Brent Venables, Oklahoma Sooners should turn to familiar faces to replace coach departing for NFL opportunity
The Oklahoma Sooners already have some obvious names that they should turn to to replace cornerbacks coach Jay Valai.
The Oklahoma Sooners, under Brent Venables, haven’t had much coaching turnover in his four seasons as head coach. Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was hired away to serve as Mississippi State’s head coach, and the Sooners only parted ways with two coaches in total during Venables’ tenure.
However, their success in 2025 caught the attention of the rest of the country, and now the college football landscape is trying to steal from the Sooners to copy their elite defense. Cornerbacks coach Jay Valai has been hired away by the Buffalo Bills under new head coach Joe Brady.
Fortunately, the Sooners already have some obvious candidates who can replace Valai in the room, and each has plenty of connections to the team and Venables.
Candidates to replace Jay Valai
Mike Reed, Clemson
Venables’ partner-in-crime for over a decade at Clemson, Mike Reed has been one of the best developers at cornerback (if not the best) over the last decade and a half with the Tigers. Reed has coached a veritable laundry list of NFL defensive backs, honing his experience under Andy Reid.
Dating back to NC State, Reed has developed over a dozen NFL Draft picks, including David Amerson, Bashaud Breeland, Mackensie Alexander, Cordrea Tankersley, Trayvon Mullen, K’Von Wallace, A.J. Terrell, Derion Kendrick, Andrew Booth, Nate Wiggins, and Avion Terrell.
Clemson will likely do whatever it takes to keep Reed, but the trajectories of these two programs seem to be heading in opposite directions. Can Venables use his prior relationship to pull Reed in? OU has the money to do so.
Chip Viney, Arizona
A familiar name for many Oklahoma fans, Viney was a graduate assistant for the Sooners under Bob Stoops, who started working with the cornerbacks at Oklahoma from 2013 to 2015. Viney played a key part in developing Zack Sanchez and Ahmad Thomas in Norman.
He spent 2017 as a cornerbacks coach at Nevada before returning to Oklahoma as a defensive and recruiting analyst under Lincoln Riley, where he worked his way up to the Director of Player Development and Scouting.
He returned to an on-field coaching role at San Jose State in 2022. With the Spartans, Viney helped lead a team that finished second in the Mountain West in total defense and first in pass defense. They also recorded 12 interceptions as a team, tied for second in the conference. After two years there, he joined the Arizona Wildcats in the same role.
With Arizona, Viney has played a key role in developing arguably the best secondary in college football last season. The Wildcats were seventh in passing yards allowed and allowed just nine touchdowns through the air this season. Treydan Stukes is on the verge of becoming a potential first-round pick, while Ayden Garnes, Michael Dansby, and Jay’Vion Cole combined for 14 PBUs and seven INTs this season. Viney was named a CoachingScoop Defensive Backs Coach of the Year finalist.
Viney is well-connected to the Sooners and already has a proven track record as a recruiter and developer.
Dominique Franks, Tulsa
If Oklahoma wants someone with upside, then they could go just down the road to add another former Sooner to the staff. Kevin Wilson hired Franks to his Golden Hurricane staff as a quality control analyst, but Franks was promoted to cornerbacks coach a year later and was retained by new head coach Tre Lamb. He’s known as a sharp coach with attention to detail, and it showed during his time with the Golden Hurricane.
Franks doesn’t have as long a resume as other coaches, but Tulsa very quietly had a strong season from its cornerback room. Elijah Green had a star-studded season, recording eight PBUs, 11 forced incompletions, and five interceptions, becoming a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist, an AAC First-Team selection, and an Honorable Mention All-American in his second season under Franks. Teammate J.D. Drew, who transferred in from Utah State, also enjoyed a good season with three PBUs of his own.
As a recruiter, Franks is well-connected throughout Oklahoma, with a presence in Owasso and Tulsa. The former Sooners star doesn’t have a substantial track record as a collegiate coach, but he’s already showing promise as a talent developer, and this could be an intriguing upside hire.
Xavier Brewer, Oklahoma Defensive Analyst/Assistant DBs coach
Brewer doesn’t have as established of a resume as other coaches on this list, but he’s a well-respected coach in the room. Brewer reunited with Venables in 2022, where he’s worked as a defensive analyst and assistant DBs coach in the room.
Brewer has been a key voice in the development in the cornerback room over the past few years with players like Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory. Additionally, Brewer has been a key recruiter in the room, oftentimes being one of the coaches accompanying Brent Venables on visits.
An in-house promotion hasn’t been particularly common with the Sooners, but Brewer is obviously well-liked and has been with and around Brent Venables for virtually his entire coaching career. He deserves a chance like this to help him reach the next step of his career.
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