List of Oklahoma Sooners head football coaches
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Oklahoma Sooners football The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma (variously "Oklahoma" or "OU"). The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (forme ...
program is a
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
team that represents the University of Oklahoma. The team has had 23 head coaches since organized football began in 1895. The Sooners have played in more than 1,200 games in its 121 seasons. In those seasons, nine coaches have led the Sooners to postseason bowl games:
Thomas E. Stidham Thomas E. Stidham (March 25, 1905 – January 29, 1964) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1937 to 1940 and Marquette University ...
, Jim Tatum,
Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...
, Gomer Jones, Chuck Fairbanks, Barry Switzer, Gary Gibbs,
Bob Stoops Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 through the 2016 season, and on an interim basis during the 2021 Alamo Bowl. He led the Oklahoma ...
and Lincoln Riley. Nine coaches have won
conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...
championships with the Sooners: Bennie Owen, Stidham, Dewey Luster, Tatum, Wilkinson, Fairbanks, Switzer, Stoops and Riley. Wilkinson, Switzer and Stoops have also won
national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
with the Sooners. Stoops is the all-time leader in games coached and won, Owen is the all-time leader in years coached, while Riley is the all-time leader in winning percentage. John Harts is, in terms of winning percentage, the worst coach the Sooners have had as he lost the only game he coached. John Blake has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game with .353 in his 34 games. Of the 23 Sooner coaches, Owen, Lawrence Jones, Tatum, Wilkinson, Switzer and Stoops have been inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
. Wilkinson, Switzer, and Stoops have each received National Coach of the Year honors from at least one organization. The current head coach is
Brent Venables Thomas Brent Venables (born December 18, 1970) is an American football coach who is the head coach at the University of Oklahoma. He previously served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Clemson University from 2012 to 2021. V ...
, who was hired on December 5, 2021, replacing Lincoln Riley after his departure to become the head coach at the University of Southern California (USC) in November 2021.


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Head coaches

:''Statistics correct as of the end of the
2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season will be the 153rd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS ...
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;General * * * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Oklahoma Sooners head football coaches Lists of college football head coaches *
Oklahoma Sooners football coaches Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...