Oklahoma’s Zac Alley shouts during the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Rich Rodriguez has announced the first official addition to his coaching staff at WVU on Sunday with the appointment of Zac Alley as assistant head coach/defensive coordinator. Alley will also coach linebackers.
Alley comes to Morgantown from Oklahoma, where he spent the 2024 season as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach of the Sooners.
“Zac is one of the top young defensive coordinators in the country and has proven his ability to lead and be an innovator at different stops during his career,” Rodriguez said. “I have worked with him several seasons, and he constantly impresses me with his ability to blend schemes with his personnel and develop winning results. I look forward to him joining our staff and making an immediate impact for us.”
Alley coached with Rodriguez in the 2022 and 2023 seasons at Jacksonville State. They were also on staff together at Louisiana-Monroe in 2021.
“I am excited to join coach Rodriguez and the West Virginia University football program,” Alley said. “I have tremendous respect for Coach Rod, as I’ve seen how he develops players and builds a program. I look forward to working with the players and doing my part to help WVU be one of the top teams in the Big 12 Conference and the nation.”
This fall, OU ranked fifth-best in the Southeastern Conference and 31st in FBS in total defense.
At age 28, Alley was the youngest defensive coordinator in FBS in the 2021 season. Prior to his stint at ULM, Alley worked on staffs at Boise State and Clemson.