University of Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables announced Thursday that former Dallas Cowboy's All-Pro tight end Jason Witten is OU’s new tight ends coach.

Since retiring from the NFL following the 2020 season, Witten has served as head coach at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas, where he led the Warriors to consecutive Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools state championships in 2023 and ’24. The titles were the school’s first back-to-back football state championships and the ’24 crown was its first in TAPPS Division I. In his five seasons at Liberty Christian, Witten tutored players who earned TAPPS All-State recognition 53 times.

Over his 17-year NFL career, Witten compiled 1,228 receptions for 13,046 yards and 74 touchdowns. A two-time first-team All-Pro and 11-time Pro Bowler, he ranks fourth all-time in NFL receptions and 22nd in yards among all receivers (second among tight ends in both categories).

Witten is one of 15 finalists – and one of four in his first year of eligibility – in the Modern-Era Players category for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, which will be announced Feb. 5.

A third-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2003, Witten played 15 seasons before initially retiring following the 2017 campaign. He returned to action in 2019 with the Cowboys before playing his final season with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020. A modern football iron man, he played in 271 out of 272 regular season contests (252 starts) and missed only one game out of 280 (including playoffs) over his career. He retired for good as the NFL career record holder for games played among tight ends.

Witten registered four seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards and seven seasons with at least 900 yards. In his second year, he caught 87 passes for 980 yards and six touchdowns, earning the first of seven straight Pro Bowl nods. He received first-team All-Pro honors in 2007 when he totaled 1,145 yards and seven touchdowns on 96 receptions and again in 2010 after catching 94 passes for 1,002 yards and nine scores. He also earned second-team All-Pro status in 2008 and 2012. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 10 of 11 seasons between 2004-2014, as well as in 2017.

The 2012 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year honoree, Witten established the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award through his SCORE Foundation, which was first presented following the 2017 season. Witten was also the recipient of the 2013 Bart Starr Award and the 2015 Pat Summitt Ignite Greatness Award, as well as Pro Football Weekly’s Humanitarian of the Year Award, the Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, recognizing his community service work, achievements on the field and dedication to teammates and family. He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

A product of Elizabethton, Tenn., Witten played three seasons at the University of Tennessee, where he was a first-team All-SEC selection and a John Mackey Award semifinalist, as well as a member of the SEC Good Works Team and SEC Academic Honor Roll, in 2002. That season, he led the Volunteers in receptions (39), receiving yards (493) and touchdown receptions (five) and established a single-season school record for receiving yards among tight ends. He totaled 68 catches for 797 yards and eight touchdowns in his college career.

Witten graduated from Tennessee in 2008 with a degree in sports management. He and his wife Michelle have two sons (C.J. and Cooper) and two daughters (Landry and Hadley Grace).

OU Head Coach Brent Venables:

“When you talk about Jason Witten you start with the impeccable human being he is. That’s as a competitor, a leader, a coach, a dad, a husband. He’s one of those rare people who represents incredibly high character, integrity and excellence. He’s a tremendous communicator blessed with unbelievable interpersonal skills. That’s who he was as a leader in the locker room as a player, and you can see the impact and influence he had as a head coach at the high school level at Liberty Christian. He’s really special in that regard.

“Some of the other things that resonate with me are his humility and the type of teammate I know he’s going to be, both on our staff and with our players. He’ll be a sponge when it comes to learning what we do and how we do it. He brings so much to the table in terms of coaching, mentoring and leading, and he’s had opportunities to coach in the NFL. But we’re aligned in that our hearts are with the 18- to 23-year-olds who need you now more than ever. He’s always been about that. Through casual conversation and getting to know him over the years, that’s something that really jumped out to me and stuck with me.

“Jason has been a giant in the game of football for a long time with what he’s accomplished and represented on the field. He’s one of the best to ever do it. I’m excited about the positive impact he’ll have on our football program and all of our players.”

OU Tight Ends Coach Jason Witten:

“I love football and I love teaching the game, and Oklahoma is as prestigious a college football program as there is in the country. So I’m thankful to Coach Venables for the opportunity to work together. It’s been clear to me from the outset that he’s one of the best leaders of men in football. And he has the pieces in place to compete for championships, so I’m excited to work under him and Coach (Ben) Arbuckle and with the rest of the staff. It’s a tremendous opportunity and I’m proud to be a Sooner.

“I know what the expectations and standards of Oklahoma Football are and I’m excited to lean into and embrace those. But along the way, it’s also a great privilege to positively impact young men – to help them become the best players they can be and the best men they can be. That’s one of the things I respect the most about Coach Venables – that those things aren’t mutually exclusive. You can take on the responsibility to lead men but also be highly competitive in your craft. I try to uphold those standards on and off the field.

“I’m excited to get in that tight ends room and work with OU’s great staff and players.”

The Herd with Colin Cowherd