OU Board of Regents chair comments on Brent Venables’ job security
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At Oklahoma, Brent Venables has, against all odds, been consistently inconsistent. He has alternated 6-7 and 10-3 finishes during his tenure. This year, he has alternated wins and losses every week. If he were to continue that trend and lose his bowl/CFP game — like he has every year in Norman prior to this one — his final 2026 record would be… 6-7, again.
Basically, Sooner fans have been on a roller coaster ride since Venables arrived. The highs have been tremendous; the lows, not so much. In the midst of a low, they’re looking to their school to change things up. But Oklahoma isn’t keen on doing so. On Wednesday, the OU Board of Regents stated Venables’ job was not in jeopardy.
“The board doesn’t typically comment much on what’s going on in the athletic department. That’s maybe a smart thing,” board chair Rick Nagel reportedly said in a meeting. “Our head coach, Brent Venables, is not on the hot seat… there is no hot seat. We just extended his contract.”
Venables’ defense has been stellar through much of the year. His offense, though, has left a lot to be desired. The Sooners were more than competent on that side of the ball, though, in their 23-7 victory at Florida in Week 10. New playcaller Jason Witten’s unit dominated time of possession (37:50-22:10) and multiple lengthy touchdown drives:
- 15 plays, 84 yards, 7:11 in the first half
- 20 plays, 89 yards, 12:45 in the second half
That type of complimentary football could allow Oklahoma to, dare we say it, win a second straight game this weekend when Ole Miss comes to town. The Sooner and Rebels battle at 4:15 p.m. ET on Saturday (SEC Network).
