Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables announced his first two assistant coaching hires, naming Jeff Lebby as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and Ted Roof as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Venables also announced that he is retaining assistant coaches Cale Gundy, Bill Bedenbaugh, DeMarco Murray and Joe Jon Finley.

Interim head coach Bob Stoops will coach OU against Oregon in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.

Lebby, who served in the same capacity the last two seasons at Ole Miss, is a former Sooners offensive lineman and student assistant who graduated from OU in 2007. A defensive analyst at Clemson this season, Roof is a former head coach at Duke who won a national championship as defensive coordinator at Auburn in 2010.

“The more thoroughly we scouted Jeff, the more we became convinced that he has the character and ability we need and want at OU,” Venables said. “Jeff’s offenses and the players he’s coached are some of the most productive in the game. He’s going to bring a dynamic and diverse system that will take advantage of our playmakers. He’s one of the best when it comes to game planning and attacking defenses with his smart and aggressive style. His relentless and innovative approach will make us incredibly difficult to defend.”

Lebby has coordinated some of the top offenses in the country at Ole Miss (2020-21) and UCF (2019). His units the last three years have each ranked in the top four nationally in total offense and in the top 20 in scoring offense.

“My five years here at OU as a player and then student assistant under Coach (Bob) Stoops represent some of the best of my life,” Lebby said. “They provided me with a real love and respect for the game of football and laid the foundation for my understanding of what it means to be a successful coach.”

Ole Miss leads the SEC in total offense this year (506.7 ypg; ranks fourth nationally) and paced the league last season as well (555.5 ypg; ranked third nationally). Lebby’s 2020 unit also broke the SEC record for total offense in conference play (562.4 ypg), and he was named a semifinalist for the 2020 Broyles Award, which is presented to the nation’s top assistant coach. This season, the Rebels average 35.9 points (rank 18th nationally), 282.4 passing yards (21st) and 224.3 rushing yards (eighth) per game.

As quarterbacks coach, Lebby watched Ole Miss signal-caller Matt Corrall complete 70.9% of his passes in 2020 for 3,337 yards and 29 touchdowns in 10 games. He led the nation with his 384.9 yards of total offense per game and ranked fifth in the country with his 333.7 passing yards per contest. This season, Corrall is a Manning Award finalist and has thrown for 3,339 yards and 20 touchdowns against just four interceptions. He is the only player this year who has passed for over 3,000 yards and rushed for more than 500 (597; 11 TDs).

Prior to arriving in Oxford, Lebby spent two seasons at UCF under head coach and former Oklahoma All-America quarterback Josh Heupel. Lebby was the Knights’ quarterbacks coach in 2018 before being promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2019 season. In 2019, UCF set a school record and ranked second nationally in total offense (540.5 ypg) and ranked fifth in the country in scoring offense (43.4 ppg). The 2019 UCF offense was one of only two in the nation to average more than 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards per game. The other was OU.

As quarterbacks coach in 2018, Lebby helped lead the Knights to their second straight undefeated regular season and American Athletic Conference championship, as well as a berth in the Fiesta Bowl. He tutored McKenzie Milton, who threw for 2,662 yards and 25 touchdowns on his way to his second American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year honor and a sixth-place finish in Heisman Trophy voting.

Lebby spent the 2017 season as offensive coordinator at NAIA Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla., helping the Fire lead the nation in scoring offense (55.1 ppg) and rank third in total offense (557.4 ypg) while posting a 5-0 conference record and earning a berth in the national playoffs.

Prior to Southeastern, Lebby served in various capacities on the football staff at Baylor. He coached running backs from 2012-16 and was also the passing game coordinator and offensive recruiting coordinator for the 2015 and ’16 seasons. From 2008-11, he served as assistant director of football operations in charge of offensive quality control and was the program’s liaison to the NFL. In his five seasons as Baylor’s running backs coach, Lebby presided over five 1,000-yard rushers and was named FootballScoop’s 2013 Running Backs Coach of the Year.

Before moving into the college ranks, Lebby served as the offensive line/tight ends coach at Victoria (Texas) Memorial High School in 2007.

An offensive lineman and member of OU’s 2002 recruiting class, Lebby’s college playing career was cut short due to injury, but he transitioned to a role as a student assistant for the program for four years.

Roof, a 35-year collegiate coach, first became a defensive coordinator in 1995-96 at Massachusetts. He has led defenses at Georgia Tech, Duke, Minnesota, Auburn, UCF, Penn State, North Carolina State, Appalachian State and Vanderbilt during his career. He also served as head coach at Duke from 2004-07. In all, Roof has mentored 90 student-athletes who went on to the professional ranks.

“Ted is one of the most experienced coordinators and one of the best teachers in all of college football, and he’s done it in some of the premier conferences in the sport – the SEC, Big Ten and ACC,” Venables said. “He has a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience, most of which has been in the southeastern part of the country where he is very well connected. He’s been a head coach, is a fabulous recruiter and is one of the most revered players in Georgia Tech history from his time as a linebacker there.”

Prior to his season at Clemson, Roof was the defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt in 2020 and at Appalachian State in 2019, where he helped the Mountaineers to a 13-1 record and No. 19 final AP ranking, and guided a unit that led the nation in defensive touchdowns.

“For me, it is an honor and a privilege to serve on an OU football staff under the strong leadership of Coach Venables,” Roof said. “I have a tremendous amount of admiration and respect for him both as a man and a coach. He’s got a long track record of success, molding championship teams and maximizing student-athletes’ football abilities. But he gives them much more than that. He equips them with the tools and helps them develop the successful habits that will make them champions off the field for the rest of their lives. Brent gets that.”