Top Ben Arbuckle Replacements: Oklahoma Sooners Football OC Hot Board

The Ben Arbuckle era in Norman is officially over.

Look, nobody wanted it to come to this. When you bring in a guy like Ben Arbuckle to run your offense, you’re hoping for an explosive, modern system that puts stress on defenses and keeps the scoreboard spinning. But reality in the SEC is brutal. When the unit stalls out week after week and the production doesn't even come close to matching the standard in Norman, Brent Venables had a hard decision to make—and he made it.

Parting ways with a play-caller midseason is never fun, but the bigger question right now is simple: What comes next in 2027?

Venables has to find an offensive mind who can walk into this building, establish a real identity, and build a scheme that can actually trade punches with the heavyweight defenses in this conference. Whether they decide to roll the dice on a rising star, bring in a seasoned veteran, or see if someone already on staff earns the job down the stretch, the search is on.

Here are seven candidates who make total sense for Oklahoma as they look toward next season.

Jason Witten (OU Tight Ends Coach)

Witten is getting the ultimate live-fire audition right now. With Arbuckle out, he’s stepping into the role to handle play-calling duties for the rest of the regular season.

Let’s be honest: the star power is off the charts. And credit where it’s due—the tight end room has easily been the most consistent, productive group on this entire offense all year. But context matters. At this exact time last year, Witten was coaching high school ball at Liberty Christian. Making the jump from high school head coach to position coach to calling plays in the SEC in less than twelve months is an astronomical leap.

If he dials up a few great game plans and the offense finds a pulse over these final few weeks, he’ll make it awfully tough for the brass not to give him a serious look. But handing over the entire offensive operation permanently is a massive risk. We’re about to find out how he handles the fire.

Kevin Wilson (OU Offensive Analyst)

If Venables wants to lean into proven, battle-tested experience, the answer might already be sitting in the building. Wilson has spent the last two years quietly grinding away as an offensive analyst in Norman, but his resume speaks for itself.

Older Sooner fans remember exactly what life was like when Wilson was calling plays during the peak of the Sam Bradford era. The guy knows how to orchestrate a dominant, high-scoring attack.

Beyond his roots in Norman, he’s run offenses at Ohio State and held the head coaching chair at Indiana and Tulsa. He wouldn't bat an eye at the pressure of the SEC, and he already knows the culture inside and out.

Chip Kelly (Northwestern OC)

Could Chip Kelly end up back on a premier college sideline? It shouldn’t be ruled out.

Kelly’s legacy as an offensive innovator is locked in stone—his hyper-tempo Oregon teams literally changed how college football is played. After bouncing around the NFL as the head coach of the Eagles and 49ers, running UCLA, winning a national championship as Ohio State’s coordinator, and spending last year as the Raiders' OC, he’s currently dialing up plays at Northwestern.

Here’s the thing: Kelly has made it pretty clear in recent years that he doesn’t want the CEO baggage of running an entire program anymore. He just wants to coach football. While Northwestern has had some bright spots under him, an elite brand like Oklahoma offers the kind of raw talent and resources that could easily tempt him if the fit is right.

Mike Norvell (Former Florida State HC)

Norvell’s recent stint at Florida State didn't end the way anyone in Tallahassee wanted, but let’s not forget how good of an offensive mind he actually is. He’s got deep regional roots, having played at Central Arkansas and cut his teeth as an assistant at Tulsa.

From a scheme standpoint, Norvell loves operating out of a fast-paced RPO (Run-Pass Option) system that attacks the perimeter and forces linebackers to make tough open-field decisions.

Crucially, his offenses rely heavily on utilizing tight ends as mismatch weapons across the middle of the field. If Jason Witten stays on staff, marrying Norvell’s scheme with Witten's tight-end expertise feels like a very natural fit.

G.J. Kinne (Texas State HC)

Let’s be realistic upfront: pulling an active head coach away from a program where he’s making roughly $2 million a year isn’t cheap or easy, especially when Kinne has been a hot name getting looks from NFL front offices.

Still, you have to at least do your homework. Kinne was a standout quarterback at Tulsa, and since taking over at Texas State, he’s turned them into one of the most explosive, high-flying offenses in the country. He brings modern quarterback development, heavy pre-snap motion, and a fearless downfield passing attack.

If Oklahoma decides they want to make a splashy, aggressive hire to completely modernize the playbook, Kinne checks every box.

Mitch Dahlen (Oregon State OC)

If you're looking for the hottest coordinator name in the country this hiring cycle, Dahlen is right at the top of the list.

Under his guidance, Oregon State’s offense has been an absolute machine. We're talking about a unit currently sitting at No. 2 in the entire country in total offense at 518.7 yards per game and averaging 38.4 points a contest (good for No. 6 nationally).

Dahlen’s system is all about clean efficiency, balanced run-pass splits, and play-action concepts that make life easy for the quarterback while keeping defensive coordinators completely off-balance. If the goal is raw statistical output and modern execution, he’s a home-run candidate.

Andy Kotelnicki (Kansas AHC)

If you want a true offensive mastermind who knows how to scheme against the nation's best defenses, Kotelnicki is your guy.

During his first run at Kansas alongside Lance Leipold, his wildly creative RPO schemes and inventive pre-snap motion packages completely revitalized the Jayhawks, snapping a 14-year bowl drought and making them appointment viewing.

He then took his talents to Penn State as OC, where he played a massive role in developing Drew Allar and tight end Tyler Warren before making his way back to Lawrence this year. Kotelnicki is a genius at tailoring his playbook to fit whatever personnel he has in the room—something Oklahoma desperately needs right now.