Oklahoma Sooners lose defensive analyst to fellow SEC foe, per report
Per report, OU is losing a defensive analyst to another school in the SEC.
The Oklahoma Sooners have seen a number of changes to their coaching staff since last season ended, and OU lost another coach on Tuesday, this one to an SEC foe. According to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz , defensive analyst Trent Simpson has been hired by the Alabama Crimson Tide as the team's new assistant defensive line coach. Simpson spent four seasons at OU, serving as a defensive analyst for the last three years.
Alabama is hiring Oklahoma’s Trent Simpson as an assistant defensive line coach, a source tells @CBSSports . Worked at Oklahoma the last four years, including the last three as an analyst. pic.
twitter. com/E5K6inmzFf — Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) March 24, 2026 As head coach Brent Venables has rebuilt the defense in Norman over the last four years, Simpson has been with the program every step of the way. Losing him to Alabama, a team the Sooners will have to deal with in the SEC race each and every year, is a tough blow.
OU's stable of analysts is still sturdy on the defensive side of the ball. Assistant secondary coach/senior defensive analyst Xavier Brewer is the headliner of the group, and he's joined by assistant edges coach Aaron Cheatwood ( a new hire ), and defensive analysts Rufus Alexander, Jeremiah Criddell, James Skalski, and another new hire in DeShawn Williams. On special teams, Stephen Copeland will be a special teams analyst this year.