James Patton is currently the offensive line coach for the Oklahoma Sooners. There have been many rumors that if any coaches follow Coach Wilson to the Hoosiers that he would be one of them. Coach Patton coached with Kevin Wilson at Northwestern and followed him to Oklahoma. Here are a couple of things to note about Coach Patton.
His 2008 line anchored an offense that produced 7,307 yards, 97 touchdowns, two 1,000-yard rushers and one 1,000-yard receiver. The line also protected Sam Bradford, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner giving up only 6 sacks on the year. Three offensive lineman were named to the all-Big 12 first team. Behind this line OU scored more than 60 points in five consecutive games, an NCAA record.
Coach Patton’s 2007 line gave up just 14 sacks on the year, ranking No. 5 nationally. With an average of 1.0 sacks per game, the line eclipsed the school record of 1.1 per game set in 2006. Five lineman received Big 12 honors and Duke Robinson was named first-team All-American. It was an impressive year, given the fact that seven of the eight players on the two-deep chart were underclassmen.
What I was more impressed with was that every senior lineman Patton coached at Northwestern made it to the NFL.
Coaching Experience:
2006-present – Oklahoma
Offensive Line
2001-2005 – Northwestern
Offensive Line
1999-2000 – Northwestern
Tight Ends, H-Backs
1998 – Miami (Ohio)
Tight Ends, H-Backs
1996-1997 – Rhode Island
Offensive Line
1995 – Rhode Island
Tight Ends
1993-1994 – Miami (Ohio)
Graduate Assistant
Coach Patton has also coached in 7 bowl games.
2009 Sun Oklahoma
2009 BCS Championship Oklahoma
2008 Fiesta Oklahoma
2007 Fiesta Oklahoma
2005 Sun Northwestern
2003 Motor City Northwestern
2000 Alamo Northwestern