Nate Dreiling is on the move again.
The former interim head coach of the Utah State Aggies — as recently as Dec. 5 — is moving on from Arkansas State less than a month after accepting the defensive coordinator position at the Sun Belt school.
Oklahoma announced Saturday that Dreiling has been hired as the Sooners' inside linebackers coach — OU also announced the hire of former Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin as outside linebackers coach.
“I have reflected on all facets of our program over the past several weeks,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said in a statement. “Since I was hired as head coach, we have carefully assembled the defensive personnel and scheme that is suited to compete at the highest level, and we’ve built a deep and talented roster ready for the moment. I have high expectations for our program and will do everything in my power to achieve our goals for our players. To that end, I will take over defensive play-calling responsibilities for the 2025 season.
“Adding Nate and Wes to our team, with their extensive and diverse experience, simply adds to my expectations and excitement for our defensive unit. I’m energized by the prospect of getting back into play-calling and for the continued momentum I see us gaining with the strategic moves we’re making on both sides of the ball. The addition of Ben Arbuckle as a young, innovative and proven offensive coordinator, as well as the talented players we’ve added via the transfer portal, have me equally excited about the immediate future of our offense.”
The move sends Dreiling back to a power conference program for the first time since he worked as a defensive analyst under Mario Cristobal at Oregon in 2020.
After his stint with the Ducks, Dreiling was the defensive run game coordinator/inside linebackers at Southeast Missouri State for a season, his last time as a position coach.
For the last three years, Dreiling has been a defensive coordinator at New Mexico State and then Utah State.
His tenure at Utah State was defined by considerable upheaval and tumult. Dreiling was named the interim head coach of the Aggies program in July after USU terminated then-head coach Blake Anderson.
Shortly after that, USU defensive back Andre Seldon Jr. drowned after having followed Dreiling from NMSU to Utah State as a transfer.
During the 2024 season, the Aggies dealt with numerous injuries to key starters — especially on defense — and had arguably the most difficult schedule in program history with games against two Power Four teams in USC and Utah as well as Washington State, Boise State and UNLV.
Utah State finished the 2024 season 4-8 overall, the program’s worst full 12-game season since 2016. Dreiling was officially replaced as interim head coach of the Aggies when USU announced the hire of Bronco Mendenhall on Dec. 6.
Formerly a star Division II linebacker at Pittsburg State, Dreiling is now back to coaching the position he is most familiar with, only this time at the highest level of football he has coached at yet during his decade-plus career.
