Oklahoma is set to promote Curtis Lofton to general manager, according to a Board of Regents agenda obtained by George Stoia of SoonerScoop.
Lofton played at Oklahoma from 2005-07, winning two Big 12 championships. Named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American in 2007, he was a second round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2008 while earning defensive rookie of the year honors from the Pro Football Writers of America.
Lofton worked in private business following the conclusion of his 8-year NFL career before returning to Oklahoma as the director of SOUL (Serving Our Uncommon Legacy) Mission in 2022.
As OU's general manager, Lofton will triple his salary from $101,500 to $300,000.
Brent Venables employs a relatively spartan personnel department, compared to his new SEC rivals. Presently, Oklahoma lists just Drew Hill as director of player personnel and JP Losman as assistant director of player personnel, with Greg Nation as director of high school relations and Jacob Cope as football recruiting content specialist.
Oklahoma's SOUL Mission, by comparison, staffed five people, indicating Venables's dedication to his players' off-field development, but perhaps an under-staffing of the personnel side of the building.
Missouri, for instance, employs an assistant AD for football external relations and recruiting; a director of recruiting operations and strategy; a 3-person player personnel division; a director of scouting; a 3-person recruiting operations division; and a coordinator of recruiting relations.
Lofton's promotion, then, seems like a wise allocation of resources.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
According to the Board of Regents agenda, Curtis Lofton is officially the #Sooners new general manager. He is also receiving a raise, going from $101,500 to $300,000 per year.
— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) June 18, 2024