Dave Lanning Moves Up on My Top Three OU Football Coach List

Joe C’s ‘stealthy’ search to replace Lincoln Riley continues with no presser scheduled for Friday or Saturday. This would signal to me Joe C very much wants to have a chat with Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning sometime between Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

I still believe from my take Brent Venables should be the choice. But in the event Coach Venables and his wife don’t want to pursue the OU job—then I’m moving Dave Lanning up to No. 2 on my list to be followed by Shane Beamer at No. 3.

I think the recruiting ties to the SEC part of the country, plus the overall culture change OU will need to be relevant in the SEC are huge dual components of why Joe C should be pointed in this direction.

I think all three of these guys are what OU is looking for to take the program into the SEC and be championship relevant. With Riley as the Sooner coach there would have been the question …’Will OU be able to attain the physicality toughness on both sides of the ball to be a consistent winner in the SEC?’

In fact… I will reiterate Lincoln Riley leaving for the Pac 12 will turn out to be a silver lining for the Sooners who in my view will begin SEC play in 2024.

If Joe C feels squeamish at all about the ages of Dave Lanning and Shane Beamer he could appoint Bob Stoops to be the Associate AD for OU Football. In a sense, help either of these young guys as a college general manager of sorts. Same with fifty year-old Brent Venables if he feels like the help from Coach Stoops would lessen his burden.

I think making Coach Stoops something beyond just interim coach would be a no-brainer for Joe C.

I’m not at all squeamish about the receivers from OU on the transfer portal currently. Theo Weese didn’t play a down all season….although I really like him as a possession receiver. Austin Stogner is someone I’ve always liked and I think/hope he’ll wait till the new coach is named before he makes a choice.

And in Jadon Hazlewood…to be honest with you… I think he needs a change of scenery. He’s a Georgia kid. He needs someone to toughen him up. He has a Cee Dee Lamb body, but for some reason he hasn’t reached his potential at OU. Maybe OU’s new coach would resonate with him. The transfer portal taketh…and the transfer portal giveth. Fact of the matter is I thought Mike Woods from Arkansas was our most consistent receiver this season.

I have no idea what Marvin Mims is thinking right now, but the fact of the matter is even after the QB change to Caleb Williams he and Jadon didn’t do much in the Sooners’ last three games when the defenses became much more physical.

Anyway…here’s Coach Lanning talking Georgia Bulldog football back in August before the college football world would witness the best defense in college football in the last ten seasons.

It looks like Sunday or Monday before the OU announcement will be made.

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