Ben Arbuckle reiterates focus on being at OU, not seeking head coaching jobs
NORMAN — It took just a few months for Ben Arbuckle’s name to surface across the college football world.
The Sooners’ offensive coordinator has been named as a potential candidate for several head coaching vacancies across the country, including UCLA and Oklahoma State. Arbuckle, who just turned 30 years old, has been impressive as a up-and-coming young offensive coordinator, both in his two seasons at Washington State and through his first four games at Oklahoma.
When asked about his potential interest in becoming a head coach, Arbuckle reiterated his focus on his responsibilities at Oklahoma.
“I mean, I’m flattered that someone would say that about me, but none of that stuff registers in my head at all,” Arbuckle said. “I have a responsibility to this university and to these kids, so I haven’t even thought about if I would be ready to be a head coach or I’m not seeking anything, either. My responsibility is to Oklahoma, to these kids, putting them in the best position to be successful every single day.”
If Arbuckle were to leap for a head coaching job, he wouldn’t be the first former OU offensive coordinator to do so. That’s a lengthy list, including Mike Leach, Mark Mangino, Chuck Long, Kevin Wilson, Kevin Sumlin and Lincoln Riley. Former offensive coordinator Josh Heupel eventually became the head coach at Tennessee.
Under Arbuckle, Washington State was one of the most explosive offenses in college football in 2023 and 2024. This season, the Sooners are 4-0 and quarterback John Mateer has emerged as an early Heisman Trophy Candidate. However, there’s a long way to go, and the Sooners still have much of SEC play in front of them.
“So, that’s where my loyalty lies, and that’s where my mind is set — is right here at Oklahoma,” Arbuckle said. “Yeah, that’s all I got to say about that one.”
OU coach Brent Venables said he wouldn’t be surprised if Arbuckle — or any of OU’s assistant coaches — eventually became a head coach elsewhere. But there remains hope that Arbuckle will be around for awhile.
“He’ll certainly be somebody that has great opportunity in the future,” Venables said. “For me, I’ve always said, and I tell it to my colleagues, as they look at opportunities to grow and elevate in the profession, when you have what you value, don’t screw it up. And the only thing I would say, when you find someone that has the resources and the opportunity to win at the highest level year in and year out, there’s a lot of fulfillment in that. Being successful, winning, being able to recruit great players, lack for nothing when it comes to resources. You get to show up every day in a profession that’s really hard to be successful.
“But everybody’s a little bit different in the things they desire. And some people just want to be a head coach, no matter what. And that’s cool, too. Our building’s full of guys that are going to be great future head coaches. But Ben’ll have a lot of opportunity. He’s a winner. Everything I’ve bragged on him in the past, he’s got maturity beyond his years. He’s got a great toughness to him. He’s very relational. He’s passionate about winning.”
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