Brent Venables is not walking into the 2026 season with the kind of heat he faced a year ago, but Oklahoma fans shouldn’t mistake that for real security.
CBS Sports has Venables tagged as “Safe and secure” in its hot seat ratings, giving him a 1.9 out of 5. That’s a long way from where he sat last year, when his number was 4.7 and he was firmly in the “Win or be fired” range after a second losing record in three seasons. At that point, the comparison to the John Blake era in Norman wasn’t hard to see.
Venables answered the pressure the way a coach has to at Oklahoma: by winning. He got the Sooners to 10-2 in the regular season, survived a brutal SEC schedule and leaned back into what he knows best. With the offense sputtering, he took control of the defense, and that unit helped carry Oklahoma into contention.
That’s the part that cooled things off. The part that should keep everyone from getting too comfortable is everything that comes with being the head coach at Oklahoma.
This is still a blue-blood program with championship expectations every year, and the fan base has grown more restless in the 26 years since the last title. The frustration only deepens because Oklahoma has reached the College Football Playoff five times and still hasn’t won a playoff game. Last season’s 17-0 lead over Alabama at home in Norman slipped away, and that kind of miss lingers.
One playoff trip doesn’t buy much permanence in a place like this. The bar is too high for that.
Penn State showed that just last season, when it fired James Franklin after a 3-3 start only months after he had taken the Nittany Lions to the CFP. Franklin’s hot seat number on that same CBS Sports table was 1.33 heading into 2025, which tells you how quickly things can change at a program that expects more.
Venables could be staring at the same kind of turn if Oklahoma stumbles early. The Sooners open with a brutal stretch that sends them away from Norman for games at Michigan, Georgia and Texas. A 2-3 start would put the pressure right back where it was before, especially if it includes a third straight loss in the Red River Rivalry.
Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny and the rest of the administration would not be expected to move as fast as Penn State did, especially with enough of the schedule left to keep CFP hopes alive. But a fourth loss that knocks the Sooners out of the playoff picture entirely could be enough to force a change.
Venables has bought himself time. He hasn’t bought himself safety.
In Other News...
Jake Kreul Is Suddenly Testing Oklahomas Usual Freshman Edge Rusher Timeline
Jake Kreul arrived in Norman with the kind of profile that usually buys a little time, even for a top-ranked signee. The 4-star edge rusher from IMG Academy signed with Oklahoma in December after a strong high school run, and the expectation around him has been clear from the start: he is not being treated like a long-term project, but as a player who could matter right away on the defensive line.
That is what makes his spring so interesting for the Sooners, because the usual freshman edge-rusher timeline in Norman has not always been a fast one. Oklahomas staff and teammates have been upbeat about Kreuls readiness and potential, and he has already drawn notice for how advanced he looks for a first-year player. The only real question now is how much of that confidence turns into snaps once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
Bob Stoops Kept These Oklahoma Stars Home And One Still Stands Out
Bob Stoops built plenty of Oklahoma teams with national reach, but some of his most memorable roster wins came much closer to home. He kept elite in-state talent from leaving, and the list runs through names Sooners fans still know well: Sam Bradford out of Putnam City North, Ryan Broyles from Norman High, Teddy Lehman, Gerald McCoy and Jason White from Tuttle, each one arriving with a different path and leaving with a bigger legacy.
Whites place in that group still stands out because he became a Heisman winner and a centerpiece of one of Stoops best eras, a reminder of how much the Sooners gained by protecting their borders. Bradford turned into a program-changing quarterback, Broyles became one of the most productive receivers in school history, Lehman was a tone-setting linebacker and McCoy grew into a dominant force inside, all of them proof that the best Oklahoma recruiting story under Stoops was often the one that never had to leave the state. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas 2026 Offense May Hinge On One Frustrating Fix
Oklahomas offense spent much of 2025 fighting an uphill battle on the ground, and the numbers made the problem obvious. The Sooners finished 113th nationally in rushing yards per game, and no one on the roster got close to a true breakout, which left the attack leaning too heavily on other parts of the game.
The encouraging part for 2026 is that the foundation is there to look different. Oklahoma expects to bring back four of five starters up front and its top three rushers, while a reshaped tight end room could help in the blocking game, giving the Sooners a chance to become more balanced and, in turn, much harder to defend. [Read more 🡒]