Brent Venables’ Bold Reset Has Oklahoma Right Back in the CFP Hunt
The word of the season in Norman? Unwavering.
That’s how offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle described Brent Venables on Monday. And honestly, there’s no better way to sum up the head coach’s season - and maybe even his tenure so far at Oklahoma.
Let’s rewind for a second. Heading into 2025, the Sooners were coming off a rocky stretch - two 6-7 seasons in three years and a rough welcome to the SEC.
The pressure was real. Venables wasn’t just coaching for wins; he was coaching for stability, for momentum, maybe even for his job.
Seven wins would’ve kept the wolves at bay. Eight might’ve quieted the noise.
But ten? Ten wins and a playoff berth?
That changes the entire conversation.
Now, Oklahoma sits at 10-2, preparing to host Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Friday night. Not in a bowl game.
Not on the outside looking in. Hosting a CFP game.
That’s a statement.
And the path to this point wasn’t flashy. It was gritty.
It was calculated. It was vintage Venables.
A Willingness to Adapt
For all the talk about Venables being steadfast, what’s kept this program afloat - and now thriving - is his willingness to evolve. He didn’t double down on what wasn’t working. He made bold moves.
Start with the offense. Venables brought in Ben Arbuckle, a rising star play-caller with no previous ties to the program, to replace Seth Littrell.
That’s not a small shift. It’s a head coach betting on fresh ideas over familiarity.
And when Arbuckle came in, quarterback John Mateer followed from Washington State. The pairing hasn’t been perfect, but the process made sense - and it gave the offense a new identity.
Then came the front office overhaul. Venables handed off some roster-building duties to Jim Nagy, the former Senior Bowl executive who was hired as Oklahoma’s general manager.
That’s another sign of growth - a head coach willing to delegate, to build a structure around him that’s built for long-term success. Nagy didn’t just take the job; he got to work, making key hires and helping reshape the program’s infrastructure.
And on defense? Venables went back to his roots.
After Zac Alley left for West Virginia, Venables stepped back into the role of defensive coordinator himself. The result?
One of the best defensive seasons Oklahoma has seen in years - one that stacks up with Venables’ elite units at Clemson in the 2010s and even his early 2000s defenses in Norman.
Stability at the Top
All of this has come at a time when the program could’ve easily slipped into chaos. Athletic director Joe Castiglione is on his way out.
Randall Stephenson, the former AT&T exec, is leading the search for his replacement. There’s been some uncertainty about who’s steering the ship at the administrative level - from university president Joe Harroz to Stephenson to Nagy to Venables himself.
But here’s the thing: It’s working.
Whatever the internal power structure looks like, Oklahoma football is no longer teetering. It’s trending. And Venables, once a coach on the hot seat, now looks like a man fully in command of the program’s direction.
The Moment, and the Message
Venables isn’t hiding from the pressure of the moment. He’s embracing it. He wants his players to feel it - not as a burden, but as a privilege.
“I want our guys to be fully immersed in the moment,” he said this week. “Don’t take it for granted.
These are the good old days right now. You got a chance to do something really special.”
This is Oklahoma’s fifth trip to the College Football Playoff, but the first under the new 12-team format - and the first one they’re hosting. The Sooners have yet to win a CFP game, a fact that looms large.
In this new era, simply making the playoff isn’t the ceiling anymore. For blue bloods like OU, it’s the floor.
Venables gets that.
“I think it’s trending towards that,” he said. “You’d be naive if you didn’t believe that that’s a real influence to where we’re at right now.”
The Man in the Arena
Venables has always been a coach who thrives in the fire. He doesn’t shy away from criticism.
He hears it. He remembers it.
But he doesn’t let it define him.
“I love what I do,” he said. “I like the good times.
I like to be doubted. There’s several people here, you’re doing your jobs, you’ve had to say the bad things, too, about us, about me, and that’s cool … I remember, but I don’t hold on to it.
“You sign up for that, the whole Man in the Arena thing.”
That quote says it all. Venables isn’t just surviving - he’s building. Through the noise, through the pressure, through the changes, he’s crafted a team that’s not just back in the playoff picture but ready to compete.
The Sooners have found their footing. And with Venables at the helm, they’re not just looking to make a statement - they’re looking to make history.