Emmett Jones to be named WR coach
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables knows how crucial it is for the Sooners to take care of their home base. That includes anything in the state, Texas, Kansas and Missouri.
He hopes he has helped OU’s efforts in Texas as multiple reports Tuesday confirm the Sooners will be hiring Texas Tech wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator Emmett Jones to become the permanent receivers coach for the Sooners.
Details of Jones’ contract and exact titles are not known, but SoonerScoop.com reported Monday that unless something went off the rails that Jones was going to indeed become the next receivers coach.
In the lead up to the Cheez-It Bowl vs. No. 13 Florida State two weeks ago, Venables praised interim receivers coach L’Damian Washington for what he had been able to accomplish on and off the field in such a unique and difficult situation.
Washington had to step in just weeks before the season in the middle of preseason practice when longtime coach Cale Gundy suddenly resigned.
Although Venables praised Washington, he never said Washington was going to have the interim label removed and become the permanent coach when addressing the situation two weeks ago.
Jones has been a rising star on the offensive scene ever since taking over as Texas Tech’s wide receiver coach in 2016.
He was with the Red Raiders, for the first time, from 2016-18, before going to Kansas as an assistant coach and wide receivers coach from 2019-21. He was even the interim head coach for the Jayhawks before KU landed on Lance Leipold.
Jones returned to Texas Tech when Joey McGuire landed the head coaching job as McGuire has made the state of Texas high school coaches a major emphasis. Jones added the title of passing game coordinator for his second stint with the Red Raiders and helped them to the 8-5 record in 2022.
Texas high school ranks are where Jones got his start. Before he broke on through in Lubbock, Jones was making his name throughout the Dallas Metroplex area as the head coach at South Oak Cliff and as an assistant at Dallas Skyline for years before that.
A formal announcement from OU is expected sometime later this week.