The 2026 coaching staff for the Oklahoma Sooners is set, after the OU Board of Regents officially approved new salaries and contracts on Tuesday.
New cornerbacks coach LaMar Morgan is under contract through the 2027 season, and he’ll make $400,000 this season. New running backs coach Deland McCullough is under contract through the 2028 season. He will make $625,000 this year.
Morgan replaces Jay Valai, who took a job with the Buffalo Bills this offseason. He was most recently the defensive backs coach at Michigan, and he also has experience as a defensive coordinator. McCullough replaces DeMarco Murray, who took a job with the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason. He was most recently the running backs coach for the Las Vegas Raiders, but has extensive experience at the collegiate level, at both Indiana and Notre Dame.
Morgan and McCullough join tight ends coach Jason Witten as the three new position coaches on Oklahoma’s staff this year. Witten replaces Joe Jon Finley, who was fired after five seasons on the job. He ended up on Texas State’s coaching staff.
Here is OU’s coaching staff heading into the 2026 season, according to the team’s official website:
- Brent Venables – Head Coach
- Ben Arbuckle – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
- Deland McCullough – Running Backs Coach
- Emmett Jones – Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach
- Jason Witten – Tight Ends Coach
- Bill Bedenbaugh – Offensive Line Coach
- Kevin Wilson – Assistant Head Coach for Offense
- John Kuceyeski – Assistant Quarterbacks Coach
- Todd Bates – Associate Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator/Run Defense Coordinator/Defensive Tackles Coach
- Miguel Chavis – Defensive Ends Coach
- Nate Dreiling – Inside Linebackers Coach
- Wes Goodwin – Assistant Linebackers Coach/Outside Linebackers Coach
- LaMar Morgan – Cornerbacks Coach
- Brandon Hall – Safeties Coach
- Xavier Brewer – Assistant Secondary Coach
- Doug Deakin – Special Teams Coordinator
- James Dobson – Director of Sports Enhancement and Strength and Conditioning
- Jim Nagy – General Manager
- Jerry Schmidt – Elite Performance Liaison
Wilson, Kuceyeski, and Brewer all earned promotions after last season, and Dobson takes over for Schmidt, who is moving into a brand-new role that will help replace former Chief of Staff Woody Glass.
As Venables readies for Year 5 at the helm of the Sooners, his coaching staff looks a bit re-shuffled after the run to the College Football Playoff. However, with play-callers on both sides of the ball (Venables and Arbuckle) returning in 2026, the Sooners moved quickly to fill the holes on the staff, and they have positioned themselves to reach the playoff again this year.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Sooners assistant coach contracts approved by Board of Regents
