Zac Alley is expected to become the next defensive coordinator at Oklahoma, sources tell FootballScoop this evening. Update> Sources add Alley has now accepted the position.
The program announced earlier today Ted Roof would not return for a third season as OU's defensive coordinator.
Alley and Venables's relationship dates back to 2012, when Venables arrived as defensive coordinator and Alley was a sophomore student assistant for the Tigers. Alley moved into a graduate assistant position following graduation, and used seven seasons under Venables as a springboard for his career.
Alley spent 2019-20 coaching linebackers at Boise State before landing the defensive coordinator job at ULM in 2021. He followed Rich Rodriguez to Jacksonville State, where he has run the defense the past two seasons.
The Gamecocks are 18-6 over the past two seasons, including a 9-4 mark with a New Orleans Bowl victory this season, their first in FBS. Jacksonville State tied for 12th in yards per play, were a top-15 unit against the run, and top 35 in passing efficiency and scoring.
Venables's influence on Alley is tremendous. From a Charleston Post & Courier story in November:
“I laugh about it,” said Alley, the JSU defensive coordinator who learned the trade while working as a student assistant and graduate assistant when Venables was defensive coordinator on Clemson’s best teams. “But I talk like Coach V. I coach like him.
“My parents tell me my mannerisms are like him on the sidelines.”
So much so that Alley, like Venables, requires the services of a “get-back guy” to keep an excited coach from straying too far onto the field.
The 30-year-old would work hand-in-glove to run the Sooner defense exactly to Venables's specifications -- enforced with his mannerisms -- as the program prepares to move to the SEC.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.