Confirmed: Oklahoma Fires Offensive Coordinator Ben Arbuckle

NORMAN — Ben Arbuckle's tenure as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator came to an abrupt end on Monday following a 42-25 loss to South Carolina.

CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz first reported that the Sooners intend to part ways with Arbuckle. Sooners on SI can confirm Zenitz's report. Sources inside the program soon confirmed those reports Monday morning.

Earlier Monday, USA Today's John Brice also hinted at changes coming in the Switzer Center.

Changes coming to @OU_Football offensive staff. More to come @usatodaysports
— John Brice (@JohnDBrice1) November 2, 2026

ESPN's Bruce Feldman is reporting that tight ends coach Jason Witten will be elevated to offensive coordinator. This is Witten's first year as a college assistant coach. He's never called plays at this level but was head coach and offensive play caller for five seasons at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, TX, where he led the Warriors to consecutive Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools state championships in 2023 and ’24.

With Ben Arbuckle out as OU’s OC, would expect TE coach Jason Witten to become the Sooners new offensive coordinator.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 2, 2026

Assistant head coach for offense Kevin Wilson could also be a candidate to take over play-calling duties on an interim basis, considering his lengthy history and success as an offensive coordinator.

No other member of Oklahoma's current offensive staff has relevant experience calling plays at the Power 4 level.

Oklahoma Sooners, Ben Arbuckle, Roger Denny — Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle shakes hands with athletic director Roger Denny. | Carson Field / Sooners On SI

"I believe in what this place is," Arbuckle said in what was his final answer as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator. "I believe in these players. I love these players. I love this university and I love the standards and expectations that this place has. I love that they want a really good product. I want a really good product and I'm going to strive relentlessly to deliver that."

Arbuckle's dismissal marks the second time Venables has canned his offensive coordinator following a matchup with South Carolina. Seth Littrell was also dismissed following 2024's embarrassment at the hands of the Gamecocks.

Arbuckle's time in Norman lacked consistency and development. There were some explosive moments, but hardly any explosive sequences that built on top of each other.

The Wichita Falls, TX, native came to Oklahoma with the intention of following in the footsteps of other young offensive coordinators like Lincoln Riley, Mike Leach and Josh Heupel. Each of those former coaches enjoyed immediate success with the Crimson and Cream.

But now Arbuckle becomes the second offensive coordinator Venables has had to fire.

"I’m not talking about anything like that," Venables answered when asked if he was thinking about making any staff changes on offense following the game. "We couldn't get any offensive rhythm in the first half. We're not built to overcome some of the ineptness as a football team that we displayed out there tonight."

Arbuckle married himself to his quarterback, John Mateer, after they spent a successful and productive season together at Washington State. But neither could elevate the other. Mateer's lack of development led to Arbuckle appearing to apply training wheels to the offense in an effort to acclimate his quarterback to the game.

Mateer's lack of playmaking ability in critical moments slowly began to give way to his inability to perform simple throws or assignments. One of his more infamous plays was in the 14-6 win over New Mexico, where the quarterback admitted that he did not see Isaiah Sategna wide open downfield until the crowd began to roar, alerting Mateer to deliver a deep ball to Sategna for the touchdown.

Coupled with catastrophic turnovers against Michigan, Georgia and Kentucky, Mateer's faults became Arbuckle's cross to bear. The 31-year-old coach failed to develop Mateer and did not adapt to Venables' staff.

To be fair to Arbuckle, he was brought into a situation where he could not pick his offensive line coach, running backs coach, tight end coach or wide receivers coach. Venables retained coaches from the Bob Stoops and Riley eras and hired Emmett Jones following the dismissal of Cale Gundy in Venables' first offseason.

It may not have been an ideal situation for an offensive coordinator to thrive in at a blue blood school like OU, but the fact remains that Venables will be searching for his third offensive coordinator since Jeff Lebby took the Mississippi State job in 2023.

Including Joe Jon Finley as interim OC in 2024 and Arbuckle's replacement, Venables will be on his fifth offensive coordinator in less than five seasons.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google