Sources: At least three Oklahoma positional coaches expected to miss Saturday's game
Lincoln Riley is one of the few head coaches in college football that calls his own plays, but he'll have a lot more on his shoulders Saturday night when Oklahoma hosts Baylor.
According to sources close to the program, at least four members of the Oklahoma coaching staff, including three of Riley's top assistants, are in the COVID-19 protocol this week.
Running backs coach DeMarco Murray, inside receivers coach Cale Gundy, and associate head coach/tight ends coach Shane Beamer could all miss Saturday's game if they don't clear protocol in time.
Their absences would leave Bill Bedenbaugh and Dennis Simmons as Riley's only active offensive assistants. Bedenbaugh serves as offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator, while Simmons coaches outside receivers.
But the preeminent concern is the status of Alex Grinch, who remains a question mark just 36 hours before kickoff. The Sooners' fiery defensive coordinator has reportedly been in quarantine all week, and didn't hold his usual Wednesday press conference. It's unclear whether he will coach Saturday night.
Riley has repeatedly stated that contingency plans are in place should Oklahoma be compelled to operate without members of the staff, a message he reiterated in his press conference Tuesday.
"We have some good opportunities," said Riley. "There are some good options. We have some of our GAs, who really can already coach. Your quality control coaches who are very limited [in] what they can do on the field. That’s an option that you have, which is great."
And of course, Riley has his mentor and predecessor on hand and ready to deploy. Bob Stoops spent the week on the practice field with the Sooners, and if Grinch is unavailable Saturday night, there's a legitimate chance that Stoops calls the shots on defense for Oklahoma. Riley acknowledged that the 60-year-old, who stepped down as the Sooners' head coach in 2017, could be on the sidelines for Saturday's game.
Bob Stoops last coached at the collegiate level in Oklahoma's Sugar Bowl win over Auburn in January 2017.
Photo: Derick E. Hingle
Prior to (and during) his 18 years as the Sooners' head coach, Stoops was regarded as one of the finest defensive minds in the nation. The Iowa grad served as co-defensive coordinator at Kansas State for five seasons, then accepted the defensive coordinator job at Florida under Steve Spurrier. He helped lead the Gators to a national title in 1996, his first year in Gainesville. After three seasons in the Swamp, Oklahoma came calling, and Stoops promptly took the Sooners to the 2000 national championship in his second season at the helm.
Granted, it's now been 22 years since Stoops served as a defensive playcaller, but he's far from an unqualified stand-in for Grinch.
"What’s the minimum? Probably depends a little bit on who it is and just the combination of guys," Riley said. "Obviously, it’s going to be hard to play a football game if you can’t have a full-functioning staff."
Sources also indicated that an unidentified fifth positional coach had been placed in COVID-19 protocol. Should the Sooners be without all five of the quarantined coaches on Saturday, it would leave the team with just six members of the coaching staff on the sidelines.
To get the latest OU posts as they happen, join the SI Sooners Community by clicking “Follow” at the top right corner of the page (mobile users can click the notifications bell icon), and follow SI Sooners on Twitter @All_Sooners.
