Blankenship accepted Tulsa Golden Hurricane head coach Todd Graham's offer to become receivers coach at Tulsa; then after the 2010 season, Graham left Tulsa to become the head coach at Pitt.
After serving three years as Tulsa defensive coordinator and one year as Rice head coach, Graham was introduced as Tulsa's 27th head football coach on January 12, 2007. He also hired former Tulsa quarterback and Tulsa Union HS coach Bill Blankenship as wide receivers coach. Graham was announced as Pitt's head coach on January 10, 2011, and subsequently led the team to a disappointing 66 regular season later that fall. 
