Brent Venables tabbed as coach facing the most pressure to turn things around in 2025 college football season
It's no secret that the pressure is mounting on Brent Venables to get things right for the Oklahoma Sooners heading into his fourth season. To his credit, there are plenty of positives to turn to. Their recruiting and development has skyrocketed compared to what it was under Lincoln Riley. A lot of the "process" moves […]
It's no secret that the pressure is mounting on Brent Venables to get things right for the Oklahoma Sooners heading into his fourth season.
To his credit, there are plenty of positives to turn to. Their recruiting and development has skyrocketed compared to what it was under Lincoln Riley. A lot of the "process" moves have been sound and the team's culture and environment is undoubtedly better than it was when he arrived in Norman.
However, the results haven't quite yet delivered. After turning a 6-7 season into a 10-3 finish to the 2023 season, the Sooners crashed in 2024 with another 6-7 record. The team was bit by injuries all season long, they suffered a horrendous scheme led by Seth Littrell and Joe Jon Finley, and had abysmal quarterback play with Jackson Arnold under center.
Despite that, the Sooners still were competitive and made a bowl game thanks to the culture and defense of the team. However, that's not enough for Venables to be comfortable. Hence why On3 labeled Venables as one of the 10 coaches with the most to prove in 2025:
"Speaking of Oklahoma, Brent Venables enters this season in uncomfortable territory. A year after the Sooners endured what was just awful injury luck, Venables made waves in upgrading Oklahoma’s roster by bringing in Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer. Mateer and an improved offensive line should have the Sooners in a good position offensively. Venables, one of the best defensive minds in college football, is always going to put out a tough and efficient defense, too. Oklahoma’s offense was awful this past year, but the Sooners were in just about every game they played because they could get stops. You can count on that returning. But if Oklahoma drops seven games or even six or five? That’s too much losing in too many years for Venables to be in a good spot. He can prove this year — against one of the hardest schedules in college football — that he’s the right guy for the job."
I think this is a fair way of looking at the situation Venables enters into this season. I think anything better than 7-5 will mean Venables keeps his job for 2026. Anything better than 8-4 likely means he's safe for the next few seasons.
The ingredients are there for Oklahoma to pull off a successful record as well. I can easily make a case that quarterback play was the sole reason they lost to Tennessee, South Carolina, and Missouri, and played a key factor in their losses to Texas and Ole Miss. Ridiculous turnovers, an inability to score, and poor processing under center doomed some terrific defensive outings in some of those games.
If John Mateer and new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle can deliver the results we expect, even cutting those games in half would turn Oklahoma's record around in such a way to keep his job.
Venables is under a lot of pressure to deliver this season. This truly feels like a season I could flip a coin to go either way on, and I'm sure Venables knows what all hinges on him heading into 2025.
