In their 115 seasons, the Oklahoma football program has raised seven national championship banners. However, only one head coach has hoisted the championship trophy in two separate decades, Arkansas native and 16-year Sooners frontman Barry Switzer. On this date 35 years ago, Switzer resigned from his post in Norman, leaving behind a winning legacy, followed by an abrupt departure.
On Thursday, the longtime Oklahoma legend took to Twitter, posting to his 121,000 followers that it’s been roughly four decades since his departure. Switzer became one of four coaches to win over 100 games at OU.
Barry Switzer: All-Time Coach with Oklahoma Football
DOUG HOKE/THE OKLAHOMAN (Oklahoma Sooners football schedule) (Sooners Oklahoma football)
Barry Switzer started his college football career with the Arkansas Razorbacks in 1956. As a center and linebacker, Switzer and the Razorbacks shined, including winning the Gator Bowl and finishing near the top of the AP Poll at the end of the 1960 campaign. After playing, Switzer briefly dwelled in the Army before returning to Arkansas as the running backs coach. Switzer left Arkansas after five seasons, joining Jim Mackenzie and Oklahoma football, which would become his home for the next 23 years.
35 years ago today, June 19, 1989 I resigned as Head Football Coach University of Oklahoma!
— Barry Switzer (@Barry_Switzer) June 20, 2024
Switzer quickly integrated himself among the best assistant coaches in football, mastering the wishbone offense, which included posting a ludicrous 472 rushing yards per game in 1971. Oklahoma hired Switzer as the head coach in 1973, a position he held for 16 seasons. Oklahoma posted an exceptional 10-0-1 record in his inaugural season before winning back-to-back titles in 1974 and 1975. Oklahoma football recorded a 22-1 record, with All-American running back Joe Washington rushing for 2,192 yards during that span. OU went the next seven years of competition finishing in the top 20 of the AP Poll, including winning three Orange Bowls and a Fiest Bowl.
The Sooners disappointed in 1983, failing to finish ranked after being No. 2 in the preseason poll. However, they returned to the mountain top in 1985, going 11-1 and winning the Orange Bowl, solidifying themselves as national champs. The 85-title team, led by All-American linebacker Brian Bosworth, allowed only 7.8 points per game, the second-best mark in the country. Oklahoma fell just short of national championship consideration in 1986 and 1987, finishing third in the AP Poll each season. In 1988, the final season of Switzer’s tenure, the Charles Thompson-led Sooners went 9-3, falling to the Clemson Tigers in the Orange Bowl.
Switzer: Resigns in 1988
Barry Switzer’s storied 16-year run with Oklahoma football finished clouded in scandal. In the 1989 offseason, the NCAA placed Oklahoma football on probation for players receiving illegal payments and quarterback Charles Thompson soliciting cocaine from covert FBI agents. Superstar Brian Bosworth, among others on the 1985 championship team, publically accepted money during their tenure in Norman. It’s noted that between 100 and 150 players received illegal payment while playing under Switzer at Oklahoma. Switzer resigned before the season, finishing his career as a three-time champion with the Sooners. He went 157-29-4 while winning eight bowl games in 16 seasons.
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