Texas Football: Why Jay Norvell Is the Right Man for the Longhorns

The Red River Showdown has added another layer to the heated battle on the field.

After Texas head coach Charlie Strong let go of wide receivers coach Les Koenning, Strong decided to choose a familiar face as his replacement: former Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell.

Norvell comes to Texas after spending seven years in Norman coaching the Sooners, and he appears to be the type of coach the Longhorns offense needs.

Norvell coached three of the most talented wide receivers in recent Sooners history—Ryan Broyles, Kenny Stills and Juaquin Iglesias—and coached three Big 12 championship teams.

He also coached for six years in the NFL and was a part of the staff that helped lead the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl in 2003.

The new wide receivers coach has a lot to offer the Texas Longhorns. He has experience coaching spread offense, has proved to be a successful recruiter, understands what it's like to recruit against other Texas schools and has a proven track record of developing special offensive talents.

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

Offensive coordinator Joe Wickline was one of the only coaches who had experience game-planning against Big 12 opponents in 2014. Adding Norvell to the mix will help the offense and quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson in more ways than one.

Now the Longhorns have two veteran coaches who understand what it takes to have successful Big 12 offenses. Norvell also has experience with the no-huddle, uptempo offense that utilizes a quarterback run game. In fact, one could argue Oklahoma was one of the first Big 12 schools to run the no-huddle, uptempo offense, and that type of attack is becoming the norm in college football today.

Norvell's experience with a quarterback run game should not be overlooked. Many Texas fans expect to see freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard under center in 2015, and one of Heard's biggest upsides is his ability to run the ball.

If Heard is the answer for Texas next season, Norvell's track record coaching quarterbacks who can run the ball will most likely come in handy.

It will be interesting to see how the offense changes in Year 2 with Norvell in the mix. But one thing is certain: Change needs to happen sooner rather than later.

Anyone who watched the Longhorns play in 2014 would know the offense was cringe-worthy and sometimes nonexistent. That may come off as an over-exaggerated statement, but it's 100 percent accurate.

The last time the public saw the Texas offense was in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl, and it was not pretty. Texas struggled to move the ball all game against Arkansas, and at one point in the fourth quarter the Longhorns had more penalty yards than total offensive yards.

The end result was a 31-7 loss in a game where the offense only managed 57 total yards.

It's clear change needed to be made, and Norvell could be a huge addition to the Longhorns' puzzle.

Between Wickline and Norvell, the Longhorns now have two coaches who not only understand what it takes to run offenses in the Big 12, but also what it takes to win championships in the conference. The duo combines for coaching four Big 12 title teams.

There is a lot of unknown that will follow the Longhorns offense next season, but adding Norvell to the mix is a step in the right direction for the future of Texas.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.