Oklahoma announced that assistant head coach and defensive tackles coach Ruffin McNeill will replace Mike Stoops as the team's defensive coordinator for the rest of the season.

"I have great respect for Mike (Stoops)," head coach Lincoln Riley said in a statement. "He's a quality football coach, great man, and a close friend. It became time for a change in our program and that happens sometimes in football, but we cannot lose sight of the accomplishments Mike had at Oklahoma. He was responsible for a lot of success and deserves the gratitude of everyone associated with Sooner football, not only for his role in the winning, but for coaching with integrity."

Reports surfaced late Sunday that Stoops had been fired after a 48-45 loss to Texas, allowing the most points in the history of the Red River Showdown.

McNeill joined the Sooners in 2017 after spending the 2016 season at Virginia as an assistant. He was the head coach at East Carolina from 2010-2015.