NORMAN — Oklahoma's front office staff under first-year general manager Jim Nagy continues to take shape this offseason.
The latest addition is a former NFL wide receiver with NFL front office experience, as the Sooners recently brought on Lake Dawson to the front office staff in a yet-to-be-announced role. The 53-year-old Dawson was seen on the field this week at Brent Venables' high school camp scouting prospects and donning an Oklahoma-branded hooded sweatshirt. His addition was first reporter by OU Insider.
Dawson comes to Oklahoma after spending the last eight years with the Buffalo Bills, including the last two years as a senior executive who focused on college and pro scouting. Prior to that executive role within the Bills' scouting department, Dawson served as the franchise's assistant director of college scouting for six years after initially being hired in 2017.
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A native of Boston who attended high school in Washington state, Dawson played wide receiver at Notre Dame from 1990-93, appearing in 43 games and finishing his career with 80 receptions for 1,397 yards and four touchdowns. He was selected in the third round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs and spent four seasons with the organization. He also had a stint with the Indianapolis Colts before retiring in 1999 due to injury.
Not long after his playing career ended, Dawson ventured into the front office aspect of the sport. He has nearly a quarter century of experience in NFL scouting and personnel departments, beginning in 2001 with the Seattle Seahawks. He served as a pro scout and pro personnel assistant with Seattle from 2001-04 before being promoted to assistant director of pro personnel in 2004. From 2007-15, he worked with the Tennessee Titans, first as director of pro personnel (2007-10), then as vice president of football operations (2011-12) and ultimately vice president of player personnel (2012-15). He also served as a senior personnel executive with the Cleveland Browns from 2016-17 before joining the Bills' scouting department.
Dawson is the latest hire to a growing front-office staff under Nagy, with head coach Brent Venables saying last week at SEC spring meetings in Destin, Florida, that the program plans to announce additional staffing hires later this month once some things are finalized.
Along with Dawson, Nagy has added Taylor Redd, a former NFL scout and director of player personnel atWake Forest, as assistant general manager. He tabbed former Air Force general manager Kale Pearson as director of high school scouting. He also brought on former Senior Bowl scouting assistant Charlie Parkinson as assistant director of college scouting, and last week added UCLA director of player personnel Stacey Ford to the staff.
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