If knowledge really is power, then consider the Oklahoma Sooners' defensive coaching staff a V8 engine running the program.
With his job on the line, OU football coach Brent Venables has put together probably the deepest defensive coaching staff in college football for the 2025 season after some recent additions.
Leading the braintrust is Venables himself. Venables won two national championships as a defensive coordinator at OU and Clemson. His defensive mind is ultimately why he got the opportunity to lead an SEC program.
Venables has always kept his hand in the defense as the Sooners' head coach, but he officially announced last week that he will call the plays and take full control this season.
"Since I was hired as head coach, we have carefully assembled the defensive personnel and scheme that is suited to compete at the highest level, and we've built a deep and talented roster ready for the moment," Venables said in a statement. "I have high expectations for our program and will do everything in my power to achieve our goals for our players. To that end, I will take over defensive play-calling responsibilities for the 2025 season."
With that announcement also came the official additions of Nate Dreiling as inside linebackers coach and Wes Goodwin as assistant linebackers/outside linebackers coach. Like Venables, both are former successful defensive coordinators with experience leading a defense.
The addition of Dreiling and Goodwin put the Sooners at six coaches on the defensive staff with experience as a college defensive coordinator.
The Sooners already had two co-defensive coordinators on staff in Todd Bates and Jay Valai. Bates, who's also associate head coach and defensive tackles coach, was also Venables' defensive tackles coach at Clemson, where he coached three first-round NFL Draft picks.
Valai also has the titles of assistant head coach for defense and cornerbacks and nicelbacks coach. Before getting to OU in 2022, Valai was a cornerbacks coach at Alabama, Texas and Rutgers. He was also a defensive quality control coach for the Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid in 2018 and at Georgia before that.
Safeties coach Brandon Hall was a defensive coordinator at Troy, Jacksonville State and Central Oklahoma before joining the Sooners in 2021.
Even with that experience already on staff, Goodwin and Dreiling brought even more.
Goodwin was just fired after three seasons as Clemson's defensive coordinator. He actually replaced Venables when Venables left to be OU's head coach after coaching under Venables there, too.
Even in a season that got Goodwin fired, though, his defense was still good enough for the Tigers to win the ACC championship and make the College Football Playoff. Clemson was in the top 25 in FBS in takeaways, interceptions, fumbles recovered and tackles for loss while giving up 23 points a game this season.
In 2023, Goodwin's defense ranked eighth in the country in total defense.
Although only 34, Dreiling has already been a defensive coordinator for five seasons between Utah State, New Mexico State and Pittsburg State. He also served as Utah State's interim head coach all of last season after getting promoted in July.
So after leading a Power 4 defense or an entire football program this past season, Goodwin and Dreiling will be assistant coaches on Venables' staff this season. That speaks volumes to the depth of this coaching staff and their belief in Venables' system at OU.
OU's 2025 defensive coaching and support staff
- Brent Venables (Head Coach)
- Todd Bates (Associate Head Coach / Co-Defensive Coordinator / Run Defense / Defensive Tackles)
- Jay Valai (Assistant Head Coach for Defense / Co-Defensive Coordinator / Pass Defense / Cornerbacks and Nickelbacks)
- Brandon Hall (Safeties)
- Nate Dreiling (Inside Linebackers)
- Wes Goodwin (Assistant Linebackers / Outside Linebackers)
- Miguel Chavis (Defensive Ends)
- Rufus Alexander (Defensive Analyst / Player Development)
- Xavier Brewer (Senior Defensive Analyst)
- Trent Simpson (Defensive Analyst)
- Ryan Carter (Defensive GA)