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Oklahoma Makes Stunning Swoop for NFL Legend to Coach Tight Ends, per Report

The Sooners are reportedly set to hire an 11-time Pro Bowl tight end to replace Joe Jon Finley as tight ends coach.
Brady Trantham|
Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten
Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten | Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners have made quite a splash in the wake of the reported dismissal of former tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley.

Per a report from Football Scoop, Brent Venables has hired former Dallas Cowboys All-Pro tight end Jason Witten to coach the position group.

Witten, a 17-year NFL veteran with the Cowboys and the Las Vegas Raiders, has been the head football coach of Liberty Christian School in Argyle, TX. He led the Warriors to a state championship in 2023. Witten led them to a second consecutive title the following season.

The 2012, Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winner is well on his way to the NFL's Hall of Fame and has been reported to be interested in getting into college coaching.

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Now Witten is tasked with rebuilding a depleted tight end room that is hoping incoming transfer portal talents like Hayden Hansen and Rocky Beers can make immediate impacts.

The 11-time Pro Bowl tight end replaces Finley, who coached the tight ends at the University of Oklahoma from 2021 until the conclusion of the 2025 season. During an abysmal season in 2024 where Venables elevated and fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, Finley took over as the interim-play caller following the Sooners' loss to South Carolina.

In five seasons, Finley was unable to develop tight ends he had recruited into the program from high school and had to rely on transfer portal players to minimal success.

Jaren Kanak switched to tight end following a three-year stint at linebacker heading into the 2025 season. According to Kanak, the idea to switch was his decision — a decision that led to a Third Team All-SEC selection.

Oklahoma Sooners, James Nesta, Jaren Kanak
Oklahoma linebacker James Nesta, tight end Jaren Kanak after losing to Alabama in the CFP. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Witten, whose son Cooper Witten — a 247Sports consensus five-star linebacker, who played for his father at Liberty Christian — has been a player that Venables and the Oklahoma front office staff have been recruiting for the last year. Currently, Cooper holds offers from Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, as the Sooners.

Oklahoma now has two former Dallas Cowboys on staff, with DeMarco Murray as the coach of the running backs. Murray and Witten played for the Cowboys during Murray's stint from 2011-2014. The two have been close friends since their pro days.

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Brady Trantham
BRADY TRANTHAM

Brady Trantham covered the Oklahoma City Thunder as the lead Thunder Insider from 2018 until 2021 for 107.7 The Franchise. During that time, Trantham also helped the station as a fill-in guest personality and co-hosted Oklahoma Sooner postgame shows. Trantham also covered the Thunder for the Norman Transcript and The Oklahoman on a freelance basis. He received his BA in history from the University of Oklahoma in 2014 and a BS in Sports Casting from Full Sail University in 2023. Trantham also founded and hosts the “Through the Keyhole” podcast, covering Oklahoma Sooners football. He was born in Oklahoma and raised as an Air Force brat all over the world before returning to Norman and setting down roots there.

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