http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsext...cle_956afcb8-53c3-5d7d-8bcd-1fda37dfb5bd.html
The University of Texas staff shakeup brings to light again Oklahoma State’s ongoing litigation with former Cowboys offensive line coach Joe Wickline.
According to a source who is close to the process, OSU proposed to Texas and Wickline a settlement of $250,000. If OSU had received $250,000, it would have discontinued the lawsuit and Texas-Wickline could have saved more than $340,000. The OSU proposal was refused, the source indicated.
A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for Oct. 23 in Payne County District Court. Will OSU and Texas square off in a Stillwater courtroom? Or might a settlement be forged by then?
A clause in Wickline’s OSU contract stated that if he left the university for another job, he would owe Oklahoma State the balance of his contract unless he became an offensive coordinator with play-calling responsibility or joined an NFL staff.
Hired by Texas after the 2013 season, Wickline was given an offensive coordinator title. OSU contended that Wickline was not involved in play-calling. If not, there would have been a breach of contract.
Wickline sued OSU, alleging that the university did not fully release him from his contract. OSU countersued, demanding from Wickline a total of $593,478 -- the amount that was contractually committed to him, if he had remained in Stillwater.
On Tuesday -- three days after the Longhorns opened the season with a 38-3 defeat at Notre Dame -- Texas coach Charlie Strong announced staff changes. Kirk Bohls is among the more respected sports writers not only in Texas but throughout the Big 12 region, and this is how he reported the Longhorns story for the Austin American-Statesman:
“(Strong has) demoted play-caller Shawn Watson and given his duties to wide receivers coach Jay Norvell. ... Watson will remain on the staff and handle the quarterbacks, Joe Wickline will focus solely on the offensive line, and Norvell will call plays beginning this week against Rice.
“So, basically, Wickline got stripped of the play-calling duties he never had.”
If Bohls was incorrect in what was written about Wickline -- that he was “stripped of the play-calling duties he never had” -- then you could expect a response from Strong. The Texas media relations machine would condemn Bohls’ language or at least attempt to spin the message. There is no evidence that anyone in Austin objects to Bohls’ choice of words.
Bohls is an exceedingly solid reporter. He is a Texas grad who has covered Longhorn football for more than 40 years, and he has great connections within the university and within the program, and he writes that “Wickline got stripped of the play-calling duties he never had.”
The University of Texas staff shakeup brings to light again Oklahoma State’s ongoing litigation with former Cowboys offensive line coach Joe Wickline.
According to a source who is close to the process, OSU proposed to Texas and Wickline a settlement of $250,000. If OSU had received $250,000, it would have discontinued the lawsuit and Texas-Wickline could have saved more than $340,000. The OSU proposal was refused, the source indicated.
A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for Oct. 23 in Payne County District Court. Will OSU and Texas square off in a Stillwater courtroom? Or might a settlement be forged by then?
A clause in Wickline’s OSU contract stated that if he left the university for another job, he would owe Oklahoma State the balance of his contract unless he became an offensive coordinator with play-calling responsibility or joined an NFL staff.
Hired by Texas after the 2013 season, Wickline was given an offensive coordinator title. OSU contended that Wickline was not involved in play-calling. If not, there would have been a breach of contract.
Wickline sued OSU, alleging that the university did not fully release him from his contract. OSU countersued, demanding from Wickline a total of $593,478 -- the amount that was contractually committed to him, if he had remained in Stillwater.
On Tuesday -- three days after the Longhorns opened the season with a 38-3 defeat at Notre Dame -- Texas coach Charlie Strong announced staff changes. Kirk Bohls is among the more respected sports writers not only in Texas but throughout the Big 12 region, and this is how he reported the Longhorns story for the Austin American-Statesman:
“(Strong has) demoted play-caller Shawn Watson and given his duties to wide receivers coach Jay Norvell. ... Watson will remain on the staff and handle the quarterbacks, Joe Wickline will focus solely on the offensive line, and Norvell will call plays beginning this week against Rice.
“So, basically, Wickline got stripped of the play-calling duties he never had.”
If Bohls was incorrect in what was written about Wickline -- that he was “stripped of the play-calling duties he never had” -- then you could expect a response from Strong. The Texas media relations machine would condemn Bohls’ language or at least attempt to spin the message. There is no evidence that anyone in Austin objects to Bohls’ choice of words.
Bohls is an exceedingly solid reporter. He is a Texas grad who has covered Longhorn football for more than 40 years, and he has great connections within the university and within the program, and he writes that “Wickline got stripped of the play-calling duties he never had.”
