*** Sooners hire Jacksonville State LB/Defensive Coordinator Zac Alley.
Sources tell me that he not only makes sense but is also the one that several staffers on the Sooners' defensive side of the ball feel is a good hire as well. Alley has a similar background under Venables as Brandon Hall, where he was a student assistant and graduate assistant during his time at Clemson. Those two positions were held from 2011 to 2018 before Alley moved on to Boise State as the inside linebacker coach in 2019. He coached at BSU from 2018 to 2020, holding ILB and OLB coaching positions and being the special teams coordinator. Alley became a hot commodity in the defensive coaching world and was deemed a 'savant' by many who came in contact with him.
After BSU, Alley became the DC/LB coach at Louisiana-Monroe in 2021. He didn't stay long before getting the DC/LB job for Jacksonville State as the DC, starting in 2022 and continuing to the present day (EDIT: now the Sooners' new DC)
Alley has been named on 247Sports "30 under 30" list for the rising stars in the coaching world.
So, why do we feel Alley is a great fit for the Sooners? Well, he has strong relationships with the defensive side of the ball for OU, with him having previous coaching relationships with Todd Bates, Miguel Chavis, and more at Clemson. He also knows and has coaching contacts, in a roundabout way, with Sooners safety coach Brandon Hall. Sources say he and Hall had what some would call "the meeting of the minds" when Hall was DC at Troy.
Moreover, Alley was with BV at Clemson when he started implementing the 30-front in his arsenal of defenses that the Sooners head coach uses. When you add all of that together, along with his strong relationship with the Sooners head man, you can see why we at OUinsider feel Alley is not only the right hire but just the perfect fit for the Sooners as a whole -- staff and program-wise.
*** Side note: I had to rearrange this stinking write-up to explain why he is a fit. I was writing why he was "the leader in the clubhouse and expected to be the hire" when Matt Zenitz broke the news on Alley. But that's why we had this ready.
Love the hire. Love that this was over quickly. Great get by Matt Zenitz. He is good at his job. lol
Sources tell me that he not only makes sense but is also the one that several staffers on the Sooners' defensive side of the ball feel is a good hire as well. Alley has a similar background under Venables as Brandon Hall, where he was a student assistant and graduate assistant during his time at Clemson. Those two positions were held from 2011 to 2018 before Alley moved on to Boise State as the inside linebacker coach in 2019. He coached at BSU from 2018 to 2020, holding ILB and OLB coaching positions and being the special teams coordinator. Alley became a hot commodity in the defensive coaching world and was deemed a 'savant' by many who came in contact with him.
After BSU, Alley became the DC/LB coach at Louisiana-Monroe in 2021. He didn't stay long before getting the DC/LB job for Jacksonville State as the DC, starting in 2022 and continuing to the present day (EDIT: now the Sooners' new DC)
Alley has been named on 247Sports "30 under 30" list for the rising stars in the coaching world.
So, why do we feel Alley is a great fit for the Sooners? Well, he has strong relationships with the defensive side of the ball for OU, with him having previous coaching relationships with Todd Bates, Miguel Chavis, and more at Clemson. He also knows and has coaching contacts, in a roundabout way, with Sooners safety coach Brandon Hall. Sources say he and Hall had what some would call "the meeting of the minds" when Hall was DC at Troy.
Moreover, Alley was with BV at Clemson when he started implementing the 30-front in his arsenal of defenses that the Sooners head coach uses. When you add all of that together, along with his strong relationship with the Sooners head man, you can see why we at OUinsider feel Alley is not only the right hire but just the perfect fit for the Sooners as a whole -- staff and program-wise.
*** Side note: I had to rearrange this stinking write-up to explain why he is a fit. I was writing why he was "the leader in the clubhouse and expected to be the hire" when Matt Zenitz broke the news on Alley. But that's why we had this ready.
Love the hire. Love that this was over quickly. Great get by Matt Zenitz. He is good at his job. lol
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