Wilson is the second Sooner assistant to win the award since Bob Stoops
arrived at OU in 1999. Mark Mangino, now the head coach at Kansas, was cited in
2000 while serving as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator.
Wilson's offense is coming off one the greatest five-game stretches in NCAA
history, and is the highest-scoring team in NCAA history. Oklahoma's 62-21
victory over Missouri in the Big 12 Championship Game last Saturday was the
fifth consecutive game that the Sooners have gone over 60 points, a feat last
accomplished 89 years ago. Oklahoma finished the season with 702 total points
scored, the first team in the NCAA to score more than 700 for a season in the
modern era.
More important, Oklahoma is one victory away a national championship. With
the nation's highest-scoring offense and a quarterback, Sam Bradford, who is a
clear finalist for the Heisman trophy, is there any need to make a further case
for why Wilson was again a finalist for the Broyles Award?
Wilson, who was a finalist in 2000 as a member of the Northwestern staff, has
directed what may end up being the most explosive and prolific offense in the
storied history of the Sooners' program. Oklahoma, which is 12-1 and will play
Florida in the National Championship game, leads the nation in scoring offense,
averaging 54 points per game. The Sooners have scored at least 61 points in each
of their past five games, including victories over Texas Tech and Oklahoma
State, both ranked in the top 10 at the time.
"Kevin has done a remarkable job of building an offense with great balance
and diversity," Stoops said. "Not only has he schemed us in a way that makes our
team difficult to defend, but he has developed players at several positions who
are now excelling for us. I can't say enough about his work here; he has been a
tremendous asset."
No one has excelled more than Bradford, who averages 343 passing yards per
game, has thrown 48 touchdowns to six interceptions and leads the nation with a
186 quarterback rating. But this isn't just a passing offense. The Sooners two
feature backs, and Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray, average 85 and 77 rushing
yards per game, respectively. Four times this season both Murray and Brown each
went over 100 yards rushing.
Perhaps most impressive is the number of players that have found success in
Wilson's schemes. In four games this season, six different Sooner players have
scored a touchdown.
Most everyone that follows college football knew Oklahoma's offense was
talented before the Sooners late-season assault on opponents' end zones. But the
past three games have ratcheted the nation's respect for Wilson's offensive
squad into the stratosphere.
On Nov. 22, against Texas Tech, then the hottest team and No. 2 in the
nation, Oklahoma piled up 625 yards of total offense and scored on 10 of 13
possessions in a game that was never close. Then, the next week, playing
then-No. 7 Oklahoma State and needing an impressive performance to move up in
the BCS standings, the Sooners had 557 yards of offense in another dominating
offensive performance. From the second quarter on, Oklahoma had eight
possessions. It scored seven touchdowns and a field goal.
Before the game, Oklahoma was ranked below Texas in the BCS standing.
Bradford, who passed for 370 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for another,
against Oklahoma State, said it was Wilson that provided the inspiration the
team needed.
"We did a great job responding," Bradford said. "Coach Wilson challenged us
before the game that when things aren't going good, great teams fight back."
In the Big 12 Championship game last Saturday the Tigers had little chance
against the Oklahoma juggernaut. The Sooners filed up 627 yards of total
offense, and set the seaon scoring record with 3:33 left in the game.
Wilson thinks his offense can get even better.
"Really strong teams play well at the end," Wilson said. "We've been trying
to emphasize to our guys for weeks that as well as we've been playing, we still
think our best ball's in front of us."
Other 2008 finalists included Florida associate head coach, defensive
coordinator and linebackers coach Charlie Strong, who will get another crack at
besting Wilson in the National Championship Game; former Utah assistant head
coach, defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Gary Andersen, who was
recently named head coach at Utah State; TCU defensive coordinator and defensive
line coach Dick Bumpas; and Ball State offensive coordinator Stan Parrish.
About the Broyles Award There are few coaches whose efforts have forever
impacted the game of college football. Bear Bryant, Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy
and Eddie Robinson have set the standard for victories and championships on the
gridiron. However, when it comes to selecting, developing and producing great
assistant coaches, the legacy of Frank Broyles stands alone.
Former Broyles assistant coaches who have become head coaches have gone on to
coach in 20 percent of all Super Bowls and win almost 15 percent of all Super
Bowl titles plus five national collegiate championships, more than 40 conference
titles and more than 2,000 games. More than 25 Broyles assistants went on to
become head coaches at the college or professional level, including Joe Gibbs,
Hayden Fry, Raymond Berry, Jimmy Johnson, Johnny Majors, Jackie Sherrill and
Barry Switzer (full list below).
In 1996, the Broyles Award was established to recognize the dedicated,
hard-working assistants like those who worked for Broyles, and to date, 59
finalists and 11 winners have been honored. Like many of Broyles' assistants who
went on to do great things, numerous coaches recognized by the Broyles Award
have since remained in the spotlight, with 25% of finalists and winners going on
to become head coaches, including four of the six finalists from 2004.
The Broyles Award is a member of the National College Football Awards
Association. The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of major collegiate
football awards. The purpose of the NCFAA is to protect, preserve and enhance
the integrity, influence and prestige of college football's various awards. The
NCFAA also encourages professionalism and the highest standards possible for the
administration of college football awards and the selection of their winners.
The Selection Process Each NCAA Division I head coach may nominate one of his
assistants for the Broyles Award. Every assistant that is nominated, but not
selected as a finalist, receives a personalized wall plaque recognizing his
efforts. The finalists are chosen by a nine-man panel that may be the most
prestigious of any awards panel, representing eight national championships, more
than 1,600 victories, over 60 conference titles, 124 bowl game appearances and
nine national head coach of the year honors.
Broyles Award Panelists - Former Arkansas Athletic Director and Coach Frank
Broyles - Former Georgia Coach Vince Dooley - Former Washington Coach Don James
- Former Syracuse Coach Dick MacPherson - Former Baylor Coach Grant Teaff -
Former Brigham Young Coach LaVell Edwards - Former Iowa Coach Hayden Fry -
Former Oklahoma Coach Barry Switzer - Former Tennessee and Pittsburgh Coach
Johnny Majors
Previous Broyles Award Winners - Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey
Andrews (1996)
- Former Michigan defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann (1997), now linebackers
coach for the New York Jets
- Former Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe (1998), now head
coach at Duke
- Former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen (1999), now head
coach at Maryland
- Former Oklahoma offensive coordinator Mark Mangino (2000), now head coach
at Kansas
- Former Miami defensive coordinator Randy Shannon (2001), now head coach at
Miami
- Former Southern California offensive coordinator Norm Chow (2002), now UCLA
offensive coordinator
- Former Georgia defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder (2003), now
linebackers coach for the Atlanta Falcons
- Former Auburn defensive coordinator Gene Chizik (2004), now head coach at
Iowa State
- Texas offensive coordinator Greg Davis (2005)
- Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster (2006)
- Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock (2007)