Tuesday started with rumors Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips was in Oklahoma City to meet with Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.
A private jet landed at Oklahoma City’s Wiley Post Airport around 5 p.m. Tuesday and Phillips was aboard. But if he was here to meet with Wilson, it was news to the Sooner assistant.
“I haven’t heard anything from any person and I don’t have an agent,” Wilson said following OU’s practice Tuesday night. “There’s no sense in trying to contact my people, because my people is me. I’m doing my gig.”
Clemson, which started the season ranked in the top 10, fired head coach Tommy Bowden Oct. 14 after starting the season 3-3. It fell to 4-5 after last Saturday’s loss to Florida State. Dabo Swinney, the former receivers coach, has been interim head coach since Bowden’s dismissal.
Who becomes the Tigers’ next head coach will be a huge cog in the coaching carousel come December when college football’s regular season ends.
Wilson made no bones about wanting to take the ride. The North Carolina native said he would love to be considered for the Clemson job.
“I’d like to say there was some truth it. I’d love to say there’s some truth to it,” said Wilson, who’s been on the Sooner staff since the end of the 2001 season and been offensive coordinator since 2005. “But all I can say is we’re trying to beat (OU’s next opponent Texas) Tech and that’s the god’s honest truth.”
Wilson should be an attractive candidate for any vacancy. The fifth-ranked Sooners are currently third in the nation in total offense (549.8 yards per game) and second in scoring offense (51.4 points per game).
OU coach Bob Stoops spoke glowingly of Wilson during his weekly press conference earlier in the day.
“Kevin has done a fabulous job. It’s obvious with the production and the way we’ve been playing,” Stoops said. “He’s a great leader. Very detailed and smart on how he attacks people … He’s very smart on taking advantage of our strengths …He presents a lot of attitude to our offense that helps make them be more physical and demanding on each other.”
But if Wilson wasn’t the reason the Clemson brass was in Oklahoma, OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables could have been. Venables did not make himself available to reporters following Tuesday’s practice.
OU spokesman Kenny Mossman said Venables, who has been mentioned by several South Carolina media outlets as a potential candidate, went home to be with his family following Tuesday’s practice. Venables’ wife Julie gave birth to a daughter Friday, the couple’s third child. Skipping a session with reporters under those circumstances is completely understandable.
If any Sooner coaches are going to interview for potential jobs before the regular season ends, this is the week to do it. OU is off this week. Stoops said the team would practice Tuesday, today and Thursday then take the weekend off.
The Sooners won’t return to the field until they face No. 2 Texas Tech Nov. 22 at Owen Field.
OU Sports
Wilson would like consideration
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