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It appears Rich Rodriguez has locked up his first major hire for his new staff at WVU. Zac Alley is leaving Oklahoma to become West Virginia’s defensive coordinator, per a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Saturday night.
Alley is believed to be signing a three-year deal with WVU. This confirms recent rumors and speculation about Alley coming to West Virginia to work under Rodriguez again. He was also among WV Sports Now’s early favorites for the job back on Dec. 15.
Alley was asked about his future following the Sooners’ 21-20 Armed Forces Bowl loss to Navy on Friday.
Below is what Alley had to say during a postgame radio spot.
“Every year, there’s going to be something that comes up with jobs and whatnot, man, but I’m just excited about our team,” said Alley.
“I think coming back next season, we’re going to have a great opportunity to be successful, be a top defense in the country, and hopefully, we got some young guys who can come along to help us do that.”
Alley, 30, is viewed as an up and coming young defensive mind and has a connection to Rodriguez.
Alley has been serving as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Oklahoma, a position he owes to his time working under Rodriguez at Jacksonville State.
Prior to joining the Sooners in 2024, Alley spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with Rodriguez and the Gamecocks as defensive coordinator. He’s also worked at Louisiana-Monroe, again with Rodriguez, and Boise State as well as earned a couple national championship rings as a graduate assistant with Clemson.
Rodriguez made it clear he’s being provided enough money to hire “a really good one” when talking about his defensive coordinator during his introductory press conference.
For a related story, WVU legend Pat White makes his case for a spot on Rodriguez’s coaching staff.
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Jalen Milroe surges past former NFL starter on first Seattle Seahawks depth chart
Despite being viewed as a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, former Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe ended up sliding into the third round. The 22-year-old — who was the starter for Alabama for two seasons — was selected with the No. 92 pick by the Seattle Seahawks. Although every player's dream is to go in the first round, Milroe likely couldn't have gone to a better situation. There is virtually no pressure on him as the Seahawks signed former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract this offseason, and they also have Drew Lock, who has started 28 career games on the roster as well. However, based on ESPN's initial depth chart, Milroe may be climbing the depth chart sooner than most expected. Seattle Seahawks depth chart As reported by ESPN, the Seahawks depth chart goes as follows: QB1: Sam Darnold QB2 Jalen Milroe QB3 Drew Lock If this truly ends up being the case, Milroe has taken major strides following his final season at Alabama. During his last year in Tuscaloosa, Milroe was criticized heavily for forcing passes into windows that weren't there after being late on reads. In his final season at Alabama, Milroe threw a career-high 11 interceptions to just 16 touchdowns, an increase of five more interceptions than he threw in 2023. Although training camp is still ongoing and the preseason games have yet to be played, clearly, Milroe is finding some success in the Pacific Northwest.
Warriors, Josh Giddey Report Surfaces After Jonathan Kuminga Update
The Golden State Warriors have only continued their stalemate with Jonathan Kuminga. While they haven't gone out of their way to re-sign the young wing, they also have made it clear they won't let him go. On July 30, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the last offer Golden State made to Kuminga was promptly turned down. "The Golden State Warriors made another push to retain Jonathan Kuminga over the past several days, but the restricted free agent is continuing to decline their two-year, $45 million contract offer," Charania wrote. While not a cheap offer, Golden State could put more money on the table, but they won't. Since then, there have been reports about potential sign-and-trades, but nothing has materialized, leaving Kuminga and the Warriors in a holding pattern. Among everything going down between Kumigna and the Warriors, NBA Insider Jake Fischer revealed on Bleacher Report's Live Stream that they have interest in Chicago Bulls wing Josh Giddey and could use the Kuminga situation to get them the former lottery pick. "I can report that there have been multiple teams that have reached out to Josh Giddey's representation about having interest in Josh Giddey," Fischer said. "Golden State is one of them. Golden State would be interested, depending on how the machinations could go in some type of Josh Giddey-Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade, to my understanding." Kuminga Had Interest in Joining the Bulls On a live stream from July 16, Fischer revealed that Kuminga had interest in joining the Bulls via sign-and-trade, but it was to join forces with Giddey on theBulls. Fischer also revealed why it didn't come to fruition. “I do know that Kuminga’s representation was trying to figure out some sign and trade scenario that would’ve gotten both Josh Giddey and Jonathan Kuminga paid in Chicago,” Fischer said. “I think that was something that would’ve been more likely if the Bulls waited and had Lonzo Ball sent back to Golden State instead of that deal that they already made with Cleveland. I think that would’ve been something that Golden State would’ve liked.” It sounds like Kuminga is interested in joining the Bulls, and the Warriors want Giddey. The only other factors at play are whether the Bulls want Kuminga and are willing to part ways with Giddey for him and whether Giddey has a mutual interest in joining Golden State. Giddey would give the Warriors another ball handler and playmaker, while Kuminga would give the Bulls a young scoring wing. Both sides would benefit, but given the restrictions of restricted free agency, everyone from all sides would have to play ball to make this work.
'A new coach for one': Brad Gilbert links Naomi Osaka's coaching change to her resurgent form at Canadian Open
Former Coco Gauff's coach Brad Gilbert believes that Naomi Osaka's separation from coach Patrick Mouratoglou was key to the four-time Grand Slam champion returning to a final. The Japanese star reached her first WTA 1000 final in more than three years, just a few days after her separation from the French coach was confirmed. Osaka announced her partnership with Mouratoglou back in October 2024. The Frenchman is one of the most renowned coaches today, having worked with Serena Williams on 10 of the American's Grand Slam titles, in addition to collaborations with players like Grigor Dimitrov, Simona Halep, and Holger Rune. However, the partnership ended abruptly. While Osaka seemed to have found some stability with Mouratoglou, the results did not materialize, with her falling in the third round of the Australian Open and Wimbledon, in addition to a first-round exit at the French Open. The Japanese star returned to the top 50 but was not making an impact at the top of the rankings. New Coach, New Results In the midst of the Canadian Open, Osaka announced her split with Mouratoglou, expressing her best wishes to the French coach who accompanied her for the last 10 months. “Merci Patrick. It was such a great experience learning from you. Wishing you nothing but the best. You are one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and I’m sure I’ll see you around,” she wrote in a statement on her social media. Shortly after, it was learned that Osaka had contacted the Polish coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, agreeing to a week-long trial working together, precisely this last week in Montreal. The results came immediately, with Osaka reaching her first WTA 1000 final since the Miami Open in 2022, where she was defeated by Iga Swiatek. Brad Gilbert highlights new coach Osaka's improved level after the separation from Mouratoglou is no coincidence for Brad Gilbert, the legendary American coach who has worked with tennis players like Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, and Andy Murray. The American recently worked with Coco Gauff, so he has also been close to the WTA Tour recently. Gilbert took to social media to comment on Osaka's move to the Montreal final. According to the coach and former world No. 4, saving match points against Liudmila Samsonova in the second round gave the 27-year-old Japanese star a boost. "Seems like quite some time ago Double Osaka saved a few match points 2nd rd, been house money since and totally discovered her game and rolling last few opponents,” he posted on his X account. A user on social media responded to the post asking, “What do you think is working for her now?” The 63-year-old coach responded to the comment: "A new coach for one ☝️ and got her confidence back." Osaka back on top Osaka has been all joy after a remarkable week in Montreal. In addition to the win against Samsonova, she defeated rivals like Jelena Ostapenko (22nd), Elina Svitolina (10th), and Clara Tauson (16th) on her way. She secured a significant jump in the rankings of 25 positions to No. 24 in the live rankings, while she could reach No. 21 if she wins the title. The ranking this time is much more than a number, as it will mean she enters the US Open as a seeded player, something she has not achieved in a Grand Slam since the 2022 Australian Open—when she was the 13th seed in the tournament she was defending. Since then, she has been absent from five Grand Slam main draws and has accessed five others as an unseeded player. This time, Osaka will be able to avoid rivals from the top 32 during at least the first two rounds, which will give her a couple of matches to get into a rhythm before facing the better-ranked players. It remains to be seen how much this boost in her ranking can benefit Osaka and if she can make an impact in a Grand Slam with a clearer path. The four-time major champion will surely be one of the players to watch at the US Open, considering that she already won the title there in 2018 and 2020 and that she will arrive in her best state of confidence in several years.
Raiders Open Preseason in Seattle With An Unlikely Ending
On Thursday night, the Pete Carroll era for the Las Vegas Raiders officially kicked off as Carroll's new team traveled to the place Carroll once had roaring in the 2010s, the Seattle Seahawks. Geno Smith took to the field with the starting offense as they attempted to put the learned concepts of Chip Kelly into practice. The results: not great. Smith and the offense were in the game for one series, and they looked sharp to start with Smith hitting Tre Tucker for a first down on the very first play from scrimmage. Then the Raiders went three and out, leading to the first two issues of the night. Preseason Flow The Raiders could not stop the run all night and struggled to deal with fullback Robbie Ouzts. Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was slicing and dicing the Raiders' defense all night with near uninterupted success on the ground paired with moderate success in the air. At least the Raiders were able to intercept Drew Lock on the Seahawks' first drive with Isaiah Pola-Mao hauling in the pick. Kyu Blu Kelly almost added a second pick but dropped the ball. Aiden O'Connell would come into the game and was under pressure all night. The backup tackles are not on the same page as the offense, with Charles Grant struggling to hold up against the Seattle attack. O'Connell went on to throw two inexcusable interceptions in the first half. Seattle's George Holani took over in the first half, running for 61 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Alex Bachman was O'Connell's most reliable target, making two catches for 36 yards on four total targets. Collin Johnson kept getting targeted but they could not link up with Johnson catching two passes for 17 yards off five targets. The Raiders trailed 16-3 at halftime. That's when we started to see the Pete Carroll effect. Coming out of halftime, O'Connell looked confident while fittingly, it was New Hampshire's Dylan Laube that opened up Kelly's offense. After forcing a Seattle punt, the Raiders scored a touchdown when O'Connell hit Laube for a six-yard touchdown. On the drive, O'Connell went 5/5 passing. The Raiders defense started to lock in, forcing a three-and-out, with the offense scoring a field goal off a 15-play drive. 16-13 Seahawks. However, the Raiders defense started to break, allowing the Seahawks to run the football seven times on a nine play, 65 yard drive for a touchdown. At this point, we were in the fourth quarter and rookie QB Cam Miller got his shot and he came out hot. Making it clear he can make platform throws, he hit Shedrick Jackson for a 41-yard score, placing the ball perfectly in between the corner and safety. 23-20 Seahawks. A heroic effort from a tired defense on 4th and one on the Seattle 45, with the defense staying disciplined against Jalen Milroe, forced a turnover on downs, resulting in Miller leading the Raiders to a game-tying field goal with 1:12 left in the game. Milroe had his shot to lead the Seahawks downfield, but after throwing for first down on the first play of the drive, Milroe threw two incompletions before being sacked by Treven Ma'ae. Cam Miller would get his shot to lead the Raiders downfield for the win. Ball at the Las Vegas' 32-yard line. 25 seconds left. The world was on his shoulders and yet, Miller was firing the Raiders towards victory. A 20-yard pass to Jackson put the Raiders into Seattle's territory. Miller would hit Jackson again for four more yards to set up a 55-yard field goal attempt for Daniel Carlson with five seconds left. This was the Raiders' moment. Despite all the mistakes, all the errors, all the issues, somehow the Raiders were in position to win. This was Carroll's moment. To once again snatch win from the jaws of defeat, this time against the team that thought they didn't need him anymore. This was the Raiders' moment, and then the kick was blocked. The game ends in a tie. 23-23. There were ups, there were downs. Now the Raiders fly home with a feeling of what just happened? If there's three lessons the Raiders need to learn, it's these. They need to stop the run. The Seahawks had 170 rushing yards on the night. We all need to see more of Cam Miller. The Raiders have no idea who should fill out their wide receiver room but Bachman and Jackson made strong cases. Such an odd evening. Welcome to the Pete Carroll era. Let's see how the Raiders respond. Join us on X (formerly Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and Instagram @HondoSr so you never miss another story on the Raiders in 2025! We invite you to interact with us when you check out our Facebook page, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE right this second!
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