Let's not bury the lead. Mullen momentum is fading day by day. Give Jimmy Sexton credit, he used the OU need of an established OC to build the necessity for other P4 programs to go after Mullen.
Dan Mullen: As stated above, the momentum is fading by the day. Parker was spot on with the coach in waiting being a "possible" necessity in contract negotiations. It seems Dan Mullen does not want to wait too long to get back at the helm of a P4 program. If this is the holdup I do not think OU will heed to the coach in waiting as being part of the deal. Simply because it puts BV in a bad spot during 2025 and it also puts Mullen in a bad spot if he is successful, simply because BV won't be on the hot seat more than likely. If Mullen can't find a spot that he likes, he would not mind being the OC at OU, but he would only like a one-year contract with certain safety nets in place. On top of that there are other P4 suitors that are contacting Mullens and his agent Jimmy Sexton to be the coach in waiting or other head coaching opportunities, both at the P4 and G5 level. The other issue on the OU side is Mullen is wanting to wait until after conference championship week to see what is going to be open. OU does not want to wait that long. If we don't hear anything about Mullen being the pick by the end of this week, I would venture to bet Mullens could be out of the race.
Ben Arbuckle: Communication with Ben Arbuckle has picked up substantially since the week began. OU feels like the Mullen situation could drag out and they don't want to wait much longer as stated previously. Again, I think it will be very telling if we do not hear anything in regards to Dan Mullen taking the position by the end of this week. The impression I got from sources is if there is not an answer from Mullen this week then assume the ball will be in Arbuckle's court by next week. Right now I would say the focus is squarely on Ben Arbuckle.
Mack Leftwich: I was able to confirm through two reliable sources, that there was contact made with GJ Kinne and Mack Leftwich. GJ Kinne was contacted in regards to Mack Leftwich. I'm getting to feeling if all else fails, Mack Leftwich would be a last-ditch hire. I would say he is over Spavitol in the "search" . What I can confirm is that OU is enamored with Leftwich as a recruiter and QB developer. But they believe Arbuckle has a better body of work than Mack Leftwich at this point.
Joe Craddock: Now I'll throw my dark horse. Based on what I've heard, I don't think the door is closed on Craddock just yet. BV is really pushing his previous relationship with Joe Craddock. He is trying to make the appeal that OU has better pieces to be successful with right away than any other OC position open. Like I have said previously Craddock really wants to bring one staff member from Tulane with him. And that is Dan Roushar. Except Craddock wants him as o-line coach, but BV has not been able to allow that because of BB, but he has been willing to allow him to coach tight ends if Joe John Finley is fired. Which is expected and Joe John will more than likely try to pick up a G5 school to call plays at or even a low-end P4 School. Roushar has plenty of experience and in an ideal world, in my opinion, you let him coach tight ends and give him the title Co-OC, simply because he has NFL experience coaching o-line and tight ends and quite a bit of experience at the college ranks as well.
If you were to ask me right now who the next offensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma would be, my answer would be Ben Arbuckle. I think if Arbuckle doesn't take it and it falls through along with Mullen falling through, I think they throw the kitchen sink at Joe Craddock before they go after Mack Leftwich.
Boomer Sooner!
