:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26711205/20131209_kkt_an4_504.0.jpg)
The rumors since January 10th are becoming something more tangible.
This is OSU OT Brandon Garrett's tweet:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Hard to believe Wickline is officially leaving.. Guess that's the coaching world for ya</p>— Brandon Garrett (@_BGIII) <a href="https://twitter.com/_BGIII/statuses/422435898395865089">January 12, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
His bio describes Wickline succinctly and accurately:
Joe Wickline is in his ninth year at Oklahoma State and his 32nd year as a college football coach. He is regarded as one of America's elite offensive line coaches.
Pretty much.
He has placed a number of his charges in the NFL and on the All-Big 12 OL teams, despite creating his units exclusively from 2 and 3 star recruits - many of those position switches. Despite his cult following here on Barking Carnival, it was always assumed that Wickline would finish his career at Oklahoma State where a small town atmosphere allowed him to focus his energies on his primary passion: teaching and developing OL.
Temperamentally, Wickline is all-football, all-the-time. While he is down-to-earth and approachable, and a Cowboy fan favorite, he's not from the Mack Brown school of coaching. His OL is graded and re-ranked daily with starters losing and regaining their jobs throughout spring and summer camps and his film room is not a particularly enjoyable place to be, even after wins.
While OL play does require toughness, intelligence, and attitude, it's the most technical and teaching-intensive position on the football field outside of QB. Wickline is a motivator, but what separates him is the ability to teach and develop technique. Most OL coaches are echoing what they've learned from someone else and when all else fails they scream about toughness or want-to.
Wickline is the guy conducting the seminars they're mimicking. And while he offers up heaps of toughness, he'll also show how a hand placed six inches too wide paired with a bad step led to a tackle for loss while a properly placed hand and good feet leads to a pancake.
Pure, competent coaching and skill development is what this team badly needs. Across the board.
If this goes through, this is an incredibly important get, co-equal to the offensive coordinator hire itself.