It didn't take long for Oklahoma and Brent Venables to find a replacement for Jeff Lebby.

On Wednesday, the Sooners officially announced the promotion of Seth Littrell as the new offensive coordinator, while tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley has been elevated to Co-offensive coordinator. Littrell will serve as the playcaller and quarterbacks coach, while Finley will continue to coach the tight ends and play an “increased role” in offensive game planning and oversight.

"I'm thrilled to announce two former OU players as our new brain trust on offense," Venables said in a press release. “Seth and Joe Jon are going to make an amazing duo and lead a fantastic group of offensive coaches.”

The news initially broke Tuesday evening following a coaching search that took just two days after Lebby was announced as Mississippi State's new head coach on Sunday, ending his two-year tenure as the Sooners' offensive coordinator and play caller.

While the Sooners haven't had co-offensive coordinators since 2015, this isn't the program's first experience of having more than one person leading the offense. Kevin Wilson and Chuck Long served as OU's co-offensive coordinators from 2002-2005, helping lead the Sooners to the BCS title game in 2003 and 2004. Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell also served as co-offensive coordinators from 2011-2014.

In both Littrell and Finley, the Sooners found former players to serve as the leaders of the offense heading into the program's first season as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

Venables hired Littrell as an offensive analyst back in March following a seven-year stint as the head coach at North Texas, where he posted an overall record of 44-44. Under Littrell, North Texas was consistently one of the top offenses in Conference USA, ranking inside the top three in total offense, passing offense and scoring for four consecutive seasons from 2017-2020.

Prior to North Texas, Littrell spent two seasons at North Carolina as the associate head coach, offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. Littrell was hired at Arizona in 2009 as the running backs and tight ends coach before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2010 and eventually the sole offensive coordinator in 2011. Littrell also spent four seasons as the running backs coach at Texas Tech and three seasons as a graduate assistant at Kansas.

But Littrell's connection to Venables began long before he started his coaching career. He played running back at OU from 1997-2000 and served as a team captain for the Sooners' national championship season in 2000, when Venables was the co-defensive coordinator.

“I love the journey Seth's been on since he left here as a player following our 2000 national championship,” Venables said. “He was one of my favorite players, even though I didn't coach him directly. I just had so much respect for him — his toughness, his instincts, his attitude, his mindset and his love for everything Oklahoma, thanks in part to his dad playing here. It's awesome to be able to welcome Seth back in a coaching role.

“He coached under Mike Leach for four years at Texas Tech and worked with other brilliant offensive minds like Mark Mangino at Kansas, Sonny Dykes at Texas Tech and Arizona, Kevin Wilson at Indiana and Larry Fedora at North Carolina. He was a play-caller for over a decade and worked with some high-level quarterbacks like Nick Foles, Nate Sudfeld, Marquise Williams and Mitch Trubisky, among others, as well as a bunch of other tremendous skill players. Our guys are going to love what he brings to the table every day.”

For Finley, also a former Sooner player, this marks a significant promotion after serving the last three seasons as the Sooners' tight ends coach. He also spent time as the tight ends coach at Missouri (2016-2018) and Texas A&M (2019) before serving one season as passing game coordinator and tight ends coach at Ole Miss. Finley also played tight end for the Sooners from 2004-2007, totaling 62 receptions, 775 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Of course, Finley served as the tight end's coach at OU alongside Lebby the past two seasons. This year, the Sooners finished the regular season ranked third nationally in scoring offense (43.2 points per game and fourth in total offense (502.4 yards per game).

The 2024-25 season will mark Finley's first as an offensive coordinator.

"I’ve known Joe Jon since he was a 17-year-old quarterback at Arlington (Texas) High School playing for a legendary coach in his dad, Mickey. Football and coaching have been in Joe Jon’s DNA his whole life. He’s got a tremendous offensive mind and his command and leadership of young people is special. He gained great experience at excellent programs, with stops at Baylor, Missouri, Texas A&M and Ole Miss, and has had exposure to some of the best offensive minds in college football.

“I really love what he is all about, with his offensive philosophy and the toughness he brings to the facility every day. He's one of the best teachers and motivators I've been around. He's incredibly bright and our players are going to love him in his enhanced role. He knows our system inside and out and he's going to be a great head coach in the near future. He passed up on opportunities to be the sole coordinator at other programs because he wanted to do this at his alma mater. OU means so much to him. I'm incredibly grateful for his commitment and his decision to continue his coaching career here at OU in this elevated role."

The Sooners posted a 10-2 record in the regular season, finishing third in the Big 12 standings. Littrell and Finley's first appearance as co-offensive coordinators will come in the Sooners' bowl game, which will be announced on Sunday.