Cowboys Great Jason Witten Lands With SEC Power for First College Coaching Job

Blake Silverman | 17 Hours Ago

Jason Witten will join Oklahoma’s coaching staff / Lauren Roberts/Times Record News, Wichita Falls Times Record News via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Cowboys legend Jason Witten will be back on the sidelines next season. The 11-time Pro Bowler will join Oklahoma’s staff as the tight ends coach to mark his first coaching position at the collegiate level, according to a report Thursday from The Athletic’s Antonio Morales.

Following his NFL retirement in 2021, he became the head coach of Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas. He led the high school to its fourth state championship and first unbeaten season in school history in ‘23, then led the team to a second straight state title in the following year.

He now becomes the second Cowboys great on Oklahoma’s offensive staff, with DeMarco Murray working as the Sooners’ running backs coach since ‘20. Although Witten isn’t an Oklahoma alum like Murray, the tight end’s legendary collegiate career at Tennessee led to an award in his namesake, with The Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award’s inception in ‘17. The honor is handed out each year to the FBS college football player who demonstrates a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field. It’s similar to the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award, which Witten received in ‘12.

Witten ended his career with 13,046 receiving yards and 74 touchdowns, the second most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history behind only Tony Gonzalez. He initially retired in ‘18 and spent a season as an analyst on Monday Night Football, but he made an NFL comeback and returned to the Cowboys on a one-year deal. He signed a one-year deal with the Raiders in ‘20 before his final retirement where he signed a one-day contract to retire a Cowboy.

Now, Witten begins his collegiate coaching career with the Sooners, who qualified for the College Football Playoff this year with a 10-2 record before falling to Alabama in the first round.

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