Barry Switzer, the offensive coordinator before taking over for OU since 1971, perfected the wishbone offense. In 1973, he would take on the task of being the head coach of Oklahoma.
Immediately upon his hiring, the NCAA hit Oklahoma with probationary actions for Chuck Fairbanks wrong doings. The Sooners had to forfeit 9 games from 1972.
However, this misfortune did not stop Barry Switzer. In 1973, Oklahoma would go on to finish No. 3 in the nation with a 10-0-1 record. Their only non-win that season was a tie to the No. 1 team, USC.
1974 would see no slowing down either. The Sooners kept the schooner wheels turning, finishing the season 11-0 and winning the schools fourth national championship, first since 1956.
In 1975, OU would go on to win another national championship with a record of 10-1. Their only loss was a 23-3 loss to an unranked Kansas Jayhawk team.
Under Switzer, the seven years he was the head coach, OU went 73-7-2 overall with two national championships. In fact, the 1970s, was a very good decade for the Sooners. Only one decade in Sooner history can say it was better, and that was the 1950s under Bud Wilkinson.
Oklahoma and Barry Switzer did not stop there. In 1978, Oklahoma would get its third Heisman Trophy winner, Billy Sims.
The 1980s did not start our too well for the Switzer led Sooners. For the first time since 1970, OU lost 4 games in a season in 1981. They also lost four games in 1982 and 1983 as well. But not all was lost in those seasons, of the twelve losses in that three year span, 8 of them came from Texas, USC, Ohio State, and Nebraska.
1984 would again see Oklahoma surge, they would finish with a 9-2-1 record and No. 6 in the polls.
In 1985, the Sooners went 11-1 and all seemed for naught when Miami beat Oklahoma. However, OU would go on to win their Bowl game and as luck would have it, Penn State would lose, giving Oklahoma their 6th national championship.
The following two seasons, OU went 22-2, both losses coming again to Miami. However, after the 1988 season, all hell broke loose concerning the OU football program. All within a six month period, Sooner football players would be involved in a shooting, a rape, a robbery of Switzer's house, and the future star QB, Charles Thompson, would be busted trying to sell drugs to an undercover FBI agent.
All of this was couple with the probation that the NCAA would slam upon Oklahoma for several rules violations. Forcing Barry Switzer to resign as the head Coach at Oklahoma.
After the resignation of Oklahoma, all seemed to be lost. With OU hiring Switzer's Defenive Coordinator, Gary Gibbs, a sense of normalcy seemed to sweep over Norman, OK.
However, that would not last very long. Expectations at Oklahoma is to win championships. To beat Texas and Nebraska. To beat Oklahoma State and Colorado.
Gary Gibbs would succeed in cleaning up the OU image. However, he found it overwhelming challenging to please the powers that be at Oklahoma. He would go on to in 44 games in six seasons, but even an 8-3 season did not save his job.
Ultimately the deciding factor that resulted in Gibbs losing his job was the fact that OU only went 2-15-1 against their biggest rivals, Texas, Nebraska, and Colorado. It would be a decision that would haunt those in power for the next 4 long seasons.
After firing Gary Gibbs, OU hired Howard Schnellenberger. Howard was the the man responsible for Miami's raise to greatness, winning the Hurricane's first ever National Championship in 1983.
Oklahoma went 5-5-1 under Schnellenberger, but it was the lack of interest in the Oklahoma Football history that got the best of him. He was not shy about admitting that he had no interest in the history, traditions, past players, or coaches from OU. Howard actually thought, and stated, “They will write books and make movies about my time here,” referring to how great he thought he was, and how he felt he was better than the OU traditions.
His reign of terror on the Oklahoma football scene would only last one season. Oklahoma would then bring in one of its own to rebuild the relationship between program and the past, John Blake.
John Blake played nose tackle at Oklahoma from 1979-1982 under Barry Switzer. Prior to becoming the Head Coach of Oklahoma, John Blake would coach with the Dallas Cowboys, where he won a super bowl ring with the team.
Upon hiring John Blake, Oklahoma broke a mold that seemed to strong to break. John Blake not only became the first past Player for OU to become the head coach of his alma mater, but he also became the first African-American to be named the head coach of OU.
Blake's time at OU was rough. Dealing with repairing shattered relationships with past players and coaches was one of his top priorities. He was also dealing with the aftermath of a very severe punishment that was handed down to Oklahoma after Barry Switzer resigned.
John Blake coached at Oklahoma from 1996-1998. His first season OU went 3-8, a percentage that eclipsed Gomer Jones second season as the worst since 1895. And it would not get much better for Oklahoma under this very inexperienced coach.
Though John Blake brought back an embracing spirit for OU football, his lack of experience and the problems he inherited cost him his job.
Letting John Blake go, did more than let the past go, it ushered in an absolutely unseen era in Sooner Football history.