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Oklahoma is set to hire Washington State’s Ben Arbuckle as its next offensive coordinator, according to a report.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel was first to share that news on Monday afternoon, noting that it’s a 3-year deal.
Sources: Oklahoma is finalizing a three-year deal to make Washington State’s Ben Arbuckle the school’s new offensive coordinator. Washington State finished No. 9 in scoring offense this year and was a successful coordinator at Western Kentucky prior.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 2, 2024
Arbuckle, 29, is one of the youngest coordinators in college football. He helped lead a strong Washington State offense this season and had been linked to other offensive coordinator openings this offseason, including Utah.
Arbuckle guided Washington State to the No. 17 offense in the country, by Game on Paper’s scheduled-adjusted EPA-per-play metric. The Cougars also finished 14th nationally in yards-per-play at 6.65.
Arbuckle replaces Seth Littrell as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator. Littrell was fired mid-season by Brent Venables as the Sooners were in the midst of their worst stretch of offensive football in modern history. Tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley finished out the season as OU’s primary play-caller.
Oklahoma will still have plenty to sort out in the coming weeks with regards to both its offensive coaching staff and roster. OU has multiple longtime assistant coaches on offense who have been around since the Lincoln Riley era (or longer), such as offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh and running backs coach DeMarco Murray.
Arbuckle and his staff will also be tasked with potentially finding a solution at quarterback for the 2025 season. Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins split time at quarterback this past season, with Arnold earning most of the starts. However, both of their futures remain unclear.
Arbuckle is from Wichita Falls, Texas, and previously served as the offensive coordinator at Western Kentucky.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
