How 'Humbled' Oklahoma Coach Wes Goodwin's Journey Makes Him 'Fired Up' for 2025

NORMAN — Wes Goodwin had a chance to join Brent Venables’ Oklahoma staff back in 2022.

But life’s timing doesn’t always make for a linear journey.

“Yeah, I never knew how it would all shake out,” Goodwin said. “You know, if I hadn't got the opportunity at Clemson to be the coordinator, most definitely, I would have loved to have joined him here. So it worked out for me to take over at Clemson and now it's worked out for me to join the program here, and can't tell you how excited and fired up I am to be here.”

Now that he has finally joined Venables’ staff in Norman, Goodwin is a better coach because of his three years in charge of Dabo Swinney’s defense.

“We had some really cool moments winning two ACC championships out of the three years and going to the College Football Playoff (last) year and winning the Orange Bowl,” Goodwin said Saturday after the Crimson Combine spring finale — basically his introduction to Sooner Nation.

A native of Grove Hill, AL, Goodwin and his wife Jennalee have two children.

Goodwin, 40, is technically a defensive analyst at OU. Under Venables, that means he’s an assistant linebacker coach. On Venables’ duty roster, he coaches the Sooners’ cheetah linebackers.

“Great. Smart dude,” said Oklahoma State transfer Kendal Daniels. “He’s funny. He’s my guy. Just meeting with him, talking with him — he’s been a part of great defenses. Just being able to talk to him and coach Brent Venables and Clemson and seeing all the guys they coached, it’s been crazy.”

Kendel Dolby is another OU cheetah who has been impressed with Goodwin’s contributions as the position coach.

“I just think experience,” Dolby said. “Him and Coach V have coached together before, so he knows what Coach V wants as a coach, so knowing what Coach V wants, he's applying it to us and feeding it to us and telling us what we need to do to make sure we can be the best we can be on that field.”

Goodwin is said to have a photographic memory and uncanny ability to recall. He’ll be a valuable asset to the OU defense for that skill, but he brings other abilities, too — things he’s cultivated over almost two decades in coaching, such as the three years he spent working for the Arizona Cardinals as an assistant to former head coach Bruce Arians.

“BA is such a great leader,” Goodwin said. “ … Coaching is all about relationships and pouring into guys and if you can help guys get better and learn and grow and also build the respect factor between coach and player. Coaching NFL guys (is) no different than coaching college guys. It's all about building credibility and help those guys on a daily basis get better.”

Goodwin expressed “how humbled and honored I am to be part of the Oklahoma program,” where he’s undergoing a bit of a career restart. Climbing the coaching ladder and getting to a position like defensive coordinator at a program like Clemson is a steady, upward arc. That’s the jumping off point for a lot of up-and-coming head coaches.

Going from being Swinney’s first lieutenant to being Venables’ outside linebackers coach is a big step down. But it’s also an opportunity that Goodwin is grateful to have.

Goodwin was Venables’ defensive analyst from 2012-14 and was a Clemson position coach from 2018-2021. Swinney promoted him to DC when Venables returned to OU following the 2021 season.

But Goodwin was fired on Jan. 6 after Clemson allowed 374 yards per game, a drop from No. 8 nationally in 2023 to No. 69 last season. That included 160 rushing yards per game, which ranked 85th in the nation. After a decade of defensive dominance under Venables, the Tigers ranked 42nd in scoring defense and 54th in passing yards allowed (213.5) in 2024.

“You live your life under a microscope in those type of positions,” Goodwin said.

Venables prefers to see the positives during Goodwin's tenure running the Clemson defense — of which there were plenty.

“Incredibly highly qualified, and he did a fantastic job while he was at Clemson," Venables said. "Every year they had different things that they achieved. ... I think eight of the nine linebackers that he coached over those three years were all ACC selections. Barrett Carter and Jeremiah Trotter, both of them were multi-year first-team All-Americans and Butkus Award finalists. Sammy Brown was the national freshman of the year. Trenton Simpson got drafted in the second or third round to the Baltimore Ravens.

“Just did a fantastic job. Led the nation in 2023 in defensive touchdowns. They led the nation in turnovers as well. In 2022, they were second in the country in sacks with 44 sacks. They were top 10 in the country, eight overall, in 2023 as the defensive coordinator in total defense. In '22, led the country in tackles for loss, amidst many other things.”

“A coach that’s won a national championship and coached in several conference championships as well, and somebody that I’m just thrilled to have. We built a lot of great defenses together and won a bunch of games together. He’s plugged right in with the rest of our staff."

Goodwin learned many life lessons coaching under guys like Arians and Swinney and Venables — people for whom character counts more than statistics. He uses those lessons all the time, puts them to work in his coaching career as well as his daily life.

“Always be true to yourself and who you are," Goodwin said. "It's already hard enough being yourself. Don't try to be someone else. So that's the biggest thing. Blocking out the outside noise and just focusing on the task at hand are probably the two main things that I took away from it, and just, you know, keep your your circle small. There's only so many people in this profession that you can truly trust. So keep your your circle small.”

Venables is definitely in Goodwin’s small circle — and has been for a while now. For Goodwin, Venables has become a true mentor, a role model for how to coach football and how to treat people.

“At the core, I think he's still the same person,” Goodwin said. Just a fiery, passionate, genuine guy who truly loves coaching ball and pouring into his guys on a daily basis. Just watching him when he first got to Clemson, it took about three years. 2014 was kind of our first year where we really made a splash. Really just been fun to watch him grow. Obviously he was there for 10 years. No one’s a better recruiter. No one's gonna outwork him more. No one's a better teacher and coach of defensive football, I believe, in this country. Just honored to work with him on a daily basis from that standpoint.

"It's been really cool to see him as a head coach. Obviously seeing him in our room as a defensive coordinator every day. … Every day is a new challenge. I've grown tremendously in the two months I've been here, from fundamental football to scheme to whatever.”