Brent Venables explains Oklahoma promotion of analyst Kevin Johns to QB coach after Seth Littrell firing

Following some major struggles on the offensive side of the ball, Oklahoma parted ways with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Seth Littrell in the midst of his first season as the Sooners’ playcaller. Fired on Sunday following the team’s 35-9 loss to South Carolina after scoring 12 points in a two week stretch.

On an interim basis, head coach Brent Venables promoted co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley to the primary play-caller on offense to close out the season. Also promoting offensive analyst Kevin Johns to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks, opening up about what Johns brings to the table during his Tuesday press conference.

“Being a quarterback coach and an offensive coordinator, he’s got both of those lenses,” Venables said regarding Johns. “So from fundamentals, game prep, knowing what the quarterback should see, what he shouldn’t see. You’ve got high-level success in regards to where he’s been at both coordinating and coaching the quarterbacks whether that was at Duke, or it’s at Memphis, it’s at Indiana, and some of the other places that he’s been.”

Johns joined the Sooners this offseason with plenty of experience under his belt. As this year was supposed to represent the first time since 2010 that he has not served as an offensive coordinator in some capacity. But the recent decisions in Norman have put him right back in the coaching game after starting off as an analyst.

“He hit the ground running yesterday and he was like a pig in the mud, and I think that a fresh perspective will be an opportunity for the quarterbacks to grow and see it from getting not only a different voice, but a different lens,” Venables explained. “Someone that’s been outside of a system that we have currently been running, and again a fresh approach.”

Injuries at wide receiver, changes at quarterback, and being the SEC’s second-worst scoring offense has troubled Oklahoma’s first season in a new conference. With Venables hoping that Johns and Finley can add a new spark and turn things around offensively to close out the year.