Shipp, Kittle not returning to OU staff
BY ERIC BAILEY World Sports Writer
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
2/12/13 at 7:52 PM
Picker blog: Bob Stoops finally gets the message
NORMAN - Bruce Kittle will not return to Oklahoma’s coaching staff in 2013, the Tulsa World confirmed on Tuesday night.
Kittle, an offensive tackle/tight ends coach for the past two seasons, is the third coach in the past two days to cut ties with OU.
Defensive line coach Jackie Shipp won’t return, the World confirmed earlier Tuesday. OU announced on Monday that offensive line coach James Patton wouldn’t return.
OU has lost four coaches off its coaching staff in the past two years. It’s the first time that assistants have departed Oklahoma without their next step being a coordinator position or a head coaching job.
Kittle has been an on-field coach for the past two seasons after getting his start at Oklahoma in 2010 as the school’s on-campus recruiting coordinator.
Shipp, 50, was responsible for defensive tackles. He has been on the Sooners’ staff since Bob Stoops took over the program in 1999.
The news comes one day after Oklahoma announced that Patton had accepted an assistant coach position at Indiana.
West Virginia offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh is expected to fill that spot for OU, SoonerScoop.com reported on Tuesday afternoon.
Shipp was a Stillwater High School graduate before playing football at Oklahoma between 1980-83. He holds the all-time OU record for tackles in a game (22) and tackles in a season (189).
Shipp was an offensive line coach at Alabama (1998) and Northeast Louisiana (1997) prior to joining Stoops’ staff. Shipp began his coaching career at Langston in 1991.
While at Oklahoma, Shipp produced defensive tackles like two-time All-American Gerald McCoy, Lombardi Award winner Tommie Harris and all-Big 12 selection Dusty Dvoracek.
The past three seasons have been a challenge for OU’s defensive line.
In 2012, the Sooners’ interior line finished with 56 tackles (lowest total since 2009), 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
During the past three years, Oklahoma’s defensive tackles produced a combined 28.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. In 2009 alone, OU had 25 TFLs and a dozen sacks.
The 2009 squad was anchored by Gerald McCoy, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Since his departure, OU has continued to seek a blue-chip defensive lineman.
Oklahoma’s 2013 recruiting class includes four defensive tackles, but it was perhaps the player that got away that stung the Sooners this season.
Justin Manning, rated the nation’s top 6 high school defensive tackle prospect by Rivals.com, selected Texas A&M over Oklahoma. It may have been a bit of a surprise for the OU staff, considering Manning was considered a strong lean to the Sooners early in the process and is the younger brother of former Oklahoma defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger.
The Sooners are in the a late recruiting battle for 2013 defensive tackle Toby Johnson. The 6-4, 305-pounder from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College plans on deciding between Oklahoma, Georgia, Mississippi State and Auburn on Friday.
Johnson wasn’t happy with the Shipp news and let it be known via social media.
Johnson put on Twitter: “#OU fired Coach Shipp i loved that guy he was like a father figure to me #BoomerSooner thats the worst thing yall could’ve done rite now”
It appears Oklahoma did get a solid recruiter in Bedenbaugh. The 40-year-old was named one of the league’s top recruiters by Rivals.com on Tuesday and a top 50 recruiter nationally by 247 Sports last week.
Bedenbaugh has spent the past two seasons as West Virginia’s offensive line coach. The 18-year veteran coach was a college teammate of Mountaineers Dana Holgorsen at Iowa Wesleyan, where he also played for then-offensive coordinator Mike Leach.
Bedenbaugh coached for four years (2007-10) at Arizona under current OU defensive coordinator Mike Stoops. He was at Texas Tech between 2000-06, where he spent two years each as a graduate assistant for the offensive line, running backs coach and offensive line coach.
Bendenbaugh was asked about his style of coaching prior to his first season at West Virginia.
“In your face,” he told the Times West Virginian in 2011. “That’s the only way. I’m demanding. I’m tough. I expect a lot.”
Marydee (Connor) Bedenbaugh, wife of Bill Bedenbaugh, is an Oklahoma State graduate and her parents still live in Tahlequah. They have two children, William and Lacy.
Associated Images:
Jackie Shipp
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