OU Deep DivePart 2:
Wilkinson quit and was replaced by his chief assistant, Gomer (yep) Jones. By year two, it was clear that Jones didn’t have it, so OU shitcanned him (university president Cross was a big football fan and he wasn’t having it).
They made a run at Royal, who listened out of courtesy to his alma mater, and turned him down. They hired Jim MacKenzie, Broyles’ chief assistant, and he accepted. He brought a pretty terrific staff- Chuck Fairbanks, Barry Switzer, Homer Rice, Galen Hall, Larry Lacewell, all young and ambitious. Under the new management, OU recommitted to integration and recruiting Texas. They beat Texas their first year, for the first time since 1957.
MacKenzie died of a heart attack and was replaced by Fairbanks. They took two major steps:
1. They got aggressive in recruiting, highlighted by winning the bidding war for Texas HS QB Jack Mildren.
2. In 1970, they adopted the Wishbone offense. The story of how Royal told Bellard to teach it to OC Switzer, out of misguided coaching camaraderie and trying to do a solid for his alma mater, wasn’t told until years after Switzer’s autobiography came out. In his book, Switzer describes it as if he figured the offense out on his own, taking full credit. Of course, because that’s the kind of narcissist Switzer is.
OU won big in the ‘70s, propelled by elite talent and easy Big 8 schedules. The Sooners would have three challenging games per year- Texas, Nebraska and a bowl opponent or non-conference game.
Fairbanks (yes, he is the owner of DFW Chevy dealership “Chuck Fairbanks Chevrolet”) left for the NFL and was replaced by Switzer, who felt even less restrained by NCAA rules (as well as common standards of decency).
OU got in trouble with the NCAA for cheating and academic fraud to get players eligible. Royal called them out for spying on closed Texas practices, which Switzer denied, but confronted years later by the spy’s confession, admitted to while laughing at Toyal for getting upset. That was Switzer- he cheated, won and laughed about it. The school didn’t care- Criss was the Chancellor and there was still very much an attitude that if the program got in trouble, it was the program’s problem, not the school’s.
A few things to note, to close out the ‘70s and early ‘80s-
We all know that Texas lost the MNC in 1977, losing to ND. Did you know that OU could have won it, if they had beaten heavy underdog Arkansas in the Orange Bowl? They lost and the story is that in large part it was due to the inattention of DC Lacewell. Switzer was banging Lacewell’s wife and when Lacewell found out, he lost focus on his job. Lacewell left the next year.
Switzer was arrested for DWI, which really wasn’t a surprise (well, the arrest may have been a surprise, but that he would drive drunk wasn’t). He pled to a misdemeanor.
Switzer was arrested for insider trading on an energy company that was purchased by another. In his book, Switzer describes it as a totally bogus charge, which is funny. It’s funny because the Switzer insider trading case became a major precedent for understanding insider trading. Switzer made up a bullshit story that he didn’t know he was trading in an insider tip, and the success of that defense became a major part of case law.
Finally- OU’s reliance on the wishbone was wearing out. It worked fine against Big 8 competition, but Texas defenses, coordinated by Fuller and MacWilliams, were playing assignments football and shutting it down. Their lack of success against even pedestrian Longhorn teams (Texas lost one RRS between 1977 and 1981) and Switzer’s legal issues were starting to cause him problems.
Could Switzer coach his way out of this?
Could Switzer cheat his way out of this?
Stay tuned.