Brent Venables is coming to his 4th season for the Sooners. And if reports are to be believed, this could well be his last. Since arriving in Norman, Oklahoma, it seems success has been quite elusive for the head coach. And with 2 losing seasons in 3, he will surely worry about an unfortunate phone call if he does not deliver the results. Yet, amongst all this chaos and uncertainty, Venables still has a plan.
We all know about his 2024 season, and the less we talk about it, the better. They couldn’t figure out their QB room as they experimented with both Jackson Arnold and Hawkins Jr. Furthermore, their total offense (yards per game) ranked 126th in the country, and their scoring offense ranked 110th nationally. That’s something very appalling for a coach who has got a rich legacy behind him. However, there still was a silver lining.
As bad as the Sooners under Venables were, their defense still was one area where they didn’t quite disappoint that badly. For context, they are ranked an impressive 19th nationally in conceding yards per game (323.9) and 21st in yards per play. Remember that game against Alabama when they stopped Kalen DeBoer’s team to one field goal, winning the game 24-3? That was all due to their defense. That in itself tells you how impressive they were relative to their offensive struggles. But then came the announcement that Zac Alley, their defensive coordinator, would depart to West Virginia after only one season. What would Sooners and Venables do in this situation?
NEW: Brent Venables on his decision to call Oklahoma’s defense next season:
“Why am I calling the defense? Because I’m good at it… I’ve acted like my job is on the line for 30 years.”
(via @GeorgeStoia) https://t.co/JP18n5bWMh pic.twitter.com/kW5GkeUldu
— On3 (@On3sports) March 5, 2025
Well, he did what he does best and has done best over the course of his career. That is, he took the responsibility on his own shoulders of defensive play-calling. He was asked in a recent interview if he even was ready for two responsibilities at once. He replied in a savage manner. “Why am I going to call the defense? Because I’m good at it. And I’m confident in it, and we’ve got a great staff. Many people do it at a really high level, where they call an offense or call the defense, and have a lot of success. It’s a comfort zone for me”. Believe it or not, the man is a legend in defense, and here’s why.
Much before taking up the head coach for the 2022 season, Venables was coaching defense for fun at Clemson as their defensive coordinator. During his tenure as the DC, he helped Clemson achieve 6 back-to-back college playoff appearances. In fact, he was also the Co-defensive coordinator at Sooners when they won their last natty in the year 2000.
Sure, the man would know a thing or two about defense, right? Well, that being true, it seems some of the supporters of Oklahoma aren’t convinced enough if the coach can manage two jobs at once.
Brent Venables became a laughing stock for fans?
Play-calling is hard. An OC’s or a DC’s job is an entire life in itself. Imagine trying to manage one of those jobs and also trying to be the head coach of the team. Forget a holistic view of the proceedings; the head coach is active for every snap. Ryan Day gave up play-calling duties in 2024. Result? The Buckeyes won the natty.
Reacting to the news about Cristobal saying he’d retain the DC duties on the X social media handle of On3, several users looked to be less than enthusiastic about his adventure. One said, “Yikes, sorry Oklahoma fans, it’s gonna be another long season.” Another said, “Except your job is really on the line this year, Brent.” Well, it is true that Venables has not been performing well lately. Still, he also addressed the issue head-on in another statement…
“Every day I show up, something’s on the line. My job is on the line. I’ve had that for 30 years. I’m gonna hire you, I’m gonna pay you $30,000, and I can’t promise anything that you’ll last past the summer. That’s literally what I was told (at Kansas State). And I said, ‘Thank you, God, thank you.’ And I’ve had the same mindset“. For context, Kansas State was the place where his coaching journey started as a graduate assistant from 1993-1995. But after delivering results with the team, he was then promoted to linebackers coach. A position he kept for another 2 years before coming to Oklahoma in his first stint as Co-DC. Another fan declared his seeming foolishness…
“Too early to be drinking the Kool Aid ? Asking for a friend lol“. Another pointed out his dire situation: “Well, it’s on the line now for sure. So makes sense him going back to what he knows“. But this is actually the time for Venables to not just drink that Kool-aid but chug it down. After all, in his words, he thrives in these situations. Furthermore, he is getting paid $51.8 Million dollars through the length of his six-year contract. So that will be the last thing that would be expected from him, considering the amount of money he is getting from the program.
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