After two years, the decision by Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley to bring on Alex Grinch as defensive coordinator looks like an unqualified success. The Sooners have cut their points allowed per game from 33.3 in 2018 to 21.7 in 2020. In the same period, OU went from 84th nationally to 15th in Defensive SP+, a measure of efficiency calculated by ESPN’s Bill Connelly.
That improvement came primarily using players recruited by the previous defensive coaches. Heading into year three, we’ll get a better idea of what Grinch can do with personnel brought in specifically with his scheme in mind.