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Oklahoma football: Outlet reporting Alex Grinch hired as OU DC

By Christopher Dukes

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: The Oklahoma Sooners run onto the field prior to the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: The Oklahoma Sooners run onto the field prior to the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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Though there is no official word from the university yet, at least one outlet is reporting that  the Oklahoma football program has hired Alex Grinch to be the next defensive coordinator for the program.

Grinch spent last season as the co-defensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes and is expected to take over the job at Oklahoma, according to a report from Fox’s Bruce Feldman.

As Feldman stated in his tweet Grinch was a semifinalist for the 2017 Broyles Award at Washington State under Mike Leach. He helped turn an ailing Cougars defense into one of the better units in the country and has experience working on the back end of an Air Raid offense, much like what is run at Oklahoma.

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If this report is true it will mean a major hire for the Sooners as Grinch was a rising name among assistant coaches in college football.

Grinch was defensive back at Mount Union from 1998-2001 and part of one of college football’s great dynasties during his time there. The 38-year-old also spent time at Missouri under former Tigers head coach Gary Pinkel.

From there he went on to coach defensive backs at both New Hampshire and Wyoming, while also serving as recruiting coordinator. He returned to Missouri as an assistant for a two seasons before being hired by Leach.

His defenses at Washington State earned the nickname #speedD for their ability to swarm to the football. He exentuates takeaways on the defensive side of the ball, which has been a sore spot for the Sooners over the past few seasons. He runs a hybrid 3-4 scheme that has some similarities to what we have seen from the Sooners in the past few seasons, but unlike those plans his defensive linemen often have only one gap to cover, freeing them up to penetrate and create chaos in the backfield.

He is also known for late shifts before the snap, creating confusion for the spread offenses he faces.

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We will get more in depth on this hire as after we get confirmation from the school, but if this holds up, the Sooners have reasons to be excited.

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