. I seldom have been that impressed in 43 years of journalism.
When Rhule took the podium for his interview session, same thing. Wow factor was huge.
But I had no idea if Rhule could coach. He had come from Temple. New York guy. Seemed like a terrible fit.
Baylor went 1-11 in 2017. I thought, so much for personality.
Two years later, Baylor was 11-1 and taking OU to overtime in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Bears made the Sugar Bowl against Georgia. I thought, what a personality, what a coach.
OU football: How has Lincoln Riley's departure to USC impacted the Sooners' recruiting?
Matt Campbell
In October 2017, Iowa State came to Norman with a 2-2 record, having vanquished Northern Iowa and Akron.
The Cyclones left starting quarterback Jacob Park home. Backup QB Zeb Noland was injured. Iowa State resorted to third-team Kyle Kempt, a non-scholarship senior transfer.
Kempt directed a 38-31 upset, and I started listening to Campbell, whose message never changes and never wavers. He had a plan for winning in Ames, and he’s stuck with that plan.
Campbell was hooted earlier this year when he said the Big 12 championship was not his goal, that the Cyclones becoming the best version of themselves was his goal. Campbell was dismissed this year when the Cyclones went from preseason top-10 to 7-5.
But the people who discount Campbell have zero appreciation for history. Iowa State is not an easy place to win. Since getting off the bus that day in Norman, the Cyclones are 37-22.
They were mentioned as a possible Big Ten expansion target. They were mentioned as a possible Pac-12 expansion target.
Campbell has turned around Iowa State football. I have an appreciation for history. I have an appreciation for Campbell.
More: Which OU football players have entered transfer portal after Lincoln Riley's departure for USC?
Shane Beamer
The good old days are gone. When Barry Switzer was OU’s coach, heck, in the early days of Bob Stoops’ regime, journalists could get to know the coaching staff.
Merv Johnson, Scott Hill, Charley North, Mike Jones, Bobby Proctor. I got to know those guys.
Same with Venables and Mike Stoops and Mark Mangino and Chuck Long.
Not anymore. And especially with Covid, the only interaction with assistant coaches is at a press conference, where they come to a podium and we’re already seated and they are out the door three seconds after the final answer.
But at a Thunder game sometime during the 2018-19 season, I was just outside a tunnel, probably standing at attention for the national anthem or maybe waiting on someone, I can’t remember.
I spotted a guy who looked familiar but I couldn’t place him. He spotted me and walked over. Stuck out his hand and introduced himself.
Shane Beamer.
Riley’s assistant head coach, who had just completed his first season with OU. I had heard great things about Beamer, about his personality and leadership and down-to-Earth nature.
Beamer was with one of his sons. They had good tickets and were headed to courtside seats.
And I wracked my brain, trying to remember the last time a prominent coach came up and introduced himself to ME.
Nobody came to mind.
Tramel: Blame college football's cult of personality for creating Frankenstein's coaching monsters
Mike Leach
In Leach’s only year in Norman, 1999, I did a big story on him and his law school background. He agreed to let us shoot a picture after practice one day (remember, this was in the days when you could go to practice and talk to a coach).
OU that day practiced at the intramural fields, about four blocks southeast of Owen Field. An Oklahoman photographer joined us to shoot the photos. Leach asked where we wanted to snap the picture. I told him the law-school angle, and he suggested the OU Law School. Said the mock courtroom probably would be open.
Already, the interaction was north of fantabulous.
But then Leach said he had walked to practice and he would just hop in the car with us. My mind started racing. The photographer had parked far off. I was driving my old Ford truck that was only a cab-and-a-half, with those facing seats in a cramped second row.
I slipped my truck keys to Jaconna and whispered to her that she would have to drive. I’d climb in the cramped back seat, and Leach could ride in the passenger’s seat.
We got to my truck, and before I could even organize things, Leach had the door open, the seat pushed forward and he was climbing in the back seat.
Jaconna handed the keys back to me and we drove over the Law School.
I remember thinking, this is the guy who is helping Bob Stoops turn around OU football, and I’ve got him eating his knees as he rides across campus to do a photo shoot for us.
In the two decades since, we’ve learned that Leach is crazier than a loon bird. He’s as kooky as a $4 bill. He doesn’t always play well with his administration. But he’s also a heck of a football coach, and he’s zero percent phony, and he’s not the least bit pretentious.
I’ve been cheering for Mike Leach ever since that photo shoot.
More: How does OU football's upcoming move to the SEC shape its coaching search?
Saluting all-Big 12 QB Spencer Sanders
I’ve been asking the question for a couple of weeks, and we got one of our answers Thursday.
Who is the all-Big 12 quarterback?
The coaches say OSU’s Spencer Sanders.
In a year when two OU favorites, Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams, fell from grace, and Iowa State veteran Brock Purdy was just OK, and Kansas State’s Skylar Thompson was injured, and no one else made a case, Sanders’ ascendancy throughout the season won the day.
We’ll see how the media votes with The Associated Press all-conference team, but the coaches went with Sanders, whose running was huge and whose passing was clutch and whose decision-making improved.
In OSU’s 37-33 Bedlam victory last Saturday, Sanders threw two interceptions – after throwing just one total in the previous five games – but he rushed for 93 yards, including a huge, 37-yard option run for a TD that got the Cowboys back in the game.
Purdy was voted second team. OU’s Williams and Baylor’s Gerry Bohanon were voted honorable mention.
This is big news for OSU. The Cowboys joined the Big Eight in 1960 and went 50 years before having the first-team all-conference quarterback, Brandon Weeden in 2010. OSU hasn’t had another since.
Mason Rudolph was an outstanding quarterback but his timing was off; he went head-to-head three straight years with OU’s Baker Mayfield. Zac Robinson was a superb quarterback in 2007-09, but that was the golden era of Big 12 quarterbacking, with Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Josh Freeman, Todd Reesing, Chase Daniel and Graham Harrell.
Not even Mike Gundy, the Big Eight’s all-time passing leader, made first-team all-conference.
In the Missouri Valley days, Oklahoma A&M had all-conference quarterbacks in Clarence Highfill (1932); Bob Fenimore (1945-46; listed as a tailback but who took most of the shotgun snaps and did most of the passing, so a tailback in name only); and Jack Hartman (1949, yes that Jack Hartman).
Thus Sanders is in rare air. With a victory over Baylor on Saturday in the Big 12 Championship Game, Sanders can become OSU’s first first-team all-conference QB and league-champion quarterback in the same year, at least in the Big Eight/Big 12 era.
Of course, OSU’s team performance helped Sanders win the honor. But that’s fine. Sanders helped OSU reach the Big 12 title game and the precipice of the College Football Playoff.
'Wouldn't miss it for the world': Being there shows love of parents for Oklahoma State lineman Josh Sills
NFL predictions & Rhamondre Stevenson’s breakout season
The New England Patriots rotate their tailbacks. And rookie Rhamondre Stevenson from OU long ago crashed the rotation.
But there is growing speculation that New England’s rotation soon will change. More playing time for Stevenson.
The Patriots are 8-4 and riding a six-game winning streak that has placed them as the favorite in the American Football Conference. In New England’s 4-0 November, Stevenson rushed for 277 yards on 51 carries. He’s led the Patriots in rushing four straight games.
Damien Harris still leads New England in rushing, with 643 yards on 154 carries. But Stevenson has 351 yards on 76 carries, 4.6 yards per carry. The third member of the Patriot rotation, Brandon Bolden, has 26 carries for 141 yards.
The Sooners recruited Stevenson out of Cerritos Junior College in California. In two OU seasons, Stevenson rushed for 1,180 yards on 165 carries, with 13 touchdowns.
Stevenson was a fourth-round draft pick of the Patriots, 120th overall. He missed a few games earlier this season with an injury, and fought off a case of fumbleitis. Now he’s in Bill Belichick’s wheelhouse as the Patriots start their Super Bowl run.
Let’s get to the predictions:
Cowboys at Saints: Dallas 27-20. The Cowboys will be without coach Mike McCarthy (Covid protocols), but the Saints wish Dallas was without quarterback Dak Prescott.
Buccaneers at Falcons: Tampa Bay 31-10. Tom Brady looks primed for another December run.
Cardinals at Bears: Arizona 26-13. Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury is not a candidate for the OU job. That was a fake-news story no doubt launched by his agent. Don’t fall for it, Arizona.
Chargers at Bengals: Cincinnati 27-24. I know, I know. Just when it’s safe to go back in the water with the Bengals, they’ll let you down. But I’m going back in the water.
Vikings at Lions: Minnesota 30-13. I lived 30 years before Detroit won a playoff game (1991) in my lifetime. Now I’ve lived another 30 years and still waiting for another.
Giants at Dolphins: Miami 25-12. The 5-7 Dolphins have won four in a row and suddenly have a playoff pulse.
Eagles at Jetropolitans: Philadelphia 27-17. Jalen Hurts got little help from his Eagle receivers in a discouraging loss to the Giants, but Hurts didn’t do a ton to help himself, either.
Colts at Texans: Indianapolis 34-14. Indy still trails Tennessee by virtually 2½ games in the AFC South, but the Colts absolutely can make the playoffs.
Washingtons at Raiders: Las Vegas 26-20. My two least favorite teams. I hope it’s a tie.
Jaguars at Rams: Los Angeles 33-10. Why haven’t the Rams clicked? The shine is off Matthew Stafford’s star. And I’m a Stafford fan.
Ravens at Steelers: Baltimore 23-10. Ugh. Didn’t you guys used to be the Steelers?
49ers at Seahawks: San Francisco 22-13. Here come the streaking 49ers, at 6-5, just a game out of being the top wild card team in the NFC.
Broncos at Chiefs: Kansas City 20-7. KC has turned into a defensive team. The National Football League can be a strange, strange place.
Patriots at Bills: Buffalo 21-20. The Bills’ last stand. Win this game, or New England wins the AFC East going away.
Last week: 9-6. Season: 112-65-1.
The List: Leaving blueblood college football jobs
In the span of 30 hours earlier this week, Riley and Brian Kelly left two of college football’s best jobs to take other premium jobs. Riley from OU to Southern Cal, Kelly from Notre Dame to Louisiana State.
Leaving a blueblood program for another job is rare. Here are the 16 times since World War II that a coach left a traditional national power of his own free will, ranked by dubiousness of decision.
1. Dennis Franchione: Fran went 17-8 in two seasons at Alabama, 2001-02, then left for Texas A&M. Franchione went 32-29 in five years with the Aggies.
2. Wes Fesler: Fesler coached Ohio State to a 21-13-3 record from 1947-50, then resigned and took the Minnesota job (which at the time was a power in its own right). Fesler went 10-13-4 in three years at Minnesota.
3. Paul Dietzel: Coached LSU to a 46-24-3 record from 1955-61, then left to coach Army. The Cadets were at the end of their great run, and Dietzel went 21-18-1 in four years. Dietzel then coached South Carolina for nine years and went 42-53-1.
4. Butch Davis: Coached Miami to a 51-20 record from 1995-2000, then left to coach the Cleveland Browns, where he went 24-35 in four years. Since then, Davis has coached North Carolina and Florida International, to a combined record of 52-55.
5. Doug Dickey: Coached Tennessee to a 46-15-4 record from 1964-69, then left for Florida, where he went 58-43-2 in nine years.
6. Steve Spurrier: Coached Florida to a 122-27-1 record from 1990-2001, then left for the Washington Redskins, where he went 12-20 in 2002-03. Spurrier returned to college football with South Carolina and went 86-49 from 2005-15.
7. John McKay: McKay coached USC to greatness, going 127-40-8 from 1960-75, before leaving to take over the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where his teams went 44-88-1 in nine seasons.
8. Nick Saban: Coached LSU to a 48-16 record from 2000-04, then left to coach the Miami Dolphins, where he went 15-17 in two seasons. Then Saban went to Alabama and has done OK.
9. Bill O’Brien: O’Brien coached Penn State for two years during the rebuild after the Joe Paterno scandal and went 15-9 in 2012-13. Then he left for the Houston Texans, where he went 52-48 in 6½ years.
10. Dennis Erickson: Coached Miami to a 63-9 record in six years (1989-94), then went to the Seattle Seahawks and was 31-33 in four seasons. Erickson twice returned to college football after pro jobs – he was 31-17 in four years at Oregon State (1999-2002), then coached Idaho (4-8 in 2006) and Arizona State (31-31, 2007-11).
11. Jimbo Fisher: Coached Florida State to an 83-23 record in eight years (2010-17), then left for Texas A&M, where he’s gone 34-14 in four years.
12. John Robinson: Robinson coached Southern Cal from 1976-82 and went 67-14-2, before taking the Los Angeles Rams job and going 75-68 in nine years. Robinson returned to USC from 1993-97 and went 37-21-2.
13. Chuck Fairbanks: Fairbanks went 52-15-1 in six years at OU (1967-72), then took the New England Patriots job and went 46-39 in six years. Fairbanks then took the Colorado job and was 7-26 in three years (1979-81).
14. Jim Tatum: Tatum went 8-3 in 1946, then got sideways with OU administration and headed off for Maryland. Tatum was outstanding at Maryland, going 73-15-4 in nine years, then coached four seasons at North Carolina, going 19-17-3.
15. Jimmy Johnson: Coached Miami to a 52-9 record from 1984-88, then left to coach the Dallas Cowboys, where he won two Super Bowls.
16. Pete Carroll: Carroll went 97-19 in nine years at Southern Cal, then took the Seattle Seahawks job and still has it, with a Super Bowl title.
Mailbag: Lincoln Riley & USC
No one is tired of talking about Riley’s departure.
Mark: Does the university issue cellphones and email accounts, or are coaches and administrators free to use personal? If Lincoln and the USC AD are sticking to the story of finalizing in one night, I wonder if the new president at OU (a lawyer) and others would be scrubbing the emails and phone records? If Lincoln really took 6-7 trips out on the university plane to California during the football season to recruit, and I am sure he did that, but also had clandestine meetings with USC on OU’s nickel, that would be worth looking into. I am aware of the Wild West of hiring college football coaches, but this feels dirtier. The idea even of the AD at USC having meetings during the football season with Lincoln and never asking Joe C for permission? I doubt OU would ever file a lawsuit, as it would look like sour grapes, but what if they just release their findings to the public? Would it curtail the next guy wanting to fire the coach four games in the season and going around protocols that have been in place for interviewing and hiring for decades?”
Tramel: University personnel are supposed to use university phones for university business, but they are free to have other cell phones for private business. It would take quite the idiot to converse with USC on an OU phone, and Riley is no idiot. He thinks we’re idiots, but we know he’s no idiot. But it would be interesting to examine Riley’s cell phone, just see what you can find. And you’re right. Public shaming is the best option. Not that that would do any good.
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: Personal stories from OU football coaching candidates Brent Venables
