Former Oklahoma standout, longtime college and NFL coach Mark Hutson hired as Sallisaw football coach

Hutson won a national championship with the Sooners as a player in 1985.

By Buck Ringgold

Growing up in nearby Fort Smith, Ark., Mark Hutson knew all about the tradition of Sallisaw football.

Now, Hutson is determined to take the Black Diamonds back to their former glory.

Hutson, a former All-America offensive lineman at Oklahoma and a longtime NFL and college coach, was officially named Sallisaw's new coach at Monday night's school board meeting.

"It's been a great reception here and I'm excited to be a part of the Black Diamond family," Hutson said.

The Black Diamonds won back-to-back state titles in 1980 and 1981, and played for the 4A title in 2000 and again in 2001. But lately, they have fallen on hard times.

Last season, Sallisaw finished 1-9, the second time in a five-season span the Diamonds had that record. Since their run to the 2001 4A title game, Sallisaw has made two semifinal trips since then, the latter coming in 2009. Sallisaw also reached the 4A quarterfinals in 2019, falling to eventual state runner-up Weatherford.

"I remember the championships that they won back in 1980 and in 1981 and have known several people through the years that have come here," Hutson said. "I'm just going to work on re-establishing that and getting that back into the program.

"In the city and the community, football's important to them and it's important to me, and it's a tough district, and we're just going to have to roll up our sleeves and go to work and just do a little extra."

Though Hutson has more than 30 years of coaching experience, this will be his first job at the high school level. But he believes the transition to high school will be a smooth one.

"I think in the college game, you're dealing with young adults and working with them here (at Sallisaw), you're dealing with young students and teenagers, (ages) 12 to 18, still making a difference in their lives, still being an extension of their parents or guardians and working with them to graduate," Hutson said. "Those that go to college, good, and those that go on out into the workforce, trying to help prepare them in being an extension of those people."

This past football season, Hutson was the offensive line coach at Tennessee State University. In December, he accepted a job as an assistant at Grambling (La.) State University before being named Sallisaw's new coach.

There are a few other reasons Hutson was interested in taking over the helm of the Black Diamonds.

"My son (Ethan) and daughter-in-law (Emma) moved here at the start of the school year," Hutson said. "She's an English teacher at the high school, so they moved back to the area. Then my parents, getting back closer to them, they're getting a little older and they have some health conditions there.

"My wife is from Oklahoma City, (and went to school at) Putnam City, and I have a ton of family in Tulsa and her mom's moving back to Oklahoma City, so just being back in the general area and being close to family."

Mark Hutson added his son will serve as the offensive coordinator.

In taking over at Sallisaw, Hutson will bring championship experience both as a player and as a coach.

A former standout at Fort Smith Northside, Hutson went to Oklahoma and was a two-time All-American in the 1986 and 1987 seasons and was a member of the Sooners' 1985 national championship squad.

After being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round in 1988 before retiring early due to back issues, Hutson began his coaching career at OU in 1990 as a graduate assistant.

He went on to become an assistant under head coach Houston Nutt at Murray (Ky.) State, Boise State and Arkansas, and while with the Razorbacks, Hutson was named the Southeastern Conference Special Teams Coach of the Year.

In 2000, Hutson went to the University of Tulsa, and coached the offensive line for three seasons. He went on to Eastern Illinois and Tulane in similar capacities and was also an interim head coach at both schools.

Hutson moved to the NFL in 2012 when he became the tight ends coach of the then-Oakland Raiders, serving three seasons there. He also spent three seasons (2016-18) as an assistant offensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns.

In 2019 and 2020, Hutson returned to the college ranks as an offensive analyst at LSU. He was part of the 2019 Tigers' squad that went undefeated and won the College Football Playoff national championship.

"(Winning championships is) a great feeling, a great accomplishment, and it's something that the players can tend to believe in what we're doing and keep working hard throughout the summer and throughout the fall, then anything is possible," Hutson said.

"I've had the opportunity to be a head coach at the collegiate level twice now, and I'm looking forward to running my own program and putting things into place some of my thoughts and some of the things that I've worked with on (previous) staffs and with the players."

Hutson is also looking forward to the challenge of coaching in District 4A-4, long considered one of the toughest districts in the state.

Ironically, one of Sallisaw's longtime district rivals, Poteau, is also coached by a Fort Smith Northside alum in Greg Werner, who went to school there around the same time as Hutson.

"We played baseball together and we were together at Northside," Hutson said of Werner, who led Poteau to the 4A state championship in 2019. "Greg's had an outstanding high school career and really has that program playing well.

"I've talked to Greg and visited with him, got some of his thoughts before I took the job here, and he's done an outstanding job there and at other places he has been."

Along with bringing years of coaching experience, Hutson is also wanting to bring fun and enthusiasm for his new players at Sallisaw.

"I think experience is one thing," he said. "Dealing with people and understanding what their demands are and working with the players here. ... I just want it to be exciting, I want it to be fun for these young men and just bring some enthusiasm and be competitive."