Could the Sooners poach elite CFP coach to serve as Oklahoma's next defensive coordinator?

The Oklahoma Sooners had a stunning development occur just before the new year, as defensive coordinator Zac Alley left the team to take the same job at West Virginia. 

While the move drew the ire of players, coaches, and fans, it opened up an opportunity for the Sooners to boost the staff ahead of a pivotal 2025 season. 

They aren't shying away from going big-name hunting in their search for a defensive coordinator. According to SoonerScoop, the Oklahoma Sooners are eyeing a replacement for defensive coordinator currently coaching in the College Football Playoff. 

Per SoonerScoop, there is interest from the OU administration and Brent Venables in luring away Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to take the same role with the Sooners.

"One name that continues to circulate is Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. According to SoonerScoop sources, Knowles would be a candidate OU’s administration and coach Brent Venables is interested in. But any talks between Knowles and Oklahoma at this point are still exploratory and in their infancy."

If the Sooners were able to pull off such a hire, it would be an incredible win for the program. Knowles is one of the best defensive minds in college football. If hired, he would bring a sharp, experienced mind to run the defense, allowing Brent Venables to coach hands off and run the program fully focused on being the head coach. 

Selfishly as a football sicko, pairing Knowles' coverage brilliance with Venables' dastardly and devious blitz schemes and fronts would be an incredible pairing that would immediately vault the Sooners' defense to the forefront of college football. 

However, all of this talk is, of course, completely preliminary. Knowles has family connections to Oklahoma, which could help the Sooners, but he is also the third-highest-paid assistant coach in college football and Ohio State would quite happily up that deal if they win the national championship. 

Still, I think it's interesting that Oklahoma is willing to engage in this conversation instead of taking the simple (lazy) internal route right away. Hopefully, this means that the Sooners are looking for a proven, experienced coordinator that Venables can trust to hand the defense off to. 

The Sooners can afford to be patient and should run an exhaustive search to find the best hire. Not doing so would be a failure on their part and a disservice to fans. Another quick search like they did with the promotion of Seth Littrell last offseason would be a failed process.