Former Oklahoma Sooners head coach John Blake passes away following heart attack

Oklahoma legend John Blake passed away this week after suffering a heart attack.

It’s a sad day for the entire Oklahoma Sooners community. On Thursday, it was announced former Sooners head coach and standout nose guard John Blake had passed away. Blake, who was a sensational lineman for Oklahoma during his playing days, took over as head coach in 1996 and was with the team until 1998.

According to fellow Oklahoma legend Barry Switzer, Blake was out for a walk and suddenly had a heart attack. He was announced dead shortly after.

Former Sooners standout John Blake returned to Oklahoma as head coach in 1996

Blake, an Illinois native, was just 59 years old. He first arrived to the Sooners back in 1979 and was with the team through the 1982 campaign. Checking in at 6-0, 255 pounds, he was a force to be reckoned with in the trenches. Following his playing days in Norman, Blake went to Tulsa to start his coaching career in 1987.

He returned to Oklahoma in 1989 to serve as the team’s defensive line coach. Blake then spent three years coaching the Sooners’ linebackers before moving up to coach the defensive line for the Dallas Cowboys from 1993 to 1995, winning two Super Bowls with America’s Team.

In 1996, Blake was offered the position as head coach of the Sooners and could not turn down the offer. Unfortunately for him and Oklahoma fans, Blake’s three years as the head man of the program didn’t go as planned. During that stretch, he went 12-22, the worst three-year run in program history.

Blake would then go on to have stops with Mississippi State, Nebraska, North Carolina and the Buffalo Bills. He had been out of coaching following the 2016 campaign, his one and only year with the Bills.

Blake may not have had the best of luck as the head coach at Oklahoma, but he’ll always be remembered as a Sooners great.