College Football Playoff window slams shut on Oklahoma Sooners and Brent Venables is officially on the hot seat
Brent Venables’ job security is on thin ice after a disastrous loss to Ole Miss that could keep the Sooners out of the College Football Playoff
Expectations were high for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2025. They returned plenty of talent from 2024, they added a new offensive coordinator in Ben Arbuckle who brought productive quarterback John Mateer with him from Washington State, and Brent Venables was taking over the defensive playcalling. Even with a brutal schedule, enough wins would put the Sooners in the playoff conversation after a 6-6 2024 season.
After their loss to the Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma could at least fall back on the excuse of John Mateer’s hand injury, even though that was far from why they lost the game. One loss wouldn’t ruin their season and the Sooners had plenty of runway to put themselves back in the CFP conversation.
Now, after an embarrassing loss to the Ole Miss Rebels at home, those College Football Playoff hopes feel all but officially crushed, and this time, Brent Venables is now officially back on the hot seat at Oklahoma.
Brent Venables was out-coached…again
It’s a frustrating result for Oklahoma. I truly do believe that Brent Venables is the right man who should be at the helm for the Sooners. He’s a tremendous human being who you can tell simply bleeds crimson and cream, his faith-based approach really appeals to recruits, and the staff’s ability to develop talent at numerous positions is simply leagues better than it has been in years. There are NFL-caliber dudes all over the Sooners’ roster due to this staff’s ability.
However, the results as a coach just have not been there for Venables. They’ve won two big games (2023 Texas, 2024 Alabama) in his tenure, they’ve fallen flat on their face in games they quite simply should win based on talent, and they make too many self-inflicted mistakes that have repeatedly cost them every single week. He has turned the defense around, for sure, and he deserves all the praise for that. Yet as a head coach, we’re talking in circles about the same mistakes costing the Sooners in every. single. game.
Against Texas this year, Venables called a good game, but it was wrought with player mistakes. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian called a great one, and that (along with John Mateer putting out FCS quality film) was the difference. Against Ole Miss, however, Venables got caught with his pants down by Lane Kiffin’s offense time and time again. For the entire first half, the Sooners were out of sorts, out-gapped, and got carved up to the tune of 22 points. Oklahoma’s defense responded in the second half, but the same mistakes that snakebit them for Venables’ entire career popped up again with dumb penalties and a simply back-breaking fumble on a punt return by Isaiah Sategna.
It’s not all on Brent Venables. Quite frankly, I’m of the belief that John Mateer is not a Power 4-caliber quarterback, much less an SEC-caliber one, and that drags down the rest of the offense. Yet, for an elite defense, 34 points to Ole Miss is an unacceptable result, and the loss was on Venables’ side of the ball and the same mistakes we see every week. The penalties derail drives offensively and extend opponents’ drives defensively. Stupid special teams’ errors happen every week. Robert Spears-Jennings busts a half dozen plays every week. Time and time again it’s the same thing, and it is tiring.
At this point, Venables’ job security should be the slimmest it has ever been. The rest of the schedule doesn’t look any easier either, as the Sooners next have to take on Tennessee and Alabama on the road. Ole Miss was going to make or break their playoff hopes, and they appear broken. It’s going to take a pretty stark miracle to save Venables’ job, and I stopped believing in miracles a while ago.
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