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NORMAN — Oklahoma fans have been waiting weeks to see what new blood Bob Stoops would add to his staff this offseason. And the official news came on Monday.

Stoops confirmed that Kerry Cooks and Dennis Simmons have joined the OU coaching staff, effective immediately.

He also announced some changes within the ranks among his existing assistants.

Most notable in that group was the fact that co-defensive coordinator Mike Stoops will coach outside linebackers to allow Cooks to coach the entire secondary, and that longtime running backs coach Cale Gundy will coach inside receivers and add “assistant head coach” to his job title.

Simmons will coach outside receivers, and tight ends coach/special teams coordinator Jay Boulware will now coach running backs.

“I feel organizing our coaches in this manner will best utilize the talents of both the new and returning members of our staff,” Stoops said in a news release. “Each assistant coach has clearly defined roles, responsibilities and expectations.”

The staff announcements came hours after OU announced that spring football practices would begin on March 7.

Cooks spent the past five years at Notre Dame, while Simmons has been coaching outside receivers under Mike Leach the past three seasons at Washington State.

Tim Kish — who has been on OU’s staff as linebackers coach the last three years — will now focus on inside linebackers.

Stoops’ finalized coaching staff comes a little more than a month after he announced that he’d fired co-offensive coordinators Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell, who coached quarterbacks and receivers, respectively.

Longtime assistant coach Bobby Jack Wright — who coached cornerbacks — retired a week after that.

Stoops hired Lincoln Riley from East Carolina to replace Heupel as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The news about Simmons and Cooks began to leak out last week, when both announced their hirings at Oklahoma.

Defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery was promoted to co-defensive coordinator last month, so the only member of the coaching staff to return next season with his exact same title is offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh.

*Credit NewsOK.com