Berry Tramel: Kevin Wilson will be missed at OU

And we already know Wilson can handle the heat, because the pressure on the head coach at Indiana is not as great as the pressure on the Oklahoma offensive coordinator.

Wilson thrived under great scrutiny. I would rank him second among Stoops' offensive coordinators, behind only Mike Leach, and even ahead of Long, who was big-time. And if Leach had worked in Norman more than one year, his star would have waned to some degree. An offensive coordinator's popularity never has a long shelf life.

But they get noticed. They get the chance to run their own programs.

OU has had 11 defensive coordinators since the Wilkinson era ended with the firing of Gomer Jones.

Of those 11, only four — Larry Lacewell (Arkansas State), Gary Gibbs (OU), Charlie Sadler (Northern Illinois) and Mike Stoops (Arizona) — became major-college head coaches, although you can't forget Rex Ryan of Jetropolitan fame.

Offensive coordinators at Oklahoma get far more opportunity. Now Kevin Wilson, wildly successful even if oft-criticized, gets his chance at liftoff.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@opubco.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.