Oklahoma Offensive Crisis Averted

Sooner Nation still has Kevin Wilson to kick around.

East Carolina has hired former Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill, thus ending speculation that OU's offensive coordinator was heading to Greenville.

Despite the Sooners' overall offensive success under Wilson's watchful eye, he still has his fair share of detractors among the OU fan base. On occasion, you'll find Homerism in that camp.

Yet, even Wilson's staunchest critics should recognize that today's news is to OU's benefit. If Wilson was out of the picture, the alternatives wouldn't be so pretty.

First, the prospect of OU head coach Bob Stoops hiring someone not currently on campus is an "alternative" in theory only.

It's just not Stoops' style. Unless he intentionally plans to move the team in a different direction, Stoops' history shows he prefers promoting from within to fill coordinator vacancies. Seeing as OU is just a year removed from having possibly the best offense in college football history, the Sooners' head coach doesn't appear motivated to change course.

(Begin tangent.)

And why should he be?

Admittedly, there are things I'd like to see OU do differently. And fresh blood sometimes does provide the spark to help a unit make significant strides. Look at the improvement in Texas' defenses after Mack Brown brought in Gene Chizik and Will Muschamp, for instance.

Yet, fans often overestimate the kinds of miracles that coordinators can work and understate the value of continuity. Bringing in an offensive guru such as Norm Chow means a whole new way of doing business–new terminology, new objectives, new roles for players. To think such a transition would be seamless is foolhardy.

(Tangent over.)

So, if bringing in a fresh face is out of the question, that leaves current position coaches Jay Norvell and Josh Heupel as the only real options. Frankly, I don't feel confident handing the keys to the Big Crimson Machine over to either.

Norvell's track record of mediocrity at previous stops in Westwood and Lincoln speaks for itself.

Heupel has all the makings of a great offensive coordinator... two or three years from now. Keep in mind that Stoops himself primarily works with the Sooner D, so OU's offensive coordinator has to carry a little extra weight. At this point in his young career, Heupel has yet to accumulate the experience necessary to run OU's offense.

Face it, haters. Given the circumstances, the Kevin Wilson we all know definitely beats the devil we don't.