It's been a month since Zac Alley left Oklahoma for West Virginia, and Brent Venables is still searching for the Sooners' next defensive coordinator.
It seemed like Venables was going to steal Jim Knowles from Ohio State and score a dream hire, but Knowles ultimately chose Penn State instead on Sunday.
With Knowles' decision, Venables was back on the hunt, but even almost into February, there are still solid options that OU can land as its next defensive coordinator.
Here's a look at five candidates still available for the Sooners.
Wes Goodwin, Clemson
During this entire defensive coordinator search, there probably hasn't been a candidate list created that didn't include Wes Goodwin.
Goodwin was recently fired as Clemson's defensive coordinator after just one poor season, during which the Tigers still won an ACC championship and made the College Football Playoff. Clemson had a top-25 defense under Goodwin in 2022 and 2023.
Goodwin actually replaced Venables when he left Clemson to become OU's head coach in 2021. Before that, Goodwin worked under Venables when he was defensive coordinator.
Travis Williams, Arkansas
Don't let the Arkansas Razorbacks' losing record fool you into believing that Travis Williams had a poor unit.
Under Williams as defensive coordinator, the Razorbacks gave up 25 points a game this season with an SEC schedule. For comparison, the Sooners averaged 21.54 per game with a top-25 defense.
When Williams got to Arkansas in 2023, the Razorbacks put together their best defensive season since 2014.
Williams would get to Norman already with coordinator experience in the SEC. It would also still be a step up for Williams. And the biggest knock on OU's opening right now is job security with Venables on the hot seat, but Sam Pittman's seat at Arkansas is probably even hotter and less likely to cool down.
Scott Symons, SMU
Scott Symons recently signed an extension with SMU, but still don't count this out considering OU was just oh, so close to landing Knowles, who's now the highest-paid coordinator in college football history.
Symons was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award in 2024 after leading a defense that was seventh in FBS against the run.
Bryan Brown, Ole Miss
Bryan Brown would also bring in SEC experience as Ole Miss' co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.
The Rebels had the second-best scoring defense in the country this season behind only Ohio State while giving up a measly 14.4 points a game.
The hard part would be prying Brown away from his alma-mater. However, raises are convincing, and he reportedly makes less than OU paid Alley and a lot less than the $3 million OU was reportedly willing to pay Knowles.
Brandon Hall / Todd Bates / Jay Valai
Venables choosing to stay in-house for his next defensive coordinator is still likely.
Brandon Hall is OU's safeties coach and has past experience as a DC at Troy, Jacksonville State and Central Oklahoma.
Todd Bates and Jay Valai already have co-defensive coordinator titles at OU, but could get promoted with play-calling duties.