The Oklahoma Sooners' coaching search is only 48 hours old, but there are already a few names that have been crossed off the list.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops — an early favorite for the job due to his last name — agreed to an extension on Tuesday to remain in Lexington for the foreseeable future.

Interestingly, Stoops' extension was announced a day after the LSU job was filled. Perhaps Stoops would've taken the LSU job, but he isn't willing to go to Oklahoma. Of course, that's just speculation.

Speaking of the LSU job, the Tigers hired Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame on Monday. It was a surprising move for a program that had been looking for a head coach for nearly 50 days.

I'm not sure if Kelly was an option for Oklahoma, but he's officially off the list now.

So where do the Sooners turn?

There's speculation that Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables could be the hire. Venables is a former Oklahoma assistant, but he's never been a head coach before (he's had plenty of opportunities). Hiring Venables would be a major gamble — even though the Sooners' last two coordinator to head coach hires worked out pretty well (Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley).

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer, another former Oklahoma assistant, doesn't seem likely to leave Columbia after one season.

Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel, the last quarterback to win a national championship at Oklahoma, shot down rumors that he was interested in the job on Tuesday during an appearance on WNML in Knoxville.

I think there's an obvious hire that Oklahoma should make that would be a home run.

Go steal Matt Rhule from the Carolina Panthers.

Rhule isn't doing so hot with the Panthers. He's 10-18 over his first 28 games. That's not the quick turnaround Carolina was hoping for when they hired Rhule two years ago.

(Though to be fair to Rhule, the Panthers have dealt with a litany of injuries and an unsettled quarterback situation.)

Before landing in Charlotte, Rhule proved to be a great program developer at the college level. He turned Temple into a 10-win program in just a couple of years. And then he completely turned Baylor around, leading the Bears to 11 wins in his final season in Waco.

I think Rhule could do great things at OU. And maybe his time in the NFL has made him an even better coach (it worked for Nick Saban).

The Sooners would be wise to hire a sure thing. Taking a gamble on someone like Venables doesn't make sense when Rhule might be willing to return to the collegiate ranks.

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