Brent Venables didn’t waste much time finding his next defensive backs coach-and he didn’t aim low, either. According to The Oklahoma Breakdown podcast, Oklahoma is expected to hire LaMar Morgan, who most recently served as Michigan’s defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator, to fill the vacancy left by Jay Valai. And make no mistake: Morgan is stepping into a role with high expectations, both because of who he's replacing and what he's inheriting.
Valai’s departure to the Buffalo Bills left some big shoes to fill in Norman. He was more than just a position coach-he was a culture guy, a player favorite, and a key part of the Sooners’ defensive identity over his four-year run. But Morgan brings a résumé that suggests he’s more than capable of keeping the standard high-and maybe even raising it.
Morgan comes to Oklahoma with 14 years of college coaching experience under his belt. His last two seasons were spent in Ann Arbor, where he worked with a Michigan secondary that played a key role in the Wolverines’ recent defensive resurgence.
Before that, he was the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Louisiana Lafayette, his alma mater, where he once roamed the field as a safety. His coaching journey has also included stops at Vanderbilt, Houston, Louisiana Monroe, and Western Carolina, where he’s worked with both corners and safeties.
This isn’t just a lateral move for Morgan-it’s a high-profile opportunity with a program transitioning into the SEC and looking to cement itself as a defensive force. And it sounds like he was a wanted man.
According to The Oklahoma Breakdown, Morgan was on the radar for multiple NFL and college programs, especially after Michigan’s coaching shake-up this offseason. The Wolverines parted ways with Sherrone Moore and brought in longtime Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, opening the door for Morgan to make the move south.
There’s also a bit of poetic symmetry here: Michigan visited Norman in 2025 and took a loss. Now, in 2026, Oklahoma will travel to Ann Arbor, and Morgan will get an early shot at facing his former team from the opposite sideline.
Of course, with a high-profile job comes high expectations. Valai’s tenure set a bar, and Morgan will be measured against it from day one.
But he won’t be starting from scratch. The Sooners return two starting cornerbacks in Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory, plus standout strong safety Peyton Bowen.
That trio gives Morgan a solid foundation to build on-and a real chance to hit the ground running.
The flip side? With that much returning talent, the expectation isn’t just to maintain the status quo.
It’s to elevate it. Oklahoma’s secondary played a key role in the team's defensive growth under Valai, and now it’ll be up to Morgan to keep that momentum going as the Sooners navigate life in the SEC.
LaMar Morgan has the credentials. Now he gets the opportunity. And with a talented group already in place, the challenge won’t be finding success-it’ll be sustaining and expanding it.