Clemson’s Brent Venables a hot name being linked to open Oklahoma football job
Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables’ name has been floated as a potential candidate for the open Oklahoma head football coach position.
Venables is a Big 12 Conference alum, having played and coached at Kansas State, then served on the Sooners’ coaching staff for 13 years. While at Oklahoma, he won a national championship as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2000.
Venables has been mentioned as a potential candidate for plenty of head coaching jobs over the years, but has stayed on staff with Clemson. During the offseason, he said he wouldn’t rule out becoming a head coach but was also OK if that didn’t happen.
He became the highest-paid assistant coach in the country after signing a $2.5 million contract extension through 2026.
“I’ve seen a lot of coaches prematurely take their super whistle and all their coaching acumen and they go somewhere else and don’t have the same kind of success,” he said in July. “I love winning. I love to be successful, and I don’t think that much of myself to think you can just go anywhere. And again, that’s never say never.”
SportsLine lists Venables as the favorite (4/1) for the Oklahoma job, while Betonline.ag has Venables with the fifth-highest odds at 15/2 — behind Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell (3/1); Bob Stoops (17/4), who stepped in as the interim head coach for his former squad; current Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell (9/2); and Kentucky head coach and Bob’s younger brother, Mark Stoops (6/1).
Venables received a public endorsement from former Sooners safety Tony Jefferson (2010-12) via Twitter on Monday morning.
“OU needs to bring back Brent Venables to take over as HC. We need his mindset heading to the SEC. #boomer,” Jefferson wrote, attaching a photo of Venables from his time in Norman, Okla.
Oklahoma’s head coaching job opened on Sunday after Lincoln Riley left to take the same job at the University of Southern California. After the Sooners (10-2) lost to Oklahoma State 37-33 on Saturday, Riley was asked about the open LSU job and denied interest in the gig.
While currently in the Big 12, the Sooners will be moving to join the SEC soon. Clemson played two SEC opponents this season in Georgia and South Carolina without giving up a touchdown and holding both squads’ offenses to a season low in points with 3 and 0, respectively. The Bulldogs’ lone touchdown in the season opener against Clemson came on a pick-six for the 10-3 win.
This season, Clemson ranked ninth in the country in total defense, giving up 308.4 yards per game and second in red zone defense behind only Georgia, allowing only 18 opponent scores in 29 trips. The group held opponents to 15.0 points per game, which ranks first in the ACC.
Venables was a graduate assistant (1993-95) and assistant coach (1996-98) for Kansas State before heading to Oklahoma to serve as the co-defensive coordinator 1999 and 2003. Venables was then lone defensive coordinator after that until he left for Clemson in 2011.
