December of 2021 will be a month Oklahoma Sooners fans and alumni won’t soon forget. After the season ended with a surprising Bedlam loss, Lincoln Riley was off to USC in the blink of an eye, leaving observers to wonder what was next for OU.
Though it took a week for the University of Oklahoma leadership to finalize a deal with Brent Venables, their due diligence got the Sooners the right man to take over in the wake of Riley’s sudden departure.
The former defensive coordinator, Venables, had never been a head coach, biding his time for the right program to come calling. Though he’d had opportunities in the past to take over a team, his patience was rewarded with one of the premier programs in college football.
The move has garnered rave reviews from around college football, and they keep coming in. 247Sports Brandon Marcello spent some time grading each new staff that took shape from the most recent coaching carousel and gave the Oklahoma Sooners an “A” for Brent Venables and his staff.
But what does Marcello think Brent Venables brings to the Oklahoma Sooners?
Venables not only understands what is required to win national titles after coaching alongside Dabo Swinney at Clemson, he knows how to handle egos, personalities and recruiting wars while also properly shaping the psychology of a team. In my opinion, he’s the best head-coaching hire of the offseason. – Marcello
From Dabo Swinney to Bob Stoops to Bill Snyder, Brent Venables has spent time learning from some of the very best college football coaches of the last 30 years. Those three legendary head coaches had sustained success at their programs, and Snyder and Stoops created lasting legacies in their retirements.
Venables has a clear picture of what he wants his program to look like. In his opening press conference, he discussed holistic coaching. Not just developing the athlete, but the student and the person. And that’s a message that’s resonated as the Sooners have been the beneficiaries of the transfer portal despite several players departing after the coaching change.
He’s had success recruiting in SEC territory, and he helped Clemson have success against the SEC in championship wins as well. He’s the perfect coach to help evolve the Sooners as the Big 12 evolves into more of an SEC style of play as OU gets ready to make the transition to the SEC in the next couple of years.
Marcello then went on to talk about the formation of Brent Venables’ coaching staff and had some high remarks for them as well.
Venables’ staff is also great, though Florida edges out the Sooners for the best 10-person staff. Ole Miss’ Jeff Lebby has OU connections and his pass-heavy style (will) provide a smooth transition. Adding former Troy defensive coordinator Brandon Hall as a safeties coach, along with veteran Ted Roof as the playcaller, was also an overlooked haul. And how about grabbing Alabama cornerbacks coach Jay Valai fresh off the national championship game? His biggest win might have been keeping DeMarco Murray on staff as the running backs coach. He’ll be big on the recruiting trail in the coming years. – Marcello, 247Sports
Brent Venables has done a great job putting together the coaching staff. Retaining Murray, Bill Bedenbaugh, and Joe Jon Finley were just as crucial as any assistant he brought in. Those three assistants kept the Oklahoma Sooners recruiting momentum going during the coaching transition and helped them maintain big-time 2022 and 2023 commitments. But adding Todd Bates and Jay Valai were huge gets for the Oklahoma Sooners, and we’re already seeing it pay off on the recruiting trail.
Despite the transition, the Oklahoma Sooners are in great shape with Winter workouts underway with an eye on Spring football. Though they’ve experienced some losses, they’re a team that’s ready to rebound into contention after a disappointing finish to the 2021 season.
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