Brent Venables announces coordinators, retains four Oklahoma assistants

Brent Venables’ coaching staff with the Oklahoma Sooners is beginning to come together. On Friday afternoon, Oklahoma announced that Venables has named his offensive and defensive coordinators. Additionally, Venables retained four assistants on Oklahoma’s staff.

Venables’ coordinators will Jeff Lebby (offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach) and Ted Roof (defensive coordinator, linebackers coach). Cale Gundy, Bill Bedenbaugh, DeMarco Murray, and Joe Jon Finley were all retained on the new coaching staff.

Lebby joins Venables’ staff at Oklahoma after serving in the same role at Ole Miss for the last two years. He is a former Oklahoma player, and he is one of the top offensive minds in the nation. He previously worked at UCF, where he also led a dominant offense. In each of the last three seasons, Lebby has led an offensive that ranked top four in the country in total offense.

Roof is a veteran coach, and he has been a defensive coordinator since the 1995-1996 season. He has stoops at Duke, Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Auburn, UCF, Penn State, NC State, Appalachian State, and Vanderbilt. Roof was Duke’s head coach from 2004-2007.

Venables on the additions to Oklahoma’s staff

Venables is set to begin his first tenure as a college football head coach. He has brought in two strong minds with varying levels of experience, and that should prove to be valuable for him and the team during this transition. In landing Lebby, Venables believes that Oklahoma just added a star to the coaching staff.

“We’re thrilled to welcome to our staff maybe the hottest offensive coordinator in college football,” Venables said. “The more thoroughly we scouted Jeff, the more we became convinced that he has the character and ability we need and want at OU. Jeff’s offenses and the players he’s coached are some of the most productive in the game. He’s going to bring a dynamic and diverse system that will take advantage of our playmakers. He’s one of the best when it comes to game planning and attacking defenses with his smart and aggressive style. His relentless and innovative approach will make us incredibly difficult to defend. We’re excited to have one of the fastest-rising coaches in the game leading our offense and quarterbacks.”

Having someone with the experience of Roof is something that Venables coveted when filling out Oklahoma’s staff. That’s exactly what the Sooners found.

“Ted is one of the most experienced coordinators and one of the best teachers in all of college football, and he’s done it in some of the premier conferences in the sport – the SEC, Big Ten and ACC. He has a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience, most of which has been in the southeastern part of the country where he is very well connected,” Venables said of Roof. “He’s been a head coach, is a fabulous recruiter and is one of the most revered players in Georgia Tech history from his time as a linebacker there. We’re fortunate to have a person of his stature lead our defense, and he’s going to make us stronger and tougher on that side of the ball.”