You knew there were going to be a lot of changes for the Oklahoma defensive coaching staff following the 2018 season. Not just bringing in new names but saying goodbye to some familiar ones.

That first domino for coaches fell Saturday afternoon as inside linebackers coach Tim Kish announced his retirement via Twitter.

Kish coached the inside linebackers for the Sooners the last seven seasons, mentoring guys like Jordan Evans and Dominique Alexander and helping build the future for OU with linebackers such as Kenneth Murray and DaShaun White.

Kish calls it a career after 43 years in coaching. His other stops included Bowling Green, Purdue, Ball State, Army, Northwestern, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana before finding a home at Arizona in 2004 and developing a relationship with Mike Stoops that eventually brought both to Norman following the 2011 season.

He recruited linebackers, but Kish was given credit by head coach Lincoln Riley last month when it comes to signing five-star quarterback Spencer Rattler.

“He’s the earliest player that I’ve ever offered,” Riley said. “We were in the Bud Wilkinson over there, before we came into this facility, and Tim Kish, with all his West Coast connections, brought his film into my office and said, ‘I want you to watch this quarterback.’

“I looked and saw he was a 2019, and this was right after the 2015 season. I’m like, ‘you want me to watch a freshman.’ I’m like, really. Then I turned on the tape, I was like, OK.

“So I got out that spring and saw him. I could see right away, you could see there was something special there. Got to know him and his family, made offering him not a tough decision.”

The Kish news comes just a day removed from former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch being named OU’s defensive coordinator Friday evening.

OU football sent out a “Thank You, Coach Kish” tweet following the announcement.