Alabama Cornerbacks Coach Could Be Headed To Oklahoma After Seaso

The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide is set to play in the national championship game next Monday night in Indianapolis, Indiana. With the end of the season upon us and the coaching causal in full swing it appears the Tide will be losing an assistant coach.

According to Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports, Alabama's cornerbacks coach Jay Valai is being targeted by Oklahoma for the same position. Oklahoma lost Lincoln Riley to Southern Cal and replaced him with former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables.

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The cornerback position has been a bit en flux this season for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Starters Josh Jobe and Jalyn Armour-Davis both battled injuries throughout the season and the Tide's had to turn to freshman Kool-Aid McKinstry and transfer Khyree Jackson. Additionally, Alabama lost cornerback Marcus Banks to the transfer portal, limiting the options in the defensive backfield.

Although Alabama corners picked off seven passes this season, McKinstry was the only corner earning postseason honors being named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Valai played defensive back for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2007-10 and served as the captain for the Badgers' 2010 Rose Bowl team. While in college he totaled 153 tackles, forced four fumbles and secured two interceptions in 48 career games.

Before getting into coaching, Valai ran a sports performance training facility working with high school, NBA and NFL athletes. He ran the training facility for six years before becoming a defensive quality control coach for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2016.

Valai spent the 2018 season as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs before becoming a full fledge position coach at Rutgers. He left the Scarlett Knights after one season and became corners coach at Texas.

His departure would be the first of the on-field coaches to depart in this current offseason cycle.