Has Brent Venables Built a Sustainable Winner at Oklahoma?

Column

You want to build a successful football program in the modern age? It sounds simple enough.

Secure resources
Find elite talent in high school or the transfer portal
Sign elite talent
Retain elite talent

That’s the blueprint. But if it’s that straightforward, why do so many still miss?

Name, image and likeness has, in theory, lowered the barrier for non-traditional powers. At the same time, college football’s heavyweights can now flaunt their financial muscle in the open instead of operating in the shadows. The gap didn’t disappear — it just evolved.

Which brings the focus back to Oklahoma. Has Brent Venables actually positioned the Sooners to build something sustainable in this new era?

Oklahoma Sooners, Brent Venables — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables | Carson Field / Sooners On SI

The short answer is simple: The country and OU's fan base will find out at the conclusion of the 2026 season, which is primed to be one of the toughest in school history.

But answering that question right now requires a more nuanced approach, one that evaluates the present while projecting what’s ahead.

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In order to do so you must start from the beginning. What was Venables asked to do when he was hired as the coach at Oklahoma in late-2021? Win games, of course. Rebuild the defense — that came with his reputation.

But the job required more than that. Venables was also tasked with guiding Oklahoma through a new era of NIL, the transfer portal and roster management structures he hadn’t previously navigated.

Sadly for Venables, the winning didn't come initially. A 6-7 season in a rather great season for the Big 12 in 2022 brought doubts. But given the scope of the rebuild he inherited, one that ran deeper than many outside the program realized, that early stumble looks far less surprising in hindsight.

At the same time, Venables was stacking back-to-back top-10 recruiting classes, culminating in a top-five haul heading into the 2023 season. Especially coming off a 6–7 year, that level of recruiting success signaled he could still attract elite talent to Norman — and that the wins wouldn’t be far behind.

2023 brought a win over a top-five Texas team and 10 wins. It seemed like a typical good, but not great, Sooner football year. The future seemed to be bright.

Then Venables ran into two of coaching’s oldest truths: first, you have to make the right hires — and second, you’d better hope your five-star quarterback of the future actually delivers when his moment arrives.

2024 made plain that the future was not nearly as bright as the close of 2023 had suggested. By Venables’ own admission, the wrong offensive coordinator hire helped derail Oklahoma’s first step into the SEC. His prized quarterback from that top-five 2023 class was not the player who was promised.

By year three or four at most programs, the answer is already known. Oregon knew fairly quickly they had made the right hire with Dan Lanning. Notre Dame saw steady improvement in Marcus Freeman's first three seasons.

Bob Stoops slammed the door of doubt quickly by winning a championship in his second season at Oklahoma in 2000.

Leadership at OU were faithful that while mistakes were made, Venables was still the man to lead the program. But the successes that most programs see with new head coaches in year two or three had to be pushed further into year four or five — if they were going to happen at at all.

Venables got another chance with his offensive coordinator and quarterback. While neither of them were smashing success in year one, there was no doubt improvements had been made. Not to mention, Venables' forte — the defense — transformed into a top-three unit in the country.

A second 10-3 season seemed to put the ship back on course. As a result, OU earned a playoff berth for the first time since 2019.

Which brings us to 2026 — the most pivotal year for Venables. It appears that his mistakes of 2023-2024 have been corrected, but the full extent of the repair won't be known until the games are played in 2026.

Should OU handle its schedule to nine or more wins, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who would have serious doubts about the Sooners' head coach's ability to lead the program. Anything less and the questions will rise in frequency.

The answer should have been known by now, but the job Venables took demanded a bit more time. 2026's results will give everyone the confidence, or lack thereof, that they seek.

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