Crunching the numbers on Brent Venables’ contract to coach the Oklahoma Sooners

A look at the details of what Brent Venables’ contract with the Oklahoma Sooners entails.

After roughly a week or so, Oklahoma has released the details on the contract that brought Brent Venables back to Oklahoma to be the head coach of their football team

There was a lot of speculation but thanks to reports from The Athletic’s Jason Kersey and The Oklahoman’s Ryan Aber we know the specifics.

Venables signed to a six-year deal, running through Jan. 31, 2028, that will begin at $7 million annually and increase by $100K every February.

Venables is bringing in the dough for a first-time head coach. He made waves as the highest-paid coordinator in the sport in part thanks to Clemson’s ability to commit assets to keep him as the architect of their defense that has been a machine for the better part of the last 10 years. Clemson paid $2.5 million to Venables for his work in the 2021 season.

His nearly $4 million raise is not something to bat an eye at, but when put in perspective, Venables is not anywhere near the top five in terms of highest-paid head coaches. Sooners Wire wrote this article on the highest-paid head coaches back in October.

That list will undoubtedly need to be updated as names like Orgeron, Dan Mullen, and Gary Patterson are no longer head coaches. Venables will join the ranks of those head coaches and his $6.4 million per year would have him just above Patterson but behind Ohio State’s Ryan Day at 6.6 million if his head coaching salary was ranked on this list.

If Venables has any type of early success akin to what Lincoln Riley had in his first few years, based on past precedent, he will see an extension a few years into his current deal very similar to how Oklahoma handled Riley’s go as Oklahoma head coach.

Riley’s move to USC is heavily rumored to be for a salary around $10 million but with that unconfirmed, it’s probably best to reasonably guess it’s going to be at least more than the $7.7 million he was making this year in Norman. Private schools, like USC, aren’t required to disclose contracts to the public.

If Oklahoma can win a national championship under Venables, He’ll receive a $400K bonus.

His contract still has to be approved by the OU Board of Regents, who most recently met just before the Venables hire was completed.

While Venables may not make as much money as the previous head coach of Oklahoma, there is a heavy suggestion that Venables’ negotiated for an increased budget for the hiring of his position coaches and other staff along with other assurances. Some of those assurances seem likely to include a commitment to facilities upgrades, recruiting budget, and off-the-field support staff.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

College football head coaching tracker

Rank these jobs from best to worst and give us a reason why…

It’s already been a busy off-season of coaching changes in college football and we’re still two weeks from the regular season actually drawing to a close.  With Justin Fuente’s announced firing from Virginia Tech there have now already been 12 head college football coaches fired since the season began.

Some are staying on to finish the year while others technically resigned, but the the fact remains there will be at least 12 different head coaches in college football’s FBS when the 2022 season begins late next summer.

Here at Fighting Irish Wire we’re certainly not expecting Brian Kelly to be exiting anytime soon, even if Kirk Herbstreit has him on a plane to Southern California, but we certainly would be curious about a Kelly assistant getting a chance at a head coaching job.

Below is our tracker of all FBS coaching changes that will be updated through the fall and into the early parts of 2022.

Texas offers former TCU commit, four-star wide receiver Matthew Golden

That didn’t take long. Texas extended an offer to former TCU commit Matthew Golden on Tuesday.

Just days after Gary Patterson parted ways with TCU, the Horned Frogs are already losing top talent in their 2022 recruiting class.

Four-star receiver Matthew Golden out of Klein Cain High School decommitted from TCU after the Patterson news, and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has already come calling for his services as expected.

It is no secret the Longhorns have a receiver issue outside of Xavier Worthy, as the group has been plagued with the drops all season long. Golden is as sure-handed as they come, hauling in 20 touchdowns total in 2019 and 2020.

He also offers a bigger frame at 6-foot-1, and even has experience returning kicks for his high school team. He is a top-35 player in the state of Texas and can really help Texas’ depth at the position.

Rating

Stars Overall Position State
247 4 187 32 33
Rivals 3 90
ESPN 4 252 34 41
247 Composite 4 298 46 43

Vitals

Hometown Houston, Texas
Projected Position WR
Height 6-1
Weight 190

Recruitment

  • Offered on Nov. 2

Primary Offers

  • Arkansas
  • Cincinnati
  • SMU
  • Houston
  • Wisconsin

Crystal Ball

No crystal ball predictions at this time.

Film

Twitter

Five recruits that Texas should poach from TCU’s 2022 class

With TCU and Gary Patterson parting ways, Texas should try to flip these five commits.

All is fair in love and college football recruiting.

When another program loses a head coach, it is a guarantee that other schools will start reaching out to their current commits.

TCU parted ways with Gary Patterson on Sunday, who had been the head coach for the Horned Frogs for over 20 years. While Texas is likely not too disappointed to see him go, as lately he had quite the hold on the Longhorns, they are probably even more thrilled about the fact that they will have another crack at some certain recruits that committed to TCU.

The 2022 recruiting class put together by Patterson is not the deepest, as there are only 11 commits and it currently ranks No. 46 in the nation, but there are some talented players that Texas missed out and now will have one final swing at trying to convince them to come to the Forty

Here are five players that Texas should consider attempting to flip from TCU’s 2022 class starting with offensive linemen Cade McConnell.

Who earned a game ball in the Sooners 52-31 win over TCU?

Who earned a game ball for their performance in the Oklahoma Sooners 52-31 win over the TCU Horned Frogs?

The Oklahoma Sooners finally had a comfortable win against an FBS opponent. It only took them a month and a half but it’s here. The win came at TCU’s expense but you can be sure head coach Lincoln Riley won’t complain one bit.

After a week of closed media availability, Riley unveiled his new starting quarterback with what looked like a completely brand new offense. The Sooners rolled the Horned Frogs 52-31 behind a prolific offensive performance led by Caleb Williams.

John Williams of Sooners Wire shared The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Saturday’s win, but let’s hand out some game balls from the Sooners three-touchdown victory over the Horned Frogs.

Caleb Williams, QB

After receiving a game ball last week, the kid dubbed as “Superman,” walked out of the booth in full costume. Caleb Williams’ stats speak for themselves.

Williams ended the night going 18-of-23 for 295 yards and four touchdowns. He added another 66 yards rushing, including an absurd 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that looked like something Jalen Hurts or Kyler Murray did in their time with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Williams looked like he had been starting in this offense for three years. Instead, he had just half a game under his belt and proceeded to cut through Gary Patterson’s 4-2-5 defense like he was cutting through the most tender of meats.

His poise, awareness, and athletic ability are truly one of a kind for a player so young. With that said, one should feel comfortable believing that there will be no discussion about who is starting when Oklahoma takes the field against Kansas next Saturday.

Up Next: Breakout Performances

Matchup to watch: Marvin Mims, Sooner wide receivers vs TCU secondary

Taking a look back at last year’s matchup to see how Oklahoma’s wide receivers might fair against TCU’s defense Saturday.

As we near closer and closer to the 2021 version of Oklahoma vs. TCU, we can revisit the 2020 game for a little recap and a better understanding of how last year’s matchup affects might affect this year’s matchup.

Specifically, let’s look at how Oklahoma’s passing offense fared last year against TCU.

Oklahoma made the trip from Norman to Fort Worth to play TCU last year. At the time, Spencer Rattler was only making his fifth collegiate start. He came into the game fresh off his performance in the four-overtime Red River Showdown win against Texas in which he had been benched in favor of Tanner Mordecai but would later return and lead Oklahoma to the win.

Oklahoma didn’t have Rhamondre Stevenson (was serving a suspension) and Kennedy Brooks had opted out due to concerns about COVID. The running back duties fell on the shoulders of T.J. Pledger and Seth McGowan. Out wide, a freshman Marvin Mims had already risen to the top of the depth chart as the lead wide receiver. He would go on to have four catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Complimenting him were Theo Wease, Charleston Rambo, and Austin Stogner. Rambo and Stogner both finished with two catches.

Lining up against the Sooners wide receivers were Trevon Moehrig, Ar’Darius Washington, Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson among others. Marvin Mims was not phased by the moment and made some major plays.

Marvin Mims, as he was all last year, was a big-play machine in this game. And that was with the likes of two future NFL players on the field in Moehrig and Washington.

To replace them at safety, TCU has guys like Bud Clark, La’Kendrick Van Zandt, and T.J. Carter. To be fair the secondary has held up well. Tomlinson (nephew of the TCU and LoS Angeles Chargers legend LaDainian Tomlinson) also is back to anchor a pretty experienced TCU secondary.

This year, Oklahoma’s receiver corps looks nothing like it did last year.

Mims is back but Rambo transferred to the University of Miami while Theo Wease remains out indefinitely with an injury. Stogner hasn’t been featured in the passing game much this season.

Mims may not be able to run free and make plays as he did last year simply because teams have a year and a half of tape on him. They will force Oklahoma to rely on Jadon Haselwood, Mike Woods, Mario Williams, and Drake Stoops to move the ball thru the air.

Look for the Sooners to stress the middle of the field as Lincoln Riley looks to attack Gary Patterson’s 4-2-5 defensive alignment. This particular alignment has been noted to combat spread offenses.

The key for the Oklahoma receiver while playing against man coverage is that they use change of direction routes.

While against zone coverage they need to run weak or strong floods and play-action and force these safeties to have to cover. If you can get a LB or DB to move out of his zone or flood it with multiple options, an offense can bust the zones wide open.

Oklahoma has a more talented receiver corps this time around than they did last year and it’s not a stretch to say TCU lost more talent in the secondary than they gained.

Ultimately, the matchups in the passing game will come down to Oklahoma’s secondary receivers making plays while Gary Patterson tries his hardest to take away Mims.

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USA TODAY Sports releases head coach salary database, where does Steve Sarkisian land?

The database shows the scheduled pay of each head coach as well as the buyout number.

On Thursday, USA TODAY Sports released their head coach salary database. Continue reading “USA TODAY Sports releases head coach salary database, where does Steve Sarkisian land?”

3 Offensive Keys to the game for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. TCU

As the Oklahoma Sooners get ready to play the TCU Horned Frogs, here are three keys for the offensive side of the ball.

On Saturday night, Oklahoma pushes forward and looks to take one step closer to an undefeated regular season. This week’s opponent will be the TCU Horned Frogs led by Gary Patterson. Patterson’s team is far from a heavyweight but they aren’t pushovers either. They come into the game with a record of 3-2 with losses to Texas and their big rival in SMU.

Defensively, they do not resemble the TCU defenses of the past. For years, TCU was a stingy, stingy defense that had impactful players at every level. While the talent isn’t bad, they lack the edge of TCU defenses from the past.

So, how does Oklahoma attack them when the Sooners have the ball? Let’s take a look at three offensive keys to put Oklahoma in a spot to come out victorious Saturday night.

Protect the Ball

Yes, it’s quite obvious. However, there is still uncertainty about who will be taking the snaps as starting quarterback. There has been no official word from Lincoln Riley about his decision but the point stands for either Spencer Rattler or Caleb Williams. Rattler was benched for his turnovers against Texas. A fumble on a scramble sealed his fate for that game and opened the door for Caleb Williams.

However, Williams has had some issues securing shotgun snaps. TCU quarterback Max Duggan is a veteran player and has the running and throwing ability to make Oklahoma pay if they give them extra possessions.

The Oklahoma Sooners are the more talented team. They can’t afford to let a team like TCU hand around by giving them good field position off of turnovers. Whoever the quarterback is the Saturday night has to protect the football.

TCU head coach Gary Patterson criticizes Texas’ use of RB Bijan Robinson

Gary Patterson had some criticism of Texas’ use of Bijan Robinson this weekend.

Yeah, yeah, TCU is in the past, and as Bill Belichick would probably say, “we’re onto Oklahoma”. However, not everyone seems to be over Saturday’s game.

Seeing Bijan Robinson and Zach Evans face-off, the top two running backs in the 2020 recruiting class, was a treat. The two combined for 339 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Only issue was Robinson’s 35 carries won Texas the game, while Gary Patterson has been ridiculed for only handing it off to Evans only 15 times. Even quarterback Max Duggan had more attempts with 16.

During his postgame presser, Patterson said Evans “was tired” and did not get many carries for that reason. Now, on Tuesday, with a road game against Texas Tech coming up, it’s still being discussed and reasoning has changed.

Firstly, it’s funny to think either Robinson or Evans are going to be playing college football for four years. The two are clear NFL talents and should declare for the draft at the end of the 2022 season. Millions of dollars will be made.

Second, Patterson changing reasons as to why Evans was not properly used shows he messed up. Going away from a running back averaging 7.5 yards per carry lost you the game. Texas sticking with and depending on one going for 6.2 yards per carry won them the game.

Saying Evans needs more touches in his final sentence really puts the cherry on top. Nobody is saying 35 carries is required, Gary. But more than a combined 30 in the past two losses could have flipped results.

Robinson will continue to get a high number of carries as well. The workload does not seem to phase the running back.

“I’m sore after every game,” Robinson said Monday. “But I feel good. I felt really good coming out of that game with that kind of workload. I’m just ready to go.”

With Oklahoma next up, another 35 touches could be on the way too. Sarkisian will keep pounding the rock if it means getting wins.

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes, and opinions.

Big 12 Power Rankings: Full slate of conference games provides clarity after Week 5

After a full slate of Big 12 games, the conference is beginning to provide some clarity. Where do the teams stack up after week five?

After a full slate of Big 12 play, the conference power rankings are starting to shake out a bit. More than ever, there is parity in the Big 12. Every team from 1-9 (sorry, Kansas) has a chance to beat anyone else in the conference week-to-week.

Texas Tech looked like a completely different team after taking a 70-point shellacking at the hands of Texas a week ago. The Red Raiders went into Morgantown and beat a West Virginia team that held the Sooners to 16 points in Norman.

Texas and Oklahoma State won their games after poor performances from quarterbacks who looked to be taking a step forward a week ago. Iowa State bounced back from their loss to Baylor. And speaking of Baylor, the Oklahoma State defense is legit. To hold the Bears to 14 points despite losing the turnover battle 3-0 is a pretty impressive feat. They made Gerry Bohanon look like an average quarterback.

This week the top three teams remained unchanged, but teams 5-9 saw a shakeup. Let’s take a look at this week’s Big 12 Power Rankings.