Brent Venables loses irreplaceable assistant coach to the Chiefs

The Oklahoma Sooners likely thought they had their coaching staff and roster in place heading into the 2026 college football season. Instead, like many other programs are finding out, when the NFL comes calling for assistant coaches, it's almost impossible to turn down. It's easy to see most coaches taking the jump, but when a player is serving as an assistant at their alma mater, it's even harder to see them leaving for the same job.

DeMarco Murray leaves Oklahoma for the Chiefs

On Wednesday Night, Oklahoma's worst fears came true as the Kansas City Chiefs hired away Running Backs Coach DeMarco Murray.

DeMarco Murray began his career in 2019 as the running backs coach on Kevin Sumlin's staff at Arizona. One year later, Murray returned to Norman in the same role, joining the program where he dominated as a running back himself.

From 2007 through 2010, Murray rushed for 3,685 yards and 50 touchdowns, adding 1,571 yards and 13 scores as a receiver. Murray finished his career as Oklahoma's All-Time leader in touchdowns, All-Purpose Yards, kickoff return average, receiving yards as a running back, and he was Oklahoma's All-Time leader in points until 2014.

As a coach, DeMarco Murray has coached some star running backs with Rhamondre Stevenson, Kennedy Brooks, and Eric Gray all emerging as stars under his leadership.

Where Oklahoma will hurt the most is with what Murray meant to the program, and how it helped on the recruiting trail. During his tenure, Murray signed 7 4-star recruits while he currently holds a commitment from highly touted 2028 recruit Micah Rhodes who ranks as the top running back in the class according to 24/7 Sports.

The Sooners are lucky that the move comes after the Transfer Portal is closed as it'll keep players from transferring out. Brent Venables now needs to look elsewhere for someone to fill the void ahead of Spring practice, and in this crucial recruiting period.