Oklahoma defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Ted Roof will not return in 2024, coach Brent Venables announced in a release. The Sooners are expected to hire Jacksonville State defensive coordinator Zac Alley, who just finished his first season with the Gamecocks, as Roof’s replacement, 247Sports reports.
Roof spent the past two seasons as the Sooners’ DC, arriving as part of Venables’ first staff ahead of the 2022 campaign, after previously working alongside Venables as a defensive assistant at Clemson in 2021. The decision to move forward without Roof, a longtime defensive assistant of more than 30 years, was “mutually agreed,” according to the statement.
“I have the utmost respect and appreciation for Ted,” Venables said in a statement. “I told him Wednesday I made a decision to go in a new direction at defensive coordinator and offered him an opportunity to remain on our staff in a different role. He explained that he has a deep desire to keep coaching and will look to do that at a different school. Ted is an incredibly knowledgeable coach and teacher, and his players love playing for him. Our program is thankful for his extreme dedication the last two seasons and for helping make us better.”
Oklahoma ranked No. 78 nationally in total defense at 389.4 yards allowed per game in 2023. While that was an improvement from 2022, when which the Sooners ranked No. 121 nationally at a whopping 461.0 yards allowed per game, it still ranked sixth out of 14 teams in the Big 12 as Oklahoma went a third consecutive season without a Big 12 championship.
The Sooners began the year 7-0 before losing three games in the back half of the season, culminating in a 38-24 Alamo Bowl loss to Arizona in which the Sooners were outscored 17-0 in…
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