Nate Dreiling appointed as Oklahoma’s LB coach, Wes Goodwin added as defensive analyst
Oklahoma’s head coach filled his on-field opening as expected on Saturday by hiring new Arkansas State defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling coach the Sooners’ linebackers.
Dreiling, 34, was hired by Arkansas State’s Butch Jones on Jan. 3 after spending 2024 as interim head coach at Utah State, where the Aggies went 4-8 last season.
Venables also hired a familiar face: Wes Goodwin, who coached defense at Clemson under Venables and replaced Venables as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator in 2022 when Venables took the reins at Oklahoma, will join the OU staff as a defensive analyst.
As part of the staff additions, Venables will now call defensive signals and coordinate the OU defense this season. In his first three years back in Norman following a successful run as Bob Stoops’ top lieutenant, Venables’ teams have compiled a 22-17 overall record, including the program’s first losing seasons (6-7 in 2022 and again in 2024) in a generation.
“I have reflected on all facets of our program over the past several weeks,” said Venables. “Since I was hired as head coach, we have carefully assembled the defensive personnel and scheme that is suited to compete at the highest level, and we’ve built a deep and talented roster ready for the moment. I have high expectations for our program and will do everything in my power to achieve our goals for our players. To that end, I will take over defensive play-calling responsibilities for the 2025 season.
“Adding Nate and Wes to our team, with their extensive and diverse experience, simply adds to my expectations and excitement for our defensive unit. I’m energized by the prospect of getting back into play-calling and for the continued momentum I see us gaining with the strategic moves we’re making on both sides of the ball. The addition of Ben Arbuckle as a young, innovative and proven offensive coordinator, as well as the talented players we’ve added via the transfer portal, have me equally excited about the immediate future of our offense.”
Venables has been looking for a defensive coordinator ever since Zac Alley quit on Dec. 29 to take the DC job at West Virginia following OU’s loss to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. Alley left after just one season under Venables, to whom he referred as a mentor and a “second dad.”
OU’s process was slowed as Venables tried to hire Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who helped lead the Buckeyes to the national championship, but Knowles ended up filling the DC opening at Penn State with a three-year contract for a reported $3.1 million a year. The Sooners open spring practice on March 6, just 33 days away.
Dreiling (pronounced dry-ling) hails from Hutchinson, KS, where he played for his father, Randy Dreiling, and helped the Salthawks win four Class 6A state championships.
Dreiling went on to play linebacker in college at Pittsburg State, KS, where he was a four-time All-American, the NCAA Division II Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and led the Gorillas to the D2 national championship. He spent time on preseason and practice squads with the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014 before playing for the Omaha Mammoths of the Fall Experimental Football League.
Dreiling began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Kansas, then went on to coach at Pitt State, Oregon, Southeast Missouri State and New Mexico State before Blake Anderson hired him at Utah State in 2024.
When Anderson was fired last summer, Dreiling was quickly elevated to interim head coach on July 2 and, at 33, was the youngest FBS head coach in the nation. During the season, he continued to serve as defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach.
This will be his 11th year as a college football coach, and he’s been a defensive coordinator for five of those years.
“A highly respected defensive mind in college football,” ASU’s Jones said when he hired Dreiling earlier this month. “His players are known for giving maximum effort and his defensive units have ranked among the best in the nation in multiple statistical categories.”
Dreiling and his wife Alex have three children.
Goodwin was originally thought to be a candidate to replace Alley, but an OU source said that was a non-starter for the program when Goodwin was fired by Clemson after coordinating the Tigers’ lowest-ranked defense in more than a decade.
Goodwin was Venables’ defensive analyst from 2012-14 and was a Clemson position coach from 2018-2021. Dabo Swinney promoted him to DC when Venables returned to OU following the 2021 season. He’s apparently renowned for his uncanny ability to see subtle details of formations and plays and for his ability to recall specific plays and apply that recognition in real time, much like Lincoln Riley does with recalling offensive plays.
But Goodwin was fired on Jan. 6 after Clemson allowed 374 yards per game, a drop from No. 8 nationally in 2023 to No. 69 last season. That included 160 rushing yards per game, which ranked 85th in the nation. After a decade of defensive dominance under Venables, the Tigers ranked 42nd in scoring defense and 54th in passing yards allowed (213.5) in 2024.
Goodwin, 40, began his coaching career as a student assistant in 2005 at Mississippi State. Goodwin got his undergrad in 2007 and his master’s in 2009, and spent the next six years at Clemson as a GA and a defensive analyst before working as assistant to the head coach under Bruce Arians for the Arizona Cardinals from 2015-17. He returned to Clemson in 2018 as a senior defensive assistant.
In 2022, Venables tried to bring him to Oklahoma, according to ESPN, but instead he stayed with Swinney at Clemson and was promoted to defensive coordinator.
“I was well aware of what the headlines would be when I named Wes Goodwin to be the D coordinator at Clemson,” Swinney said in 2022. “Everybody’s hitting Google like: ‘Who the heck is that?’ ”
