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Sources: Finley not expected to return to Oklahoma staff in 2026

IMG_5630by: Parker Thune01/01/26ParkerThune

Oklahoma tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley isn’t expected to be retained by the program in 2026, sources confirm to OUInsider.com.

Finley, 40, just finished his fifth season as tight ends coach at Oklahoma. He joined the staff in January 2021, returning to his alma mater under the Lincoln Riley regime. When Riley departed for USC ten months later, Brent Venables retained Finley to coach the Sooners’ tight ends. Finley added a co-offensive coordinator title prior to the 2024 campaign, and served as the program’s interim playcaller for the final six games of the season after Seth Littrell’s dismissal. After the hiring of new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle in December 2024, Finley’s role reverted exclusively to tight ends coach.

A former two-year starter at tight end for Oklahoma in the mid-2000’s, Finley had a brief stint in the NFL before joining the coaching ranks in 2011. His first foray into coaching at the collegiate level came as a graduate assistant at OU in 2012-13. He had brief stints on staff at Baylor (2015, quality control), Missouri (2016-18, tight ends), Texas A&M (2019, tight ends) and Ole Miss (2020, tight ends) before returning to Oklahoma.

During Finley’s time on the OU staff, the Sooners have produced one NFL draft pick at tight end in Brayden Willis, who was a seventh-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers in 2023. Under Finley’s tutelage, Willis caught 39 passes for 514 yards and seven touchdowns as a redshirt senior in 2022. More recently, Finley also played a key role in the development of converted linebacker Jaren Kanak, who earned third-team All-SEC honors this season in his very first season playing tight ends. Kanak recorded 44 receptions for 533 yards in the 2025 campaign.

Heading into 2026, Oklahoma’s tight end room consists only of veteran Kade McIntyre, as well as freshman Trynae Washington, who took a redshirt in 2025. Kaden Helms and Carson Kent, who both saw action at TE in 2025, have each announced plans to transfer. A couple of talented incoming freshmen will join the fold in Ryder Mix and Tyler Ruxer.

Now, the burning question is who will coach that group. Oklahoma does have a couple of capable in-house candidates, most notably coaching veteran and longtime OU assistant Kevin Wilson. He previously served as the Sooners’ offensive coordinator and tight ends/fullbacks coach from 2006-10, and is currently on staff as an offensive analyst. Another staffer with experience coaching tight ends is assistant quarterbacks coach Blaise Bentsen, who helped coach the TE group at North Texas as a graduate assistant from 2023-24.

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