Blue-blood rival could be interested in stealing away one of the more vital position coaches on Brent Venables’ staff

The Sooners have valued Jay Valai a ton.

Jan 28, 2026 12:32 PM EST

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables and cornerback coach Jay Valai — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, left, and Jay Valai, co-defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach, talk with Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Reggie Pearson (21) during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Oklahoma won 69-45. BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Oklahoma Sooners have one of the best defensive staffs in the country, a perk of having Brent Venables as your head coach. With that comes interest from other schools, and the Sooners could be in one of those situations.

Sources tell A to Z Sports that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish could be interested in pursuing OU cornerbacks coach Jay Valai, who has a strong connection with ND defensive coordinator Chris Ash.

Valai is one of the most important coaches on the defensive side of the ball, especially in development. Oklahoma went into the 2025 season with no transfer portal additions in the secondary. They planned to start a true freshman at cornerback, Courtland Guillory, and a sophomore on the other side, Eli Bowen. Both are pretty undersized for SEC ball, too. Yet, the secondary was pretty great all year long. The development was awesome to see, and they have room to only get even better.

This is why the Sooners like Valai so much. A to Z Sports’ Notre Dame writer Ryan Roberts broke down why the pairing of Valai and ND would make sense.

Sooners’ Jay Valai would fit what Notre Dame wants and needs

With Notre Dame secondary coach Mike Mickens leaving to take a position with the Baltimore Ravens, head coach Marcus Freeman is tasked with replacing one of the better defensive back recruiters and developers in college football. We have already seen the Fighting Irish lean on defensive coordinator Chris Ash’s past relationships this offseason when they hired Charlie Partridge as their new defensive line coach.

Oklahoma cornerbacks coach Jay Valai is someone that Ash is very familiar with, having coached with him both at Rutgers and Texas. With how Valai has developed as a coach over the last couple of years, don’t be surprised if Notre Dame ends up pushing for him. It isn’t a definite that Valai becomes their top guy, but there is expected to be some interest. How comfortable Valai is with the Sooners could determine how much the fit makes sense.