Here's what Brent Venables said about OU football hiring OCs Seth Littrell, Joe Jon Finley

NORMAN — OU coach Brent Venables made it official Wednesday, naming Seth Littrell as the Sooners’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach while promoting Joe Jon Finley to co-offensive coordinator.

Finley will continue to coach tight ends.

“I’m thrilled to announce two former OU players as our new brain trust on offense,” Venables said in a press release. “Seth and Joe Jon are going to make an amazing duo and lead a fantastic group of offensive coaches.”

Littrell and Finley replace Jeff Lebby, who was hired as Mississippi State’s head coach after two seasons as the Sooners’ offensive coordinator.

Littrell, a Muskogee native, was a fullback for the Sooners from 1997-2000 before beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kansas in 2002.

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He coached running backs at Texas Tech and Arizona and tight ends at Arizona, Indiana and North Carolina but has yet to coach quarterbacks.

Littrell was North Texas’ head coach from 2016-22 before joining Venables’ staff as an offensive analyst.

“I love the journey Seth’s been on since he left here as a player following our 2000 national championship,” Venables said. “He was one of my favorite players, even though I didn’t coach him directly. I just had so much respect for him — his toughness, his instincts, his attitude, his mindset and his love for everything Oklahoma, thanks in part to his dad playing here. It’s awesome to be able to welcome Seth back in a coaching role.”

Littrell’s 2020 offense at North Texas ranked eighth nationally in total offense at 513.2 yards per game and 23rd in scoring offense at 34.4 points per game.

“Yes, this was an easy and convenient move,” Venables said. “But it was also the best move for our program, our players and our staff. I went through a thorough process and vetted and visited with a lot of candidates, including sitting head coaches, former head coaches, NFL assistants, quarterback gurus and others. But everything kept bringing me back to this duo and our offensive staff as a whole.”

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Littrell said the Sooners’ offense would look similar to what it has under Lebby.

“Our system here at OU is very similar to what I had at North Texas my last several years there,” Littrell said in a release. “Obviously, I learned a ton from my time with Mike Leach, Kevin Wilson, Larry Fedora and others. I’ve been around a lot of amazing coaches and a lot of amazing people, and you take a little bit from each and every coach you’re around.

"We have an unbelievable staff here. I think it will be an easy transition for our players. Our terminology and the things we do here won’t change much. But whenever there’s a different guy calling the offense, you’re going to see different flavors here and there.”

Finley, a former OU tight end, returned to OU in 2021 to coach h-backs and tight ends and stayed on as the Sooners’ tight ends coach last season when Venables came aboard.

There had been talk of him joining Lebby at Mississippi State but he’ll remain in Norman, giving the Sooners’ offensive staff plenty of continuity with offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh — who worked with Littrell at Arizona — running backs coach DeMarco Murray and wide receivers coach Emmett Jones.

“This is my dream school and all I want to do is help OU be the best football program it can possibly be,” Finley said. “Coming to work each day at a place I care so much about makes me want to do everything in my power to make Sooner Nation proud of what it sees on Saturdays.”

The Sooners (10-2) wait to learn their bowl fate Sunday.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football coach Brent Venables comments on co-offensive coordinators