When a blue blood program like Oklahoma is searching for new hires, names from top places all over the nation begin to circulate as potential options. Almost no stone is left unturned, and nearly no one is off limits for the Sooners – especially as they’re in a pivotal moment, needing to withhold their reputation as a powerhouse of college football in the top conference.
When former co-defensive coordinator Zac Alley departed for West Virginia one day after OU’s bowl game loss to Navy on Dec. 27, it was clear that new faces would come to Norman soon. However, no one expected the hiring of a 34 year old from Utah State.
Nate Dreiling’s career in college football began in 2010 at Pittsburg State University, around three hours from where he attended high school in Hutchinson, Kansas. Coming off a successful high school career, Dreiling played his first season for the Gorillas in 2010 when he started all 12 games and led NCAA Division II in tackles. His time at Pittsburg State proved instrumental in his defensive understanding, as he logged 15 tackles in the Division II national championship game and achieved the title of Division II national defensive player of the year in 2011.
Four years after graduating, Dreiling decided to begin a coaching career, following in his father’s footsteps.
Dreiling’s father, Randy, has won 10 5A state championships in Kansas, the most since the playoff era began in 1969. Dreiling carried on the Kansas coaching legacy by returning to his alma mater in 2017. One successful season coaching the safeties led to his promotion to defensive coordinator, the first of many moves up the totem pole for the young coach.
He made the jump to Division I staff in 2020 when he joined then-head coach Mario Cristobal at Oregon as a defensive analyst. The Ducks won the Pac-12 conference title that year, and Dreiling’s continued experience made him a candidate for a promotion. In 2022, he was named defensive coordinator at New Mexico State University. Within his first season, the Aggies’ national ranking in total defense jumped from 127th to 29th. The next season, they boasted the fifth-ranked red zone defense. That kind of improvement can be traced to Dreiling’s precision-mentality on defense.
“He takes the time to go over the details with his players,” said Bobby McMillen, who coached inside linebackers at New Mexico State from 2022-2023.
“He’s very detail-minded. Down to the most minute movements, he wants every detail to be clear.”
After two seasons with the Aggies, Dreiling departed for the defensive coordinator position at Utah State University. McMillen decided to come with him.
“He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met – as a father, as a husband to his wife, as a coach,” McMillen said.
Before his lone season at Utah State, Dreiling was promoted to interim head coach, another nod to his leadership potential. Dreiling and McMillen were announced as new hires on the staff in February 2024. Just five months later, Utah State dismissed head coach Blake Anderson after he was “personally investigating” the circumstances of a player’s arrest, as reported by ESPN.
Amidst the dramatic coaching changes, Dreiling was announced as interim head coach before stepping foot on the sidelines for the Aggies. The program seemingly had enough trust in its new defensive coordinator to hand him the reins. This caught Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables’ attention and was one of the reasons for his decision to hire Dreiling, he revealed in a press conference in March.
“He took a coordinator job at Utah State and was thrown into the fire as interim head coach when (it) let (its) head coach go last July … It also told me a lot,” Venables said. “You just got there, (and) they named you as their interim head coach. You obviously made an impact in some shape, form or fashion.
“It’s not surprising. He’s an alpha. That’s who I would say Nate Dreiling is.”
'It’s very aggressive, very competitive'
Venables matched his intensity, hiring Dreiling less than a month after he was announced as Arkansas State’s new defensive coordinator. Venables is known for the passion he brings to the defense, and around the time of Dreiling’s hiring, it was announced that Venables would resume play calling duties for the defense in 2025.
But it appears that there will be no drop-off in passion at the position coaching level.
“He’s competitive as all get out,” Ced Douglas, the defensive run game coordinator and defensive line coach at Utah State in 2024, said. “He’s a truly competitive guy, and it kind of goes back to, I’m sure, the way he played.”
Douglas and Dreiling played Division II football at the same time, with Dreiling’s national championship win coming against the champion of Douglas’ league, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. At Utah State, Douglas was able to observe Dreiling’s defensive tactics up close.
“I’m just familiar with how he is … his mentality, the way he talks to the guys is kind of how he coaches,” Douglas said. “It’s very aggressive, very competitive.”
The defense at Utah State in 2024 ranked in the top 50 nationally in sacks and interceptions, a credit to Dreiling’s work with the team. Though he was acting as head coach, he didn’t neglect the importance of details on defense.
“Something I carried with me … was that every day, we talked about block destruction,” Douglas said. “One of the biggest focal points of playing good defense is how we get on and off of blocks. Being a (defensive line) coach, obviously I talk about it ad nauseum.
“But just the way he approached it and highlighted it and praised it from a unit to a team perspective as a coordinator, it really resonated with me.”
That perspective that he’s carried from smaller defensive analyst roles to the comprehensive view of a head coach has shaped Dreiling’s abilities and lended him a full resume in less than 10 years of coaching. The quality, rather than quantity, of that resume is what led to him joining the Sooners.
“One of the most attractive qualities there was about Nate Dreiling, he’s just a winner,” Venables said in a press conference. “Everything he’s done, he’s won.”
'It’s a dream come true'
With one spring period at OU under his belt, Dreiling’s effect has been felt almost immediately.
“He pours his all into us,” redshirt junior linebacker Kip Lewis said at a media availability. “That’s what I love about him. You’ll go to war with somebody who stands up for you and gives you everything that he’s got.
“He’s very detailed. He demands the best out of us. That’s really what you come to Oklahoma to do is be the best.”
After spring football concluded with Oklahoma’s Crimson Combine on April 12, Dreiling had his first appearance in front of the media. As he approached the podium, it was announced that he’d go straight to taking questions from media members. However, he quickly spoke up, announcing that he’d like to make an opening statement instead.
“First off, I’m very humbled to be here,” Dreiling said. “This is one of the premiere programs in all of college football. I get to coach linebackers at it, in probably one of the best linebacker-friendly schemes with coach Venables.
“Add in the fact that I’m three hours from home, it’s a dream come true.”
Dreiling repeatedly stressed his appreciation for being at OU, explaining how quickly the hiring process went.
“I just took the (defensive coordinator) job at (Arkansas) State, and coach (Venables) called three or four days before it became official, asked if I was interested and all that stuff,” Dreiling said. “I told him I didn’t really care what the pay was, what the title was, just let me know, and I’ll get the shortest route to Norman that I can.”
Upon the initial announcement of Dreiling’s hiring back in February, questions rolled in around social media. Despite the fact OU had hired a linebackers coach with seasons of experience as a defensive coordinator, some felt that he wasn’t battle-tested enough to make an impact on an SEC defense. He isn’t a household name. His most recent coaching years weren’t at Power 5 schools.
However, those close to him didn’t bat an eye at the idea of him coaching at a program like Oklahoma.
‘The difference between these schools is the resources and the players they have,” Douglas said. “But the coaching, I’m sorry, I just don’t see it that way. They’re doing the same thing we’re doing; we’ve just got different pieces to do it with.
“Especially coaching a position (Dreiling) played at a very high level, he’s ready to go.”
Venables seems to agree with that sentiment, praising Dreiling for what he's been able to accomplish at smaller schools.
"I'm attracted to (the fact that) he came from programs where he had to figure out how to do more with less," Venables said at a press conference.
For months, coaches from schools Dreiling has left his mark at and Oklahoma have sung his praises. Soon, in an important second season in their new conference, the Sooners will show Dreiling’s results on the inside linebackers unit -- a talented unit that will be held to a high standard of productivity.
“I have no doubt that (Dreiling) is bringing the best to Brent Venables and Norman,” McMillen said. “I’ve seen the Twitter-hands being like, ‘Who is this guy?’ I know he’s young, and I know it may not look like it right now.
“But I guarantee that in a year from now, people are going to be thanking God that coach Dreiling is coaching their linebackers.”
This story was edited by Josh McDaniel.
