'He's so bright': OU's Joe Jon Finley embraces co-offensive coordinator role, Sooners' offense

Correction: This article was updated on Dec. 28 to correct the spelling of Los Fresnos High School.  

Joe Jon Finley waited for his opportunity.

Over a three-day period, the then-Oklahoma tight ends coach watched his longtime friend Jeff Lebby secure the head coaching job at Mississippi State on Nov. 27.

Many assumed Finley would follow Lebby given their longtime friendship and the 38-year-old’s rising stock. Finley informed his father, Mickey, and older brother, Clint, that he wanted to stay in Norman, where he was once a burly tight end who caught passes for Heisman quarterbacks Jason White and Sam Bradford from 2004-07.

“He had several (coaching) opportunities,” Mickey told the OU Daily. “He had to sort through them, but he's always loved Oklahoma. … It was a great opportunity for him to go back there and I knew he wanted to stay. Once he talked to coach Venables what opportunities were going to be there for him at (Oklahoma), it was a pretty easy decision for him to make.”

After a three-day search, Venables informed Finley he was promoting him to become Seth Littrell’s co-offensive coordinator on Nov. 29. Finley accepted the position with no hesitation, knowing deep down it was the opportunity he was waiting for since being back in Norman since 2021.

While Littrell will call plays in 2024, Finley will use his deep offensive knowledge and coaching experience, enriched with SEC tenures at Missouri (2016-2018), Texas A&M (2019) and Mississippi (2020), to help lead the Sooners’ offense. What has shined most for Finley is his deep understanding of the game, which allows him to further connect with players in the film room and practice.

OU Co-OC Joe Jon Finley says they could tell as soon as Jackson Arnold got on campus that he’s a next level talent“That’s why you don’t see a lot of uproar about DG leaving… everyone in that locker room has seen the way Jackson has worked since the day he got here”#Sooners pic.twitter.com/aufAsQV96l

— Chris Williams (@CWillTV) December 26, 2023

Finley, who made an annual salary of $520,000, will likely see a slight raise since his predecessor, Lebby, made $1.8 million each year according to state records. And, as No. 12 Oklahoma (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) gears up to face No. 14 Arizona (9-3, 7-2 Pac 12) in the Alamo Bowl at 8:15 p.m. Thursday in San Antonio on ESPN, Finley will have his dress rehearsal as a first-year co-offensive coordinator.

“He's so bright,” Clint Finley said. “He's always been very, very smart and he learns very easily. Taking all those experiences and all those different aspects allows him to draw upon all those different scenarios and to put on into what he's doing now. … He’s been doing it since the time he’s been born.”

Finley’s offensive knowledge has already started paying off for the Sooners.

He helped the Sooners sign Davon Mitchell, the No. 9 tight end in the 2024 recruiting class, and Southeastern Louisiana transfer tight end Bauer Sharp from the transfer portal. In 2023, OU’s tight ends saw a decline from the season before, as redshirt senior tight end Austin Stogner — the leader of the room — finished with 17 receptions, 196 receiving yards and one touchdown.

The decline came after Brayden Willis was selected in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Willis was a pivotal piece of the Sooners’ offense in 2022, finishing with a career-high 39 receptions, 514 yards and seven total touchdowns.

Willis is one of many players Finley helped to the NFL, which is one of the many reasons why Oklahoma expects to see an improvement from its tight ends in 2024.

“Football and coaching have been in Joe Jon’s DNA his whole life,” Venables said of Finley in a press release. “He’s got a tremendous offensive mind and his command and leadership of young people is special. He gained great experience at excellent programs.

“He's one of the best teachers and motivators I've been around. He's incredibly bright and our players are going to love him in his enhanced role. He knows our system inside and out and he's going to be a great head coach in the near future. He passed up on opportunities to be the sole coordinator at other programs because he wanted to do this at his alma mater.”

Days after being hired as OU’s co-offensive coordinator, Jacob Gutierrez, a former OU running back and Finley’s college roommate, attended a Sooners alumni barbecue hosted by Venables and other members of OU’s coaching staff.

He caught up with Curtis Lofton, a former OU linebacker and now-director of the Sooners’ S.O.U.L Mission, after one of Oklahoma’s practices. Before that, Finley strolled up and down OU’s practice, checking out all of OU’s position groups while they worked on numerous drills.

His intentionality hasn’t wavered nor has his approach to the game.

“Man, you should see this guy,” Lofton told Gutierrez at the barbecue. “He's not just coaching them. He's teaching them. It’s not just X's and O's. He's pouring into these guys.”

Lofton’s praise is one that is felt around the building, and it’s one of the sole reasons why Venables decided to promote Finley within. And, to those close to the program, his deep understanding of the game is starting to pay off.

“Coaching one guy at tight end is a lot of fun,” Finley said Tuesday in his first remarks to the media since being hired. ”But when you get to have a say in the planning and putting it all together, I've had the time of my life in the past three weeks. … My family and myself are very happy at the University of Oklahoma. It’s the chance of a lifetime and no reason to go anywhere else."

‘I always saw him as a coach’

Once a skinny quarterback playing under his father at Arlington High School in Texas from 1999-2002, Finley committed to the Sooners thinking he’d be under center.

He threw for 1,626 passing yards and 12 touchdowns in his senior season. Being in command of an offense, Finley was able to see the field, learn different offensive cues and manipulate the defense with his eyes.

When he wasn’t a quarterback in high school, Finley grew up helping his father on the sidelines as a ball boy. There, he was always measuring what it took to run a successful offense.

“(As a quarterback), I always wanted to know the ‘why’ behind everything,” Finley said. “Like, why are we doing this versus this. It was not just my position, but the quarterback, the offensive line, and I think that mentality of being a coach's son and quarterback has helped me learn throughout the years.”

Finley’s curiosity born in high school was later put to the test when he joined the Sooners in 2003. He was behind future Heisman-winning quarterback Jason White, Paul Thompson and Tommy Grady on the depth chart, and to earn more playing time, Finley switched to tight end.

Where Finley shined physically, he also showcased his mental tool set. Even when OU tight ends Jermaine Gresham and Brody Eldridge were gunning for his position, Finley sat back and taught them the mechanics for blocking, route running and catching. Gutierrez endured hours of watching film at their apartment when the two weren’t arguing about dirty dishes or playing cup pong.

“I always saw him as a coach,” Gutierrez said. “His love for the game sticks out and he knows how to emphasize the X's and O's. He just loves it. He always has (watched film) and whether he was playing it as a teammate or coaching. He's got that love for the game. It served him well then and it continues to serve him well now.”

OU Co-OC Joe Jon Finley says they could tell as soon as Jackson Arnold got on campus that he’s a next level talent“That’s why you don’t see a lot of uproar about DG leaving… everyone in that locker room has seen the way Jackson has worked since the day he got here”#Sooners pic.twitter.com/aufAsQV96l

— Chris Williams (@CWillTV) December 26, 2023

Finley’s passion and work ethic helped him find success in the NFL, as well. Now-retired tight ends coach Pete Hoener said Finley helped set the culture in San Francisco from 2008-10 before rejoining Hoener in 2012 with the Carolina Panthers.

“He was a diligent worker and had some natural leadership qualities,” Hoener said. “He was always infectious with the other players; he always always brought a lot of juice to practice.

“I coached Greg Olsen for nine years. The guy that reminds me of Greg the most as far as his attitude is in his work ethic and all that was (Joe Jon). They were very similar personality wise and very dedicated to what they did — trying to get better and that sort of thing.”

Behind the scenes, Finley was pushing standout 49ers tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker in practice as a player-coach at times. When Hoener had Finley join the Panthers in 2012, he was meant to help re-establish a new culture in the building.

While Finley’s tenure with the Panthers lasted only into training camp — being cut on Aug. 31, 2012, following final roster cuts — it became clear to Hoener that Finley’s work ethic showcased in the pros and college would suit him well in the coaching ranks.

It was only a matter of time before he was given an opportunity. That all started when he was hired at Los Fresnos High School in 2011 as an offensive line coach before he was hired to come to the Sooners as a graduate assistant from 2012-13.

“You could tell the guy loved football,” Hoener said. “I know from going through my career and doing everything, the one thing that always you fall back on is ‘This is what I want to do, and I'm gonna do everything I can to be the best I can be.’ That is Joe Jon.

“I knew he would be an excellent coach because of his attitude and his football smarts.”

‘There’s so much intention’

Eldridge remembers strolling behind Finley and former Sooners graduate assistant and now-Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle inside Missouri’s practice facilities in early 2016.

Halzle and Finley fostered a relationship dating back to their playing days and time as fellow graduate assistants at OU from 2012-13. The trio finally entered one of the Tigers’ conference rooms and flicked on game tape from the previous season.

As Eldridge watched, he quickly became astonished by Finley’s knowledge of the X’s and O’s of the Tigers’ offense.

“The knowledge that Joe had at that time, I was like, ‘Holy crap,’” Eldridge said. “I had no idea (he was that impressive) when it came to scheming and stuff for the game. It was very impressive.

“He put his own little things on it like, ‘Hey, no, let's try that. Let's do this. Let's do that.’ The best thing at Missouri with those guys, they didn't do what they wanted. They looked at their guys, know what they got and then they call plays (catered toward them). They're not gonna try to do something that works on paper if they don't have the guy that can do it.”

It became clear that Finley’s work ethic and detail-oriented approach carried over from college, the NFL and brief coaching stints at Los Fresnos High School in South Texas and his time as a graduate assistant with the Sooners. Like he did with Eldridge and Gresham, Finley was now cutting custom video for the players in his tight end room to study, watch and apply on the field.

His same diligence has rubbed off on the tight ends which now play for OU. Despite his lack of production this season, Stogner has mentally matured since working under Finley. Their relationship dates back to 2021, but — due to rehab from a staph infection — Stogner transferred to South Carolina in 2022 before returning back in 2023.

Seeing Finley’s offensive mind in action made returning to the Sooners a foregone conclusion when he re-entered the portal. And, the decision has paid dividends for Stogner mentally, because Finley has taught what it takes to be a “team player,” even when he’s not having production in the pass game.

“He is probably the best tight end coach Austin has played for from a technician standpoint, understanding the game and technically understanding football,” Brad Stogner, Austin’s father, said. “I think he always had a lot of admiration for coach Finley.”

That’s why it was no surprise to Austin when Finley was announced as OU’s co-offensive coordinator following Lebby’s departure.

“Austin will tell you … Coach Finley is a really smart coach who understands offense,” Brad said. “He has also been around coach (Lincoln) Riley who is probably — and fans won’t love this — but he's still an offensive genius. He puts Joe Jon Finley on the same level as what Coach Riley was, which is just a really smart football mind.”

‘He’s OU through and through’

For Finley, the move to stay with the Sooners makes sense.

His wife, Caylee, is an Oklahoman and they are raising four kids. Before OU’s contests on Saturdays, Finley will often be seen with one of his daughters on his shoulders during the Walk of Champions.

He's been at Oklahoma as a player, graduate assistant and assistant coach, so the next step was a no-brainer. Now, at the highest level he’s been at in his coaching career, Finley will have a chance to guide the Sooners to success in the SEC and beyond.

“I love the University of Oklahoma, everything they’ve done for me,” Finley said. “I felt like I didn’t want to mess up happy. You know, my family’s happy there. My wife’s family is all from around there. We have four kids, and they help take care of the kids. My wife’s a bigger Sooner fan than I was; she grew up a Sooner fan, where I grew up following my brother (at Nebraska)."

OU’s co-offensive coordinator mimics the trend seen inside Venables’ coaching tree, which is sprinkled with former OU players like DeMarco Murray and Littrell. The goal: to have members of the staff that represent and exemplify the OU standard, which extends beyond the football field.

“You have that responsibility as a coach to teach them and to help them along the way about life decisions,” Gutierrez said. “Joe Jon takes that responsibility to heart and he does a great job of it. … That's gonna make us special and propel them through the SEC, recruiting and the portal and all the craziness. It's just having quality guys like Joe Jon do what they do so well.”

As Finley enriches those who now play under him, OU has served as a place that he is using as a launch pad for his career. While he was a player, Lebby — former a graduate assistant — hosted his first visit, extending a friendship that began when they were younger while on the Sooners.

Using that same foundation, Finley has learned from Lebby the past two seasons, as he guided one of the most explosive offenses in college football. Mickey watched their relationship blossom, as he accompanied the pair on golf trips.

Like always, Finley and Lebby couldn’t stop talking about football.

“It'd be hard for them not to be together,” Mickey said. “They've been together quite a bit, and they’re the best of friends, … they're almost like brothers. When I visit the golf course, they're never far off from talking about what works (on offense) and what doesn't work and what (they) need to do better on offense.”

One year later, Finley will put on the hat once worn by Lebby, as one of the sole leaders of Oklahoma’s offense. His familiarity with the MSU head coach has allowed him to easily inherit players like five-star freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold.

With Littrell calling the plays, Finley will be his right-hand man when it comes to game planning and recruiting.

The pair will likely have a larger emphasis on tight ends, as well. Finley’s background developing the position is already well established and Littrell coached the likes of Rob Gronkowski, one of the greatest to play at the position, and Eric Ebron.

“I know that Joe Jon loves Seth,” Clint Finley said. “They think the same way, and I know for a fact that they talked to each other about this process and whether it would work. They're both excited to do it together. … I don't think either one would have agreed to it if they didn't think it was gonna be a great situation.”

Finley reiterated that sentiment on Tuesday.

As for what’s next for Finley, he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Lebby. Notably, Mickey Finley likens his situation to Venables at Clemson — a head coaching job will present itself, but he wont accept it unless it's a fit for him and his family.

His goals aren’t misaligned, either, as every OU play-caller since 1999 has gone on to be a head coach, including Mike Leach, Mark Mangino, Chuck Long, Kevin Wilson, Josh Heupel, Lincoln Riley and Jeff Lebby.

If history serves as any example, Finley’s success will come in due time as Oklahoma’s co-offensive coordinator.

“I definitely think it's something that he wants to do,” Mickey Finley said. “I think that's another reason he loves being in Oklahoma. I think he realizes that just about every coordinator that I've ever known has been a head coach. I also think it allows you to be pretty selective. I don't think he would be a guy that's gonna run and jump into the first thing he sees.

“He knows he needs to go through the process.”