ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Ted Roof has been named to the same position at the University of Central Florida, Knights coach Gus Malzahn announced Wednesday.
UCF football adds Ted Roof as defensive coordinator after spending the last two seasons in the role at Oklahoma. Addison Williams will remain as co-defensive coordinator and also serve as associate head coach #UCF
— Danielle Stein (@Danielle_Stein9) January 17, 2024
The Knights’ defensive coordinator last season was Addison Williams. His title has shifted to associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator, UCF said in an announcement.
“I’m looking forward to working with Ted again after winning a national championship together at Auburn,” Malzahn said in a statement released by UCF. “He’s a three-time Broyles Award nominee and has had the No. 1 ranked rush defense in the conference at three different schools.”
Malzahn was offensive coordinator and Roof was defensive coordinator at Auburn when the Tigers won the 2010 college football national championship.
Oklahoma dismissed Roof as defensive coordinator earlier this month, and Sooners coach Brett Venables said in a statement released by the university that Roof declined to remain on the staff in another role. Roof also had coached the linebackers at Oklahoma.
This season, Roof’s second as the Sooners’ defensive coordinator, Oklahoma ranked second nationally with 20 interceptions and sixth in takeaways with 26. Oklahoma limited its first five opponents in 2023 to 20 or fewer points before it defeated Texas 34-30.
After edging UCF 30-29 on Oct. 21, Oklahoma lost to Kansas and Oklahoma State, and the Sooners gave up 520 yards in a 69-45 win over TCU in the regular-season finale.
Roof’s final game was a 38-24 loss to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita passed for 354 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, Roof’s defense at Oklahoma ranked sixth in the Big 12, giving up an average of 389.4 yards of total offense per game. It was third in rushing defense, giving up an average of 138.6 yards per game and 10th in passing offense at 250.8 yards per game.
In contrast, UCF ranked eighth in total defense in the Big 12, giving up an average of 391 yards per game. The Knights were last in the conference, 14th, in rushing defense — allowing an average of 194.3 yards per game but first in pass defense with an average of 196.7 yards.
Roof has more than 30 years of coaching experience in Power 5 programs. During his career, his teams have had the best conference record in rushing defense in three programs, were first in the NCAA in defensive touchdowns in 2019, led the NCAA in red-zone defense in 2012 and set an NCAA record for takeaways per possession (26.8%) in 2014.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Spectrum Sports Staff
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