Ep. 449 - Ben Arbuckle is Out. Who Should OU Hire Next?

Ep. 449 - Ben Arbuckle is Out. Who Should OU Hire Next?

Lee and Grant react to Brent Venables showing Ben Arbuckle the door. They look back at what went wrong during Arbuckle’s 21 games at OU and examine whether his biggest problem was John Mateer, an ineffective running game or a much larger dysfunction within OU’s offensive operation.

Jason Witten takes over as interim offensive coordinator, creating one of the strangest situations of the Venables era. The guys discuss what Witten can realistically change in a matter of days, whether OU could make a quarterback change and why Kevin Wilson wasn’t elevated instead?

Then the guys turn toward the future and discuss what Oklahoma needs from its next offensive coordinator. Chip Kelly headlines an early group of possible candidates as the guys debate whether Venables needs his offensive version of the role he once filled for Dabo Swinney at Clemson.

Finally, the Sooners head to Gainesville as a 6.5-point underdog against Florida. The guys go through the injury report, what they want to see from OU’s defense after the South Carolina debacle, expectations for Witten’s first game calling plays and whether OU can pull off a surprise in The Swamp before closing with another round of college football picks against the spread.

Chapters/Timecodes

00:00 — Opening Take: Why Ben Arbuckle’s offense failed at Oklahoma
06:03 — Reacting to OU firing Ben Arbuckle
10:58 — Could Oklahoma make a quarterback change?
16:07 — Is Ben Arbuckle actually a good offensive coordinator?
23:08 — The numbers from Arbuckle’s 21 games at OU
26:26 — Jason Witten named interim offensive coordinator
27:50 — Why wasn’t Kevin Wilson given the job?
34:09 — Could Jason Witten become the full-time OC?
37:08 — What does all of this mean for Brent Venables?
41:15 — Venables’ eye-opening comments about fixing the offense
45:39 — Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator search begins
46:24 — What does OU actually need from its next OC?
52:52 — Is Chip Kelly the ideal candidate?
1:14:48 — Final thoughts on the early OC candidates
1:15:07 — Oklahoma-Florida preview
1:18:27 — What does OU’s defense need to show?
1:19:07 — Oklahoma and Florida injury report
1:22:13 — Can OU win in The Swamp?
1:33:51 — Weekly picks against the spread
1:47:09 — Picks recap

Subscribe to the West of Everest YouTube channel

Follow the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and please leave a five-star rating and review if you enjoy the podcast.