Texas OC Wickline sues OK State over contract

Is Joe Wickline calling the plays at Texas? Oklahoma State doesn’t think so. (USATSI)

While plenty of college football fans put coaches on trial for the decisions they make on a weekly basis, Texas offensive coordinator Joe Wickline is going to court to prove he’s the coach making the decisions.

Wickline has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, Oklahoma State, claiming that the school has not fully released him from his contract. Wickline had been Oklahoma State’s offensive line coach before leaving the school to join Charlie Strong’s staff at Texas as offensive coordinator. And that’s where things became complicated.

When it was announced that Wickline was leaving for Texas, Oklahoma State was quick to point out a clause in his contract stating he would owe the school the remaining balance of his deal (the school is currently asking for $593,478) unless he left to become an offensive coordinator “with play-calling duties” or took a job in the NFL.

Well, while Wickline is no doubt Texas’ offensive coordinator, there’s some question as to whether or not he’s the one actually calling the plays on offense.

Since the beginning of the Strong regime in Austin, local media have always referred to quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson as the team’s play-caller, something the school has never once disputed.

So is Joe Wickline calling plays for Texas? It seems that’s something for the courts to decide.

Oh, and Oklahoma State and Texas play in Stillwater on Nov. 15, so this should add some spice to that contest.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.