With Oklahoma officially hiring Zac Alley to be their next defensive coordinator, the 30-year-old will be working alongside Brent Venables again for the first time since 2018.

Since leaving his role as a graduate assistant with Clemson, Alley spent a year with Boise State as an inside linebackers coach, then moved to outside linebackers and co-special teams coordinator. After leaving Boise State, he took his first defensive coordinator job at Louisiana-Monroe in 2021, where he became the youngest defensive coordinator in the FBS. Who helped him get this job? None other than Brent Venables himself, who recommended Alley to ULM head coach Terry Bowden.

During his time at Louisiana-Monroe, Alley and the Warhawks drastically improved in 11 defensive metrics, including improvement from the No. 125 ranked rushing defense to the No. 69.

In an interview with the Anniston Star in 2021, Alley spoke on his mindset on defense.

"We’re going to be multiple. We’ll be 4-3, 3-4 and we might throw some dime stuff in there and other different things I’ve learned over the years. I like the idea that offenses don’t know what to expect from us." Alley added. "That’s what we’re going to do and we’ll get good at most of it. I’ve never been big on saying we’re a Cover-3 team or a man-to-man team. I’m going to be a 'we’ll do whatever it takes to win' team and that’s always been my mindset."

Alley had the same success at Jacksonville State during his two-year tenure there. In the 2023 season, the defensive thrived. The Gamecocks finished the year ranked 33rd in the FBS in scoring defense, allowing just 21.2 points per game. Alley also developed a great red-zone scheme, which held teams to touchdowns on 54.55% of their drives inside the JSU 20-yard line. The unit also ranked No. 8 in the nation for stop rate.

Not an OUInsider.com premium member? Sign up today to get loads of inside information on Oklahoma football, basketball and recruiting, all for just a few dollars a month. Click HERE to get started!