Brent Venables simply wants Oklahoma’s next offensive coordinator to turn into a great hire.

He doesn’t need the replacement for the recently fired Seth Littrell to have ties to the program, as Littrell did. Littrell was a running back for the Sooners from 1997-2000, and he was a team captain on the 2000 team that captured the national championship. But all of that glorious past in Norman didn’t translate into success as Oklahoma’s OC, with the Sooners having one of the worst offenses in the FBS this season.

That led to Littrell’s firing on Sunday, a day after Oklahoma managed just 9 points in a stunning 35-9 home loss to South Carolina that dropped the Sooners to 4-3. Venables, who has been taking major heat in the aftermath of Saturday’s loss and the blowout loss the week before to rival Texas, wants a capable guy to replace Littrell, no matter what his past ties are.

“I (couldn’t) care less about OU ties. It doesn’t matter to me at all,” said Venables.

Oklahoma announced that co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley will take over as the primary play-caller, starting with Saturday’s game at Ole Miss. Senior offensive analyst Kevin Johns has also been elevated to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

The Sooners travel to Oxford for Saturday’s game, where they are a 20.5-point dog at ESPN Bet. Kickoff is set for noon ET on ESPN.