UCF Hiring Former OU Defensive Coordinator Ted Roof
While Oklahoma makes the transition to the SEC, former defensive coordinator Ted Roof will be sticking around in the Big 12 as he’s landed the same position with the UCF Knights, according to reports.
Roof previously served as the Knights’ defensive coordinator in 2011 for a matter of weeks, just before leaving to take the same job at Penn State for the 2012 season.
He’s also familiar with UCF head coach Gus Malzahn, whom he worked with at Auburn from 2009 to 2011, and was part of the staff that took home a national championship in Cam Newton’s magical 2010 season.
“I’m looking forward to working with Ted again after winning a national championship together at Auburn,” Malzahn said in a UCF press release. “He’s a three-time Broyles Award nominee and has had the No. 1 ranked rush defense in the conference at three different schools.”
Roof has over 30 years of coaching experience at the Power Five level and has served as the defensive coordinator at 12 different Division I programs over the years. His latest stop at Oklahoma spanned two seasons after Brent Venables brought him to Norman to help install his defensive scheme.
After fielding historically bad defenses in recent years, and an equally bad unit in 2022, OU made vast improvements in 2023, ranking 46th in scoring defense (23.5 ppg) and 78th in total defense (389.4 ypg).
Additionally, Oklahoma ranked second nationally in interceptions (20), sixth in turnovers gained (26), seventh in tackles for loss per game (7.5), eighth in tackles for loss per game (7.3), and 14th in third-down conversion percentage defense (.311; up from .409 in 2022).
Oklahoma and Roof agreed to “mutually part ways” after the 2023 season, after which the Sooners secured Zac Alley as their new defense coordinator.
Roof is set to take over as the Knights’ primary defensive coordinator, while Addison Williams will now serve as co-defensive coordinator and associate head coach.
