Ted Roof, the defensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners, announced his joint departure from the program along with head coach Brent Venables.
Roof has been with Venables since he was hired by the Oklahoma Sooners, and this will be Venables’ first head coaching search for a defensive coordinator.
Roof has worked for multiple Power-Five colleges as a defensive coordinator. He has been teaching on the defensive side of the ball since 1987 and has a long history as a defensive assistant. Roof most recently played alongside Venables as a defensive assistant for the Clemson Tigers in 2021.
Roof recently served as the Vanderbilt Commodores’ defensive coordinator in 2020. In addition, Roof worked as a defensive coordinator for the following teams: the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Auburn Tigers (national champion), the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Duke Blue Devils, the Appalachian State Mountaineers, and the Umass
According to Venables, he gave Roof an alternative position within the Oklahoma Sooners organization. Venables gave an explanation for his decision to replace Roof as defensive coordinator in an On3 piece.
“I have the utmost respect and appreciation for Ted,” Brent Venables said in a statement. “I told him Wednesday I made a decision to go in a new direction at defensive coordinator and offered him an opportunity to remain on our staff in a different role. He explained that he has a deep desire to keep coaching and will look to do that at a different school.”
