The Oklahoma Sooners made the College Football Playoff and won 10 games in 2025, and the program is looking for more in 2026. Under the leadership of head coach Brent Venables, OU is focused on going from good to great this season.
Venables signed a contract extension right before the beginning of the season, showing that he clearly has the faith of Oklahoma's leadership. That includes university president Joseph Harroz Jr., director of athletics Roger Denny, chair and special advisor for OU Athletics Randall Stephenson, and the board of regents, led by chair Rick Nagel.
Venables has assembled a very strong coaching staff of on-field assistants, but the program is much more than just Venables and his staff. So much of OU's success last year came
down to the support staff that works more behind the scenes to help the Sooners soar.
We'll begin with the front office, which arrived last offseason and has been instrumental in helping Oklahoma take steps forward in the new era of college football.
- Jim Nagy: General Manager
- Lake Dawson: Senior Assistant General Manager
- Taylor Redd: Assistant General Manager
- Stacey Ford: Senior Director of Player Personnel
- Drew Hill: Director of Player Personnel
- Kale Pearson: Director of High School Scouting
- Charlie Parkinson: Director of College Scouting
- Patrick Armstrong: Assistant Director of High School Scouting
- Manaia Brown: Scouting Coordinator
Under Nagy's leadership, this group has improved the way the Sooners evaluate, acquire, and retain players. Oklahoma had fallen behind the eight-ball in the NIL and transfer portal era of the sport in the years before this front office's arrival, and they have helped engineer a turnaround in that department.
Oklahoma also has some familiar names in the program's off-field leadership. They aren't the forward-facing names of the program, but they are instrumental in getting the Sooners ready for gamedays. We'll also include OU's S.O.U.L. leadership and the recruiting leadership in this category, as they are huge facets of the program as well.
- Jerry Schmidt: Elite Performance Liaison
- Jacob Maloney: Director of Football Operations
- Cade Kimzey: Assistant Director of Football Operations
- LaTosha Carrillo: Assistant to the Head Coach
- Josh Norman: Senior Director of S.O.U.L. Mission
- Vincent Carter: Director of S.O.U.L. Mission
- Lorenda Holston: Assistant Director of S.O.U.L. Mission
- Molly Jacoby: Director of Recruiting
- Tahlor Baker: Coordinator of On-Campus Recruiting
- Emily Jones: Coordinator of Recruiting Operations
Of course, Sooner Nation will recognize Schmidt's name as the longtime strength coach who spent two different stints at Oklahoma. He's moved into a different role this season, meaning OU's strength staff looks a bit different without him. Part of Venables' vision for the program is a physical, punishing team that has the might to win games deep into the fourth quarter. The strength staff is at the center of those efforts. We'll also include Oklahoma's nutrition and training leadership in this category, as they are part of that process as well.
- James Dobson: Director of Sports Enhancement and Strength and Conditioning
- Matthew Manninger: Associate Director of Sports Performance
- Scott Kolok: Assistant Director of Sports Performance
- Josue Matias: Assistant Director of Sports Performance
- Dante Vasquez: Assistant Director of Sports Performance
- Robert Fulton: Associate AD of Athletic Medicine/Student-Athlete Health and Wellness
- Geoff Lau: Director of Rehabilitation
- Brooke Helms: Director of Nutrition
- Kaylee Nilsson: Director of Football Nutrition
- Justin Smith: Head Football Athletic Trainer
- Ted Boehm: Team Physician
- Adam Whitworth: Director of Athletics Equipment
- Robert Sausaman: Director of Sport Science
- Steven Plaisance: Performance Research and Analytics Coordinator
Oklahoma also has a very strong video team that handles a variety of different assets and technology, from creative content to game film. This also aids the Sooners in recruiting. OU has one of the country's best creative teams, and in a social-media-driven world, that's something players and recruits notice.
- John Baker: Director of Creative Content
- Jonathan Petrie: Director of Football Recruiting Content
- Zachary Peters: Director of Football Technology
- Hammer Flowers: Football Recruiting Content Specialist
- Ethan Brody: Assistant Video Coordinator
While there are clearly plenty of off-field roles that are important to how the Sooners operate, there are a number of on-field roles that also play a large part of Oklahoma Football, doing so behind the scenes. Every program has and needs a good stable of coaching analysts. These coaches don't often get the kind of recognition they deserve, but they are in meetings and practices with the position coaches and players, helping the Sooners gain an edge on Saturdays.
- Nick Basquine: Offensive Analyst
- Blaise Bentsen: Offensive Analyst
- Colt Garrett: Offensive Analyst
- Darrian Wilson: Offensive Analyst
- Clayton Woods: Offensive Analyst
- Aaron Cheatwood: Defensive Analyst
- Jeremiah Criddell: Defensive Analyst
- James Skalski: Defensive Analyst
- DeShawn Williams: Defensive Analyst
- Stephen Copeland: Special Teams Analyst
Most coaches start out at the analyst level and work their way up, as that was the case for many of OU's assistant coaches. These names could be running their own position rooms very soon.
Oklahoma is one of the premier blue-blood programs in all of college football, and there are plenty of names on staff that are very recognizable and that are in the public eye on gamedays. However, there are just as many people behind the scenes, making the whole operation run smoothly during the week. The Sooners have an army of people helping them be the best they can be.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Taking a look at OU's support staff and coaching analysts in 2026
