Marcus Dupree, Scott Hill, Jamelle Holieway, Tinker Owens, Steve Collins and Cale Gundy speak on former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 We're here to honor Coach Switzer.
00:03 Tell me your earliest memories of Coach Switzer and what he's meant to you over the years.
00:07 >> Well, Coach Switzer's the reason, one of the reasons I came to OU.
00:11 I liked his, as the young kids say today, his swagger when he was back coaching and
00:15 doing interviews on, he'll put on that, we'll put a half a hundred on you if you don't defend
00:21 us.
00:22 I really liked his swagger and how he recruited and the way he talked.
00:26 He talked mad, I can't say that on TV, but he could talk.
00:32 And that's what I liked about him.
00:33 And he's a players coach just like John Robinson or any of the coaches I played for.
00:37 He makes you want to play for him and that's how you motivate, and that's how you win championships
00:42 too.
00:43 >> Why are you here today?
00:44 >> I'm here because I'm honored to be here.
00:45 And you don't realize 50 years ago by quick.
00:50 And so I want to just be a part of the next year.
00:52 So just enjoy the 50 years of Coach and Coach Switzer.
00:56 >> You wish sometimes you could have played more than one year?
00:58 >> I do.
00:59 I wish that all the time because I came to Oklahoma not to win a Heisman Trophy, but
01:02 to play with guys and find out where my talent level was and be able to play with people
01:08 like Boz and Danny Bradley and Jackie Ship and just good guys.
01:15 And just to find out where I was and of course talent.
01:18 >> You found out pretty early.
01:19 >> Yeah, I did.
01:20 >> What do you miss most about being here and playing here?
01:28 >> First of all, I miss me not winning.
01:30 We could have won two national championships, I think about it.
01:34 And just the people, the people, the fans of OU and just being in Norman.
01:39 It's a college town.
01:41 It's God's country.
01:44 >> What do you think makes Barry such a good coach and a recruiter and all that stuff?
01:50 >> He knows the game.
01:51 He knows what he wants.
01:52 He knows the type of players that he needs to win a national championship or win, just
01:56 to win.
01:57 And he knows how to pick talent.
01:59 He had great coaches around him, their new talent, and that's what it takes.
02:04 >> So what about Barry, what made him such a unique figure, such a unique personality
02:09 that there's so many people coming from near and far today to see him?
02:14 >> That's a double-edged sword question, and I'll tell you why.
02:17 Because from a player's perspective, the answer is one thing, and from a coach's perspective,
02:21 they got to coach with him, watch him handle players as a man, it's different.
02:27 So from a player's perspective, he associated with all areas of your life, not just football,
02:37 not just where you were from, but he had that innate knack, I guess, to visit with you on
02:44 a level of where your parents were coming from, where your high school football program,
02:50 what your grades were, just the total spectrum.
02:52 And that was from a high school football player's perspective.
02:56 From a player that played for him's perspective, he identified with everybody.
03:01 He identified the first guy, really, first head coach in the country to identify with
03:06 black players, I can assure you.
03:09 He laid the ground for that.
03:11 And thank goodness that happened, because it needed to happen at that point in time.
03:15 I mean, Texas had only had one black player play down in Texas when I was being recruited
03:19 up here.
03:20 So that was being able to associate with all types of players was from a player's perspective.
03:27 And then from a coach's perspective, he let you do your job.
03:30 He set the guidelines up, he set all of the premises up with what he expected out of you,
03:37 and then he said, "Go do it."
03:39 And if you did it, he kept you on.
03:40 And luckily enough, I was able to do it, and we were able to have a lot of success during
03:44 the time that I was here.
03:45 So you coached for Coach Whitzer as well?
03:47 I did.
03:48 I played from '72 through '76, and then I was a coach through 1988.
03:54 So I was here for almost 20 years as both a player and a coach.
03:59 Sure.
04:00 Well, you know, I came in in 1972, and Chuck Fairbanks was the head coach.
04:04 And so coach was the office coordinator, and then of course he got promoted to head coach
04:09 in 1973.
04:10 And of course I loved Fairbanks too, but Switzer was a totally different guy.
04:16 Yeah, he had a little more fun than Coach Fairbanks had.
04:20 Can you describe that a little bit?
04:21 What made him different, unique?
04:22 He's a player's coach.
04:23 I mean, he was just one of those guys that he was almost like one of us.
04:27 You know, he was young and brash and cocky and all that good stuff.
04:32 And it was just a pleasure to play for him.
04:35 And we had so many good teams.
04:37 I mean, looking back on that, we could have won four national championships in a row if
04:41 we were that good.
04:42 Why is this important to be here?
04:44 Well, it's the king.
04:46 It's the legend, Coach Whitzer.
04:49 For me, he's a friend, a father, and a coach.
04:52 And just showed the respect, the respect and the -- what word I want to use -- just being
05:01 here for him, to support.
05:03 You know, we're all getting older, and so we don't know when the last time we'll be
05:06 able to see each other.
05:07 So this is a great opportunity.
05:09 Sure.
05:10 What do you think makes Coach Switzer so special that people want to come here and be here
05:15 for him?
05:16 Because he's genuine.
05:17 He's genuine.
05:18 He's never lied to me, you know, during recruiting.
05:23 After recruiting, in life period, he's always been, again, a friend, a father, and a coach.
05:30 But most of all, he's just been there for whatever I was going through, whether it's
05:35 good, the bad, or the ugly.
05:37 He's always been there and supportive in whatever we need to do to make it correct.
05:43 Talk a little bit about the recruiting process when he came and recruited you for the University
05:47 of Oklahoma.
05:49 It was coming from California.
05:53 He came out, and he sat down for a four-hour banquet.
06:02 He did my high school banquet, and we got to fly back to Oklahoma for my recruiting
06:08 trip.
06:09 And that was about the best time I had, just me and him one-on-one, because him and I were
06:14 in the back of the plane, and he was quizzing me on how to run the option.
06:21 And I got all of them right.
06:23 And he told me, "Son, if you can do what you said on paper, if you can do that on the
06:29 field, you'll be starting pretty soon."
06:35 I'm like, "Yeah, okay."
06:37 But as luck has it, I was fortunate to practice with number ones that week that Troy got hurt
06:45 against Miami.
06:46 And so he knew something that didn't nobody else know, for me to practice with number
06:51 ones.
06:52 And so I was prepared somewhat to go in the game.
06:57 And the amazing thing to me was we changed offenses at halftime.
07:06 People sit there and say it takes you a long time to change the offense, they need the
07:10 whole spring.
07:11 Well, we did it in 15 minutes.
07:13 That's the amazing thing that people don't really understand.
07:16 You ran this kind of offense for Troy, now I come in and we run this kind of offense
07:20 for myself.
07:21 And so to look back on it, it was a pretty good gift.
07:27 I guess my claim to fame is being the first quarterback to lead a team to a national championship
07:33 as a true freshman.
07:34 Jason, tell me why you're here today.
07:36 Of course, to celebrate the legend, Coach Switzer.
07:41 It's amazing what he's done, not only at Oklahoma, but with the Cowboys, just his coaching career.
07:48 The amount of lives he's touched, it's amazing.
07:51 And to see a guy be so successful with it and still be so humble about it and come back
07:56 to where it started, well not really where it started, but where he had a lot of success.
08:01 He's a pillar of the community.
08:03 What is it that makes him special and why do so many people seem attracted to him or
08:07 drawn to him?
08:08 I think he's more than just a coach.
08:10 I think he's what I call a player's coach.
08:15 It's not always about football.
08:16 It's sometimes about life.
08:19 Things happen in football players' lives that never get talked about, but the coach is there
08:24 to help them through it.
08:26 And I think Coach Switzer was one of the best at that.
08:28 I've heard several stories of him helping players in rough times, and even to this day.
08:35 He still tries to help when he can.
08:37 Talk a little bit briefly about his influence on you or his interactions with you maybe.
08:43 So growing up, of course my dad was a Sooner fan, so it kind of made me a Sooner fan.
08:48 I can always remember listening to his name on the radio, Coach Switzer this, Coach Switzer
08:53 that.
08:54 But it wasn't until I got here and walked the halls on my recruiting visit that I was
08:58 like, "Holy cow, this dude's everywhere."
09:01 I mean, his picture's everywhere, his name.
09:04 And so the first time Coach Stoops brought him back to talk to the team, I just remember
09:08 looking at him like, "Is this guy even real?"
09:12 Just because of everything I've heard and seen.
09:14 But then to get to know him, to get to know he's a genuine good guy that's a player's
09:21 coach, that was refreshing and nice to hear.
09:26 Steve, tell me why you're here today.
09:28 I'm here for one guy, one guy only.
09:31 Coach Barry Switzer, the guy that got me and a lot of other players to come to Norman and
09:36 play football.
09:37 Talk a little bit about your relationship, how he recruited you and all that.
09:41 It was kind of a whirlwind because I had a meteoric rise.
09:46 I was sophomore of the year in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 1985.
09:50 And so before that I was kind of an unknown and kind of got my name on the map and OU
09:57 was interested.
09:59 Gary Gibbs was actually my recruiter and Coach Switzer said he had to have me and wound up
10:06 being in this last recruiting class in 1988.
10:09 Wow.
10:10 Talk a little bit about the picture you brought for him to sign.
10:13 This picture is a rare picture, obviously.
10:15 It probably came from a box camera.
10:18 But it was in 1992 that this picture was taken.
10:21 And I actually was a backup quarterback at this point.
10:24 And Coach Switzer had been forced to resign and kind of in between before he took the
10:29 Dallas Cowboys job.
10:30 And so this was before the OU Texas game in 1992.
10:35 I was not the starter, but in this picture he's grabbing my neck like this and saying
10:40 if I was still the coach you'd still be my quarterback and we'd still be winning championships.
10:45 So that's awesome.
10:46 So he has a special place in your heart.
10:48 Absolutely.
10:49 And me as well with him kind of being that last quarterback that actually played at OU
10:56 that was recruited by him was very special.
10:58 How many years did you play at OU?
11:00 I went and played all four years there and was on campus for five years.
11:05 Was starting in 1989 and 90 and Kel Gundy came and took my place.
11:12 That is so crazy.
11:14 I was just at mid-sentence about him.
11:17 So come here, hey.
11:20 Come here for a second.
11:22 But I know he's got a lot to do with what's going on with Coach Switzer right now.
11:26 And obviously in '89 I was a starter and then he came in in '90 and we were in the
11:34 same quarterback room for a long time.
11:36 How are you doing, sir?
11:37 What's up, brother?
11:38 Good to see you.
11:39 Good to see you.
11:40 Good seeing you.
11:41 Just here talking about Coach Switzer and all the good times.
11:43 And I know you were in the first recruiting class under Gibbs, I believe, right?
11:48 Yeah, yeah, 1990.
11:49 But obviously you and Coach Switzer are still doing a lot of things right now.
11:53 Yeah, we are.
11:54 He's, you know what it's been the last year has been unbelievable just being able to have
11:58 the opportunity to be around him.
12:00 You know you know him and you know of him.
12:03 But to be able to have a chance to go to a lot of events and be around a lot of places,
12:08 go in different towns, different cities, different states and see how people react to him.
12:12 I mean, that's why they say he's the king or a legend.
12:16 You know, I mean, he's, you know, he's special.
12:19 He's very, very different.
12:20 And he's a great person.
12:22 He loves people.
12:23 You know, I think most importantly, he loves people.
12:25 He loves all of his old players.
12:27 He'll stop and talk to anybody, you know, and his former players call.
12:32 I mean, I've been over his house where, you know, guys are knocking on it.
12:35 You know, it's a former player.
12:37 Somebody played there 30 years ago.
12:38 Coach, I was just in town, you know.
12:40 come in, sit down, you know, and you got a place to stay, you can stay here tonight,
12:43 you know, so.