Stance on Brent Venables’ Drastic Oklahoma Decision Clarified After $44.8M Safety Net Takes New Twist

Brent Venables faltered hard in his debut season as Oklahoma’s HC. It led to his star recruit, Jackson Arnold, leaving Norman for Auburn, of all programs. A lot of mistakes marked his 2024 run, chief among them being the offensive play. That side of the ball was a catastrophe for Oklahoma, so much so that Venables had to remove former OC Seth Littrell midway through the season. But the damage is done, and Venables is adamant to bury the past. “Last year was last year,” he said, bluntly at a recent presser. This offseason, no other CFB program will come close to the effort Oklahoma is putting in to move on from their mistakes. Venables now wants to take the bull by the horns himself.

The Sooners’ offense was a nightmare for Venables. A WR room that quickly dwindled to its inexperienced members, two QBs failing to make their mark, and a wretched offensive line – that’s what single-handedly caused Venables’ campaign to crash. Amidst all these problems, the only saving grace was Venables holding together the unit that is his arena – the defense. Easily one of the most valuable defensive minds in the country, his efforts brought results. Efficiency-wise, they managed to finish in the 10th position. And because he knows this arena like the back of his hand, Venables will now take over as DC himself. He will be calling the defensive plays for Oklahoma’s 2025 season.

“Why am I going to call the defense? Because I’m good at it,” he told the press in March. And, of course, this isn’t Venables’ first rodeo as Oklahoma’s DC. Greg McElroy said in a June 2 episode of ESPN’s Always College Football, “He got the job at Oklahoma because of how good he is as a defensive play caller. Well, he’s now taking over as the primary play caller. Now, this was a strategic decision to take over the duties, and he has widely been considered one of the best minds in college football for a really long time… I think he’s going to be just fine. They’re going to attack. They’re going to be aggressive and they’re going to have a great understanding of what the opponent’s offense is going to be doing from week to week.”

Venables already has 3 National Championships under his belt, all in his role as DC for Oklahoma and Clemson. He produced the defenses for some of the Sooners’ best teams, like the one from 2000, 2003, and 2004. He arrived at Clemson just when Dabo Swinney began taking the program to new heights. In 2014, Venables’ defense averaged only 4.03 yards per play – one of the program’s best in recent years. The Sooners, too, already have a taste of his defensive brilliance. Now that he is once again wearing the hat of DC, and his team is looking significantly better than last year, Oklahoma will be able to chart an impressive course this season. This new role, however, stands to shed a new light on his $44.8 million buyout deal.

The new factors affecting Brent Venables’ buyout clause

Venables is a good coach, there’s no doubt about it. AD Joe Castiglione thought he would have no problem fitting back into a program that was so familiar. His 2nd year with the Sooners saw a 10-3 finish. But Venables and the whole program were underprepared for the cutthroat environment of the SEC. Immediately after wrapping up their troubling 2024 season, top brass decided to move things around to avoid a repeat of the season’s blunders. The Sooners brought in Ben Arbuckle, an aggressive, innovative mind and a seasoned DC in Venables. Perhaps, most importantly, they got Jim Nagy as the general manager.

Nagy spent 18 years as an NFL scout and is already working wonders with the Sooners. Brent Venables said in a chat with SoonerScoop, “The addition of Jim in that front office has allowed me not to have to worry as much.” So, delegation is finally possible. “The resource allocation, the talent retention, the talent acquisition, the talent evaluation. Between putting together a staff and then dealing with both the ‘26 class and moving forward, it has been a lot of fun developing trust in the relationships,” he added.

This is also a make-or-break year for Brent Venables, and he has been relentlessly working throughout this offseason. He cancelled the spring game and has more than 40 practices lined up until fall. If this impressive revamp still manages to fail in 2025 and comes for the HC’s job, the Sooners will have to cash in that $44.8 million, as per contract. That’s what makes 2025 such an important year for the Sooners. With Venables taking control of the defense and reshuffling his staff, will that buyout clause stand a chance of seeing some action?

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