Bill Blankenship Says There Is No Timetable Or Limits On His Return To Owasso

Coach Bill Blankenship is returning to the district as head coach and director of football operations, after Board approval. As a head coach at Owasso, Blankenship went 71-18 and brought home state championships in 2017 and 2019. Blankenship retired from coaching after the 2023 season following 40 years on the sideline.

The Owasso coaching job became available earlier this week when Antonio Graham resigned the position, and then accepted the head coaching position at Union.

Graham spent one season as coach of the Rams, leading them to an undefeated regular season and an appearance in the Class 6A-1 State Championship against Bixby. Graham went to and played for Union, where he was an All-State linebacker in 2005. Blankenship coached Graham at Union and later brought him onto his staff at TU.

He was the defensive coordinator under Blankenship at Owasso for seven years and took over as head coach in 2024 after his retirement.

A member of the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Blankenship’s Owasso teams won state championships in 2017 and 2019. With a career record of 286-87 and six state titles over 34 years in coaching, he also led the University of Tulsa to 24 wins, including a 2012 Liberty Bowl victory. He has earned several coaching honors, including the 2012 Conference USA Coach of the Year and the 2021 AFCA/AFCF Power of Influence Award.

"The last 48 to 72 hours have been pretty crazy, but I will tell you that this is a place that, you know, I think coaches say this an awful lot, but, you know, is home. We've invested a whole lot in Owasso, and they've invested a whole lot in in me and for us to be successful. For the factors to all come together and the wave to be kind of be the perfect kind of wave to catch, that makes sense, to come come back and keep doing this. I've had a year off of vacationing and and I'm really, really excited to be back and as I told the school board yesterday, I don't take it for granted that coaches, get a second chance at anything. And so for them to be okay with bringing me back was quite a blessing. and so, you know, I'm here, I'm excited, and we'll we'll see where it's going."

" I'll go ahead and say this part two, people want to know am I an interim coach? I have said to our staff and everybody else, I think it takes being a little older before you realize we're all in interim. So, I could tell you all kinds of stories, but you know, we think we're somehow a permanent fixture and all of a sudden we're interim, and I think that's just a good fact first to keep hold of. I am here. I have no timetable, I have no limits of what I'm coming for other than I want to lead this program and I want to get it going and continue taking what I think is a really good program and hopefully not be satisfied with that, but take it to another level."