The Oklahoma Sooners came under fire when they extended Brent Venables contract and gave him a slight salary bump. The new deal added two years to his original contract.
But many questioned why the Sooners did it. His 16-10 record in his first two seasons and 0-2 record in bowl games are facts. But the context to the facts is this team was left with very little depth after Lincoln Riley’s recruiting classes failed to live up to expectations. The fact the vast majority of the players that have transferred out during Venables tenure landed at Group of Five programs should provide enough evidence that the depth chart was not in great shape when he arrived.
And that’s how you get to 6-7 in Year 1. But it didn’t take long for Venables to make his mark with the Sooners, improving by four wins, improving the depth through the high school recruiting and transfer portal ranks, and setting the Sooners up in good position to contend for a playoff spot in Year 1 in the SEC.
But one national college football analyst isn’t concerned about the “why” to Brent Venables contract extension. He’s more focused on who’s giving it to him, citing the success of Oklahoma’s leadership to create stability within the program.
On a recent episode of the “Late Kick Show with Josh Pate,” Pate shares his trust in the Okahoma administration.
Here’s one thing I have learned about Oklahoma. I’m not questioning Oklahoma’s decision-making when it comes to coaching. I’ve got a lot of college-aged folks and high school folks who listen to this show. But forget about people that young. Let’s say you’re 25 years old. Congratulations. You made it a quarter century. You’ve also never known Oklahoma to have had coaching instability in your entire life. It’s been the previous millennium. Since the last time folks in Norman looked around and said, ‘Boy, this head coaching situations, really shaky.’ – Pate, Late Kick Show
When Lincoln Riley left at the end of 2021, it was a shock to so many, because for the first time in more than two decades, there was a question about who the head coach would be. But it didn’t take long for Oklahoma brass Joseph Harroz and Joe Castiglione to zero in on Riley’s replacement. In less than a week, the University of Oklahoma was announcing Brent Venables as the next head coach of the Sooners.
Lincoln Riley killed it there. Bob Stoops killed it there. And now the same people who were making decisions back then largely are the same people who decided not only to hire Brent Venables, and not only did they not waste any time in going to get Brent Venables. They didn’t doubt themselves. He’s also shown them enough to where they’ve decided, yep, ‘He’s our guy.’ – Pate, Late Kick Show
Harroz and Castiglione were as ecstatic as anyone when they brought Venables back to Norman. The longtime defensive coordinator had created a reputation during his time with the Sooners and Clemson for building national championship defenses, winning three titles and playing in several more national title games.
What the extension says, is that after two seasons, OU has seen enough to confirm that it indeed has its guy. And even if you’re still unsure about Venables, there’s enough evidence in the way of Big 12 and national championships in trophy cases around campus to give confidence that these guys know what they’re doing.
Or, as Pate puts it:
They’ve got the best vantage point. And their criteria is the only criteria that matters. If this were the University of Florida. If this were Tennessee, if this were a place where they’ve made some really suspect moves in the past, I wouldn’t afford them benefit of the doubt. Oh, Oklahoma has nailed it. Like almost in many of our lifetimes. Oklahoma has largely nailed it. So if there’s one place where I’m just gonna blindly assume they know what they’re doing, when it comes to hiring, it’s Oklahoma. – Pate, Late Kick Show
“If there’s one place that I’m gonna just blindly assume they know what they’re doing when it comes to hiring, it’s Oklahoma.”@LateKickJosh reacts to Brent Venables agreeing to a 6-year contract extension with the Sooners 💰 pic.twitter.com/6diDQ8lvzw
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) June 24, 2024
From 6-7 to 10-3. From a defense that allowed 30 points per game in 2022 to one that allowed 23.5 points per game in 2023. Venables and his staff have recruited at a top 10 level in each of the three recruiting cycles since they joined the program.
Sure, this team hasn’t played an SEC game. But Venables was brought in because of the success he had at Clemson against the SEC. Over two decades of success as a defensive coordinator made him one of the more highly-sough after assistants in college football and the Sooners got him.
Harroz and Castiglione know what they have with Venables and when you know you have something great, you invest in it.
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