West Virginia to hire Oklahoma's Zac Alley as defensive coordinator

West Virginia is set to hire Zac Alley as its next defensive coordinator, On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed. He spent this season at Oklahoma after previously working with new WVU coach Rich Rodriguez at Jacksonville State.

Alley spent two years under Rodriguez with the Gamecocks before making his way to Norman this year. The Sooners ranked No. 5 in the SEC in total defense in their first year in the league, and their 115.08 rush yards allowed also ranked Top-5 in the league.

As Rodriguez makes his return to West Virginia, Alley’s name came up as a potential target for defensive coordinator. He addressed that speculation on Friday after OU’s bowl game loss to Navy and indicated he was coming back.

West Virginia is hiring Oklahoma's Zac Alley as its defensive coordinator, a source tells @On3sports. ESPN first.

Reunites with Rich Rodriguez from their time at Jacksonville State. Brent Venables will have to hire new OC and DC in same offseason.https://t.co/gVsTNkXzZY pic.twitter.com/8uBs2yxpTb

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) December 28, 2024

“Every year, there’s going to be something that comes up with jobs and whatnot,” Alley said following a loss to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday. “Man, but I’m just excited about our team. I think coming back next season, we’re going to have a great opportunity to be successful, be a top defense in the country, and hopefully we got some young guys who can come along to help us do that.”

Oklahoma was preparing to finalize a new deal for Alley after this season, Sooner Scoop’s George Stoia III reported. Instead, he’s heading to Morgantown to work for Rodriguez once again.

Zac Alley, 30, started his coaching career as a student assistant at Clemson from 2011-14 and became a graduate assistant from 2015-18. He then joined the staff at Boise State from 2019-20 before getting his first defensive coordinator job at Louisiana-Monroe in 2021. Rich Rodriguez then hired him at Jacksonville State from 2022-23, and Brent Venables came calling ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Now, Venables has another major hire to make. He recently brought in a new offensive coordinator after parting ways with Seth Littrell and will now need a new defensive coordinator, as well.

Oklahoma moved to hire Ben Arbuckle from Washington State as its next OC after a rough go in 2024. The Sooners’ offense sat toward the bottom of the SEC this year, ranking 14th with 331 total yards per game and 15th out of 16 teams with 24 points on average. Arbuckle will also continue to work with John Mateer, who was his quarterback at Wazzu and committed to Oklahoma on Dec. 18.