Regretfully, Oklahoma sooners DC Ted Roof has declared his retirement date.
Ted Roof has been doing this for over thirty years, and he still doesn’t get bored of it.
Ahead of Oklahoma‘s 2023 season finale in the Alamo Bowl this week, the defensive coordinator for the Sooners, who has one year left on his three-year contract, talked about his future. The sixty-year-old assistant coach has no intention of quitting the sport that has dominated over forty years of his career as a coach and player.
Before Oklahoma lost to Arizona 38–24, Roof declared in San Antonio that he enjoyed the grind. “I’ll stop doing it when I stop loving it.” I’ll find another activity to do. However, I don’t think that will occur anytime soon.
Roof, who turned 60 on December 11—the day that standout linebacker Danny Stutsman declared he would return for his senior season—has just finished his second season working under Brent Venables as Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator.
Beginning as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 1987, it has been the most recent stop in a nomadic coaching career that has included 17 stops total. The longest of these was a five-year tenure as defensive coordinator at his alma mater, Georgia Tech (2013–17).
Oklahoma made improvements on the defensive end during Roof’s second season as head coach, working with Venables, who decided to take a more hands-on role in the team’s defense. Even though the Sooners’ defense had some inconsistencies this season, such as in the team’s three losses to Kansas, Oklahoma State, and Arizona, it was far more formidable than Venables had predicted in the spring.
As of Saturday’s bowl games, Oklahoma’s point differential dropped from 30 points per game (ranked 99th nationally) in 2022 to 23.5 points per game this autumn (ranked 49th). The Sooners were 14th in the country in third-down defense (31.12% opponent conversion rate) compared to 88th last year (40.87%), and 27th in red-zone touchdown defense (allowing touchdowns on just 52.38% of opponent trips inside the 20) compared to 104th last year (67.24%). This was largely due to significant improvements in situational defense.
Additionally, Oklahoma’s defense improved year over year, finishing 18th in pass efficiency defense (118.62) after placing 59th (128.2) in that category the previous year. Additionally, the defense allowed just 6.9 yards per pass attempt (42nd), a slight improvement over Year 1 (7.1 yards per attempt; 58th). Similarly, in the run game, limiting the opposition to half a yard less per try (3.91 yards per carry in 2023 versus 4.48 yards per carry in 2022).
All of those factors combined to help the Sooners improve their per-play defense, which ranks 55th this season with 5.41 yards per play compared to 82nd last season with 5.75 yards per play. The team demonstrated opportunism as well, placing sixth with 26 takeaways after placing 37th (21) the previous season.
Roof declared, “I adore everything about coaching.” “I adore the grind.” I adore the kind of people I hang out with. I adore working somewhere where the university and the head coach share my basic beliefs. The players I get to coach and the team I work with. being at the University of Oklahoma, for example. When those expectations are high, I adore it. I’m thrilled to be involved in that.
