Oklahoma fired defensive coordinator Mike Stoops on Monday after the Sooners struggled to stop Texas during their first loss of the season.
Ruffin McNeill, the assistant head coach and defensive tackles coach, will be the defensive coordinator for the rest of the season.
The No. 11 Sooners (5-1) lost 48-45 on Saturday, allowing 501 yards to the Longhorns in Dallas.
“More of a gut feeling that this was the appropriate response right now, that we, more than anything, needed a different voice in that room,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said during a conference call.
McNeill was defensive coordinator at UNLV from 1997 to 1998, and at Fresno State in 1999.