NORMAN — Jon Gruden is a Jason Witten fan.
A big one.
Maybe even president-of-the-fan-club level, and after what the OU tight ends coach turned interim offensive coordinator has already done, lots of folks in Sooner Nation are contending for that position.
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But Gruden makes a strong case.
“There’s some guys that are at the top of my favorites … and Jason Witten is right up there,” Gruden told me the other day. “I mean, I am pulling for him. And hell, if he needs a GA next year if he stays at Oklahoma, I’m gonna offer my services.
“I would do anything to see him successful.”
Gruden is known for being grandiose, but the legendary NFL coach also speaks his mind. And when it comes to Witten, who spent a year in Las Vegas playing for him, Gruden pulls no punches.
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Witten has gotten lots of flowers after turning around the offense and winning at Florida. If the Sooners repeat that performance Saturday against Ole Miss, the adulation will only grow.
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But there’s no better endorsement than Gruden’s.
“I’m sure it wasn’t a perfect world to inherit the play calling for the first time in your career with somebody else’s offense against the Florida Gators,” Gruden said. “S—, that’s as much adversity as you can spell out.
“But if anybody could stand in front of a group of guys and get them to play to the best of their abilities together, it would be Jason Witten. That’s just the kind of stuff he has.”
Gruden saw it firsthand during that season when Witten was a Raider.
While Witten had long been a player who Gruden admired — “I’ve always loved this guy and what he stood for,” Gruden said, “and I wanted him on my team” — he figured the opportunity had passed by when Witten retired from the NFL after 15 seasons in Dallas, then returned to the Cowboys after a year as a color analyst on Monday Night Football.
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But when Dallas changed coaches after the 2019 season, Witten became a free agent and signed with the Raiders.
One of the main reasons he chose Las Vegas was that he wanted to learn about coaching from Gruden. How his offense was taught. How his practices were run. How his meetings were structured.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 21: Tight end Jason Witten #82 of the Las Vegas Raiders is greeted by head coach Jon Gruden during warmups before the NFL game against the New Orleans Saints at Allegiant Stadium on September 21, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Raiders defeated the Saints 34-24. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Witten wanted to coach and soaked up everything he could.
Gruden isn’t sure just how much he and his coaching staff added to Witten’s understanding of coaching, but Gruden knows he has a different perspective on football than Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips or Jason Garrett, the head coaches that Witten had played for in Dallas.
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“The amount of plays that we had, the amount of audibles and contingency plans that we had, the way that we installed and went about our routine was probably a little bit different than he was used to,” Gruden said. “Sometimes seeing different coaches do it different ways is a great way to grow.
“I mean, he probably saw some things … and he’s like, ‘I ain’t ever gonna do that.'”
Gruden also believes that some of what has made Witten successful as a coach, first as the high school head coach at Liberty Christian School in suburban Dallas-Fort Worth, now at OU, is because of how he is wired.
Gruden remembers going to a Cowboys practice when he was an analyst on Monday Night Football.
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“And I’ll never forget watching him practice,” he said of Witten. “The way that he attacked his individual periods. The little things that he did. I was in shock.
“He reminded me of Jerry Rice … The great players have this gene in them regarding preparation. They just prepare on and off the field better than everybody else. And he had that.”
Great players, though, don’t always make for great coaches.
Sometimes, they aren’t even good ones.
Gruden suspects the ones who fail are often those for whom things came easy. If things were easy as a player, they assume they’ll be easy as a coach.
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More: OU football’s Jason Witten ‘absolutely’ has offensive coordinator chances coming his way
Oklahoma tight ends coach Jason Witten during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. South Carolina won 42-25.
“Witten, I think he likes doing it the old-fashioned hard way,” Gruden said. “Teaching stances, pad level, fundamentals. I just think there’s some qualities in this guy that are going to make him a superstar coach.
“He’s already got the name and the resume on the field, but what he did last week from a leadership standpoint and a mental toughness standpoint, to walk in there and call plays?”
Gruden couldn’t have been prouder.
“You have no idea,” he said.
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Gruden and Witten talked briefly on the phone before the Florida game, and Gruden was aware of the challenges that Witten had already faced. After Brent Venables picked him to take over for Ben Arbuckle, Witten had to adapt to OU’s existing offense and shape a game plan within the structure he inherited.
At the same time, Witten had to manage the feelings and emotions of players and coaches dealing with the change.
Still, Gruden knew Witten would have the Sooners as prepared as possible.
“He has the right things to say,” Gruden said, “and it’s how he says it. It’s the fact that you really feel he means what he’s saying.”
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Gruden was pulling hard for Witten last Saturday, and he’ll be doing the same this Saturday.
“I love the Oklahoma Sooners,” Gruden said. “I’m a big fan of Venables. I was out there this summer, and I’m rooting for them. … I love Norman, Oklahoma. That stadium, man, it just has this feeling of tradition, and hopefully, they can get all the way back to the top.
“Last week was a great start. I hope they finish with a flurry.”
If they do, Jason Witten will have a big role.
A superstar coach is born.
OU vs. Ole Miss
KICKOFF: 3:15 p.m. Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman (SEC Network)
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Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jon Gruden gives his scouting report on why Jason Witten has ‘superstar’ coaching future
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