Oklahoma CB Coach Jay Valai Expected to Take NFL Job, per Report

Jay Valai oversaw the Sooners' secondary for the first four seasons of Brent Venables' tenure as head coach.

Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Jay Valai speaks during a media day for the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) football team in Norman, Okla., Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

After four seasons at Oklahoma, cornerbacks coach Jay Valai is expected to make the jump to the professional ranks.

The NFL’s Buffalo Bills are expected to hire Valai as their new cornerbacks coach, per a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

More help in Buffalo:

🏈Giants inside LB coach John Egorugwu is returning to the Bills to do the same job for Buffalo, where he worked from 2018-2020.

🏈Bills also are hiring Oklahoma’s assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator Jay Valai as their cornerbacks coach.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 2, 2026

Valai arrived at OU in 2022, when the Sooners hired Brent Venables to be their new head coach after Lincoln Riley’s departure.

The position coach was instrumental to OU’s steady defensive improvement.

OU finished tied for seventh nationally with 17 interceptions in Valai’s first season on staff. That number rose to 20 in 2023, putting Oklahoma second nationally in the category.

The Sooners ranked No. 19 in total defense (318.2 yards allowed per game) in 2024 before allowing only 272.5 yards per game in 2025.

Prior to his four-year stint in Norman, Valai was the cornerbacks coach at Alabama in 2021 after previously holding the same position at Texas and Rutgers.

As a player, Valai was a standout at Wisconsin. He earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors twice and was a captain for the Badgers in 2010, when they made the Rose Bowl.

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Valai is now one of two assistants who have departed from Oklahoma after the 2025 season. The Sooners parted ways with tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley in December before they replaced him with NFL legend Jason Witten.

Valai will reportedly join a Bills squad that will be under new leadership in 2026 despite their recent success.

Buffalo fired longtime coach Sean McDermott after the 2025 season. The Bills went 12-5 in the regular season to finish second place in the AFC East. They defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs before falling to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round.

Valai has big shoes to fill in Buffalo, as the Bills led the NFL in passing defense (156.9 yards allowed per game) in 2025. He will reportedly replace Jahmile Addae, who will now be the Miami Dolphins’ cornerbacks coach.

Oklahoma is looking to build on its 2025 season in which it went 10-3 and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. The Sooners won four games in a row — against Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU — to finish the regular season and punch their ticket to the CFP.

OU will open its 2026 campaign against UTEP on Sept. 5.