The Football Brainiacs

– An interesting note to get us started, I was told that Jason Candle flew out of Oklahoma City this morning. Unfortunately that’s all I was told. But as I noted yesterday, and will note again below, OU is trying to make a decision quickly. So it would be no surprise if Candle was in town for an interview.

– Yesterday, Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports reported that the Oklahoma coaching staff met with TCU co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie. Gilman was not sure, however, whether an offer was extended to Cumbie.

– Our own Brandon Drake (@TheDrakeTFB) spoke to a very well placed source regarding any potential interest in Cumbie and while he could not confirm when or where the interview took place, he was able to confirm Cumbie has, in fact, been interviewed by Oklahoma.

– Brandon also confirmed that Cumbie has not yet been offered the job. However, he was told that Cumbie would likely find out one way or the other as early as the “next few days.”

– Brandon also confirmed that the interest in Cumbie is for an offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach position. However none of us have yet been able to confirm whether a “co-” would precede his title and an additional OC would be brought in to actually call plays. We do, however, suspect this would be the case.

– We have also been told that if offered the position, it is highly likely Cumbie would accept.

– We have also been told, in general terms, that with these changes Bob Stoops is looking make are with the intention to “change the culture” inside the program. We didn’t get clarification on what that meant exactly, but Cumbie and I have a mutual friend (former player that played with Cumbie at Tech back in the early 2000’s) and a few mutual acquaintances. And I can tell you that Cumbie is a great recruiter. He does something that I have long criticized certain OU coaches for not doing enough of, he networks. He gets to know the right people and is very well liked.

– I personally think if Cumbie was brought in as a co-offensive coordinator/QB coach it would be a great hire. From everything I’ve heard, he would bring a great energy and recruiting presence to OU. Additionally, Cumbie has coached both wide receivers and quarterbacks in the past and has been successful doing both.

If OU wants to bring in guy who can instantly help the passing game, he seems like a great fit. What he did with Trevone Boykin this past season was nothing short of amazing. If you think back to my OU vs. TCU preview, I didn’t think the Horned Frogs had much of a chance. Primarily because I simply didn’t believe Boykin was capable of making the kind of jump he obviously did in 2014. For me, personally, that went a long way towards putting me in the camp who would be happy to see Cumbie brought in.

– We have previously noted that OU had reached out to the other co-offensive coordinator/play caller at TCU, Doug Meacham. We are still trying to discern just how serious that interest is on both sides, or how far the talks between the two may or may not have progressed. It might be interesting to see a guy like Cumbie paired with a coordinator who runs a balanced attack with roots in the running game.

– Also wanted to note that back in the early 2000’s, when Cumbie and my buddy played for Texas Tech, Bill Bedenbaugh was a GA on that same staff.

– Have also been told there could very likely be another potential coaching candidate brought in later today as there have been preparations made around the football offices suggesting as such.

– One quick final note related to things on the offensive side of the ball. Oregon’s Scott Frost is a name that many of been quick to throw out, while just as many it would seem have been equally as quick to dismiss as being unrealistic. Well, based on some of what we’ve heard the talk is legitimate. Now whether that means OU could actually convince him to come to Norman, we definitely could not say. But the talk is real based on what we’ve been told.

– Wanted to also add that I have been told that there are still a lot of people inside the program that expect to see coaching changes on the defensive side of the ball. I personally want to see it happen in a big way. If it doesn’t happen, I think it would be an incredible disappointment for a number of reasons.

– UPDATE (1:29pm): There are now multiple reports out this afternoon that OU could have some interest in former Sooner and current Louisville assistant, Garrick McGee. No way to know at this time if their interest in McGee is any more serious than any of the other candidates believed to being considered, or if this is simply more of a token interview type of deal (assuming an interview even does happen at some point). So not a ton of meat on this bone per se, but just wanted to keep you apprised of the latest.