Why CBs Coach LaMar Morgan is Embracing Oklahoma’s ‘Family’ Culture

NORMAN — On both a personal and a professional level, Oklahoma is a dream job for LaMar Morgan.

Morgan joined OU’s staff in January as the Sooners’ new cornerbacks coach, replacing Jay Valai. He previously served in the same role at Michigan, leading the Wolverines’ cornerbacks during the 2024 and 2024 seasons.

The moment he stepped on campus, Morgan knew that he made the right decision to depart Ann Arbor in favor of Norman.

“The most important thing is, as a coach, you want to surround yourself with like minded people that have been there and done that,” Morgan said. “As a coach, you always want to grow.”

Morgan is 40 years old. And like many other young coaches, his career has taken him across the country.

Prior to his time as the Wolverines’ cornerbacks coach, he spent time on the staffs at Vanderbilt, Western Carolina, Louisiana-Monroe, Houston and Louisiana-Lafayette.

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The cornerbacks coach has been married to his wife, Jazen, for 12 years, and the couple has four kids together. Morgan revealed that his family has moved nine times during their 12 years of marriage.

Early into his interview process at Oklahoma, Morgan wanted to ensure that he could prioritize both his professional life and his family life.

And in his first conversation with OU coach Brent Venables, Morgan knew that he’d have that opportunity, if offered the job.

“He has a heart of alignment,” Morgan said. “This guy cares about his players, cares about our families.”

Venables took it one step further to prove that he cared about the person that he planned to hire, not just the coach.

When Venables decided that Morgan was the right fit for the open cornerbacks coach role, he called Jazen and told her that LaMar would be offered the job. Venables then relayed the message to Morgan, who promptly accepted the offer.

Morgan already wanted the job, and Venables’ gesture of calling his wife first affirmed his desire to join OU’s defensive staff.

“It was a pretty cool deal,” Morgan said. “My wife said she had never felt that before. It was very important to her.”

Morgan is a native of Copperas Cove, TX. And with much of his family still residing in the Lone Star State, it will be easier for his loved ones to visit him, his wife and his children more regularly than they did at Michigan.

“It’s really important to me,” Morgan said.

The welcoming nature of Oklahoma’s coaching staff and the proximity to home are only part of the reason why Morgan decided that the move was the right one. He also joined a defense that has improved every year since Venables’ arrival in 2022.

In 2025, the Sooners allowed 15.5 points per game, which ranked seventh nationally and first in the SEC. OU also gave up just 272.5 yards per contest, which also led the conference.

Defense is not optional in Norman. And Morgan is already doing what he can to ensure that the unit is even stronger in 2026.

“The biggest for me with Oklahoma is just the tradition here, the style of defense they have," Morgan said. “They had a lot of success, but it was not enough. There’s a hunger for more; no one's ever satisfied.”

As for the position group that Morgan has inherited, it is in good shape.

The Sooners retained Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory — who earned Freshman All-American honors in back-to-back years, respectively — after the 2025 season, as well as depth pieces like Jacobe Johnson and Trystan Haynes. Oklahoma also added cornerbacks Prince Ijioma and Dakoda Fields from the transfer portal.

Now several weeks from hiring Morgan, Venables still feels like he found the right guy to lead the position group.

“He wanted to be in this system and have an opportunity to be in that staff room with the coaches that we have and then was low maintenance in the whole process,” Venables said. “He’s been fantastic with our guys up to this point.”

The foundation is already built for Morgan to have success during his first year on OU’s defensive staff.

Morgan has made it a priority to build strong relationships with Venables and the Sooners’ other defensive coaches during his first couple of months in Norman — and he believes that will help the unit reach its peak efficiency by the time fall camp rolls around.

“People talk about that word brotherhood. It’s easy to say, harder to do,” Morgan said. “The environment here is winning together, pulling the rope in the same direction. To me, that’s the most important thing that I noticed here.”