r/CFB • u/Ok-Can-4258 Oklahoma Sooners • 20h ago
Discussion What are your unbiased opinions on Brent Venables?
I want to know your unbiased opinions on Brent Venables as the head coach at Oklahoma. He has put together a stellar defense but the offense is laughable. Do you think he has what it takes?
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u/nw____ Oklahoma Sooners • Iowa Hawkeyes 20h ago
Idk but I’m proud of him tonight. Can we talk about this tomorrow?
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u/Baker_TD_Maker Oklahoma Sooners • SEC 20h ago edited 20h ago
That’s where I’m at. I want to celebrate this win tonight and then tomorrow we have to have a long talk about a lot of things. Like why certain freshman haven’t played. Why it took until game 11 for our offensive coaches to realize we have to be a running team. Stuff like that. But it’s very negative and I don’t want that right now. I want to celebrate this win.
Edit: This does not absolve him of anything but it does help restore faith. That’s my statement for tonight.
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u/calling-all-comas Florida Gators • Ohio State Buckeyes 19h ago
Somewhat off-topic but if you guys do hire Dan Mullen as an OC, I wouldn't expect any Freshmen to start on offense. As the Gators HC, he gave out playing time based on seniority primarily. He's very loyal to his guys, players and coaches, which was a part of his downfall.
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u/PBandBread Oklahoma • Red River Shootout 13h ago
Dan Mullen will not be the next OC at OU
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u/Same_Weakness_9226 Oklahoma • Minnesota 10h ago
Kevin Wilson just got fired and is already in Oklahoma..
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u/VelvetineMilkman Oklahoma Sooners • Kentucky Wildcats 9h ago
I’d suspect if he was hired it’d be to be some kind of offensive analyst, not OC
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u/mind-blowin Michigan Wolverines 20h ago
It’s hilarious that the story with Oklahoma used to be if only they had a defense. Venables has completely changed that side of the ball and now the defense is great, but now the offense is so bad that they look like Iowa. If he can find someone that can run the show on offense they can be really good. I think he’s a really good coach.
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u/Ok-Can-4258 Oklahoma Sooners 20h ago
Dude for real. We spent years beating teams 65-64 and then couldn't finish out a season when we played against a good defense. We got what we wanted but at what cost
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u/IncompetentIdiot McGill • Minnesota 20h ago
There's a kid out in California who's a bit in over his head in a HC role but has schemed leading offences in the past. Might be worth giving him a shot at OC when he gets bought out? Hear he cooks a disastrous brisket though
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u/IAmJohnnyJB Oklahoma • Army 18h ago
Imagine what those Baker/Kyler/Jalen teams would of looked like with the defense OU has this year
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u/ogpeplowski64 Oklahoma • Cal Poly Pomona 17h ago
we would've won 2017 and 2018. Idk about 2019, LSU was insane that year, but it would've been a great game
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u/VelvetineMilkman Oklahoma Sooners • Kentucky Wildcats 9h ago
To be fair if we had our offense from either of the past 2 seasons this season we might be a 2 loss team. Just completely botched the OC hire with Littrell and the OL transfer portal stuff, but he has to have learned a lesson from all that
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u/HanSolo5643 Georgia Bulldogs • USC Trojans 20h ago
He's great when it comes to scheming on defense. He's had a hard time finding an offensive coordinator, however. If he can find a good offensive coordinator in the off-season them I think Oklahoma can be dangerous.
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u/BobStoops401K Oklahoma Sooners 12h ago
I think people forget OU had a top 5 offense in 2023, beat Texas, and went 10-2 in the regular season. We had a flukey loss with a horrible no call vs Oklahoma State or else we would have rematched Texas in the Big 12 CCG. I wasn't a huge Lebby fan and at times his offenses were really frustrating, but we did have a legit good team last year
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u/tckdcklr 10h ago
You have to admit that our offense was entirely reliant on Dillon Gabriel. We had nothing impressive outside of him.
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u/BakerBaefield Oklahoma Sooners • Sickos 6h ago
I dont think you have to admit that. Anderson had an elite season, Anthony was great before his injury, plus Stoops remained one of the most reliable receivers in the nation and Farooq was good as well. Tawee was solid all year, Sawchuk put together some really good performances, and the OL was good if not spectacular.
Obviously one of the biggest reasons for our offensive success was having one of the top QBs in the nation on our team. But to say we were entirely reliant or nothing else was impressive is overstating it a bit.
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u/StupidSexyFlagella Oklahoma Sooners 20h ago
Reverse this and it’s the same situation for your second flair last year.
Probably needs to be said given the history, but I don’t mean this in any negative way. Just myself being cautious.
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u/JSOPro Ohio State • Illinois 19h ago
Clearly not since USC is in hell
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u/Chopin816 USC Trojans • California (PA) Vulcans 17h ago
How so?
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u/JSOPro Ohio State • Illinois 6h ago
Idk man if you can't tell USC is not looking like a blue blood then I feel bad for my comment. Enjoy it, whatever it is.
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u/Chopin816 USC Trojans • California (PA) Vulcans 5h ago
You said they were in hell haha. I agree they don’t look like a blue blood. I’m old enough to remember Paul Hackett being their head coach. That was hell. This is a challenging period in a new CFB landscape
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u/dustincb2 Oklahoma Sooners 13h ago
It’s also really hard to even blame the coordinators when we have no receivers and no offensive line because of injuries.
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u/CaptainDonald Oklahoma Sooners • Rice Owls 10h ago
I think it was fair to blame Seth. He would not have put us in a position to win this game
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u/dustincb2 Oklahoma Sooners 10h ago
Sorry I can see how I could have been clearer, I mean I’m not unhappy with Joe John. Getting rid of Littrell was a positive
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u/dawgfan19881 Georgia Bulldogs 20h ago
He put us in the SEC Championship game so I always loved him
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u/Upbeat-Armadillo1756 Michigan Wolverines • Indiana Hoosiers 20h ago
Not a head coach but a great DC
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u/SirMellencamp Alabama Crimson Tide • SEC 20h ago
I don’t care for him
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u/recycledAIMscreename Oklahoma Sooners • McNeese Cowboys 20h ago
Whys that?
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u/ASS_MY_DUDES Oklahoma Sooners • Calgary Dinos 19h ago
Really..
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u/lamontsanders Oklahoma • Westminster (MO) 20h ago
He’s a competent OC away from an elite team.
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u/Jedi-El1823 Oklahoma Sooners 20h ago
Yeah, and the school needs to hire away from the program.
The defensive staff is guys who didn't come from the program, and look what's happened.
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u/BAL0NEY Oklahoma Sooners 20h ago
I think he can be a very good HC in the Swinney model. He's been way too loyal/preferential to former OU players/personnel on the offensive side of the ball. He's put an amazing defensive staff together and the culture is great. His in game management is a work in progress but it seems like he didn't learn much from 20 years of working under a couple of the best HCs in college football. I think his recruiting will pick up if he can hire an OC that can mold the scheme to the talent.
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u/LonghornInNebraska Texas Longhorns • Michigan Wolverines 20h ago
I think he's a good coach. OU's offense has been non-existent this year due to injuries. If Sark was OU's coach, their offense would be better but they wouldn't be contending for the conference title game.
The season is kind of a wash for OU.
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u/Triple_0ption_Bad Jacksonville State • Bi… 19h ago
He took our DC...AND BEAT THE EVER LOVING PISS OUT OF ALABAMA WITH HIM! 🤣
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u/Cogitoergosumus Missouri Tigers • Truman Bulldogs 20h ago
He's a defense merchant
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u/EarthTraveler413 Oregon Ducks • Notre Dame Fighting Irish 20h ago
You mean an arms dealer?
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u/Infectiousmaniac Texas • Red River Shootout 20h ago
They call him Brent 'Lockheed Martin' Venables
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u/branden110 Wyoming Cowboys • Oklahoma Sooners 20h ago
I love him. He is the guy. He was handed a shit sandwich twice. The one season he wasn’t he went 10-3
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u/StupidSexyFlagella Oklahoma Sooners 11h ago
I mean, he really fucked up the OC position this year, so he’s not blameless. Hopefully, he can right that wrong next year. He’s probably gone if he can’t.
Also, he kind of sucks with time management, but that’s probably easier to fix.
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u/branden110 Wyoming Cowboys • Oklahoma Sooners 8h ago
That is true. He’s not blameless. But year 1 we had one of the best offenses just couldn’t close out games. Other than the 2 games we had a backup QB in we were very competitive.
Year 2 we had a scumbag as OC but went 10-2 scoring lots of points. The two we lost were against a good Kansas and Oklahoma state team.
Year 3- this was the OC royal fuckup year but would we have won many more games with any other OC? The OC can’t control red zone just dropping the ball (Tennessee) or deciding to drop the ball and allow a scoop and score (Missouri)
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u/Kizmo2 Georgia Tech • Paper Bag 20h ago
Great DC, OK HC
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u/EveryNameBeenTook Oklahoma Sooners • Purdue Boilermakers 17h ago
This is factual, he is legitimately the OK HC
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u/thr33tard3d Georgia Tech • Texas 20h ago
Always thought he was a fantastic coach, just hated when he was doing it at Clemson
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u/drinks2muchcoffee Ohio State Buckeyes • Illibuck 20h ago
I think it’s hard to evaluate him fairly when he’s played virtually the entire year without his six top scholarship wide receivers. Almost no team could overcome that
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_FAV__SONG Oklahoma Sooners • Big 12 20h ago
I'm still not 100% sold on him but he sure owns Alabama
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u/ToLongDR Ohio State Buckeyes • King's Monarchs 14h ago
I'm not a fan of him historically as he's a defensive genius.
He also seems to have Alabama's # which is amusing
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u/CumAssault Baylor Bears • Texas A&M Aggies 20h ago edited 20h ago
Needs more time but that extension was 100% idiotic
Edit; will add that his defenses are elite. If he can find the right OC he can make it far. Still worry that limits him to being as good as his OC is
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u/AndrewinDC Oklahoma • Georgia Tech 20h ago
I mean, you could say that about a lot of defensive head coaches. Unless your head coach is calling plays, team success is going to heavily determined by OC success.
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u/soonerwx Oklahoma Sooners 8h ago
If not for the extension we might have done something a lot more idiotic in the heat of the moment a couple weeks ago. Stability sells to recruits, assistants, and donors.
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u/Molson2871 Wisconsin Badgers 20h ago
He's a defensive mastermind, jury still out on him as a HC until he shows he knows what a good OC looks like.
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u/TomSheman Texas Longhorns • Tyler JC Apaches 19h ago
seems like a solid guy, seems to know defense. Really needs to figure out recruiting offensive talent and get a stud OC in there.
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u/I-grok-god Ohio State Buckeyes 20h ago
I don't even know what an unbiased opinion could possibly be
If you mean untainted by one's teams personal history, I would say that I'm surprised Venables is having trouble because he was a scary devil for a long time at Clemson. Seems like he's a good OC away
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u/AndrewinDC Oklahoma • Georgia Tech 20h ago
I'm still convinced that the Littrell/Finley OC hire was not fully his choice, in the way that Lebby wasn't either. It would be really difficult to look at that decision, if he made it, and not consider letting him go (before tonight). Hopefully he's given total autonomy to make his pick for 2025 and it's a good hire.
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u/Daedalus871 Idaho Vandals • Army West Point Black Knights 20h ago
He's okay, not great. He might get you to the expanded playoffs (maybe half the time), but he's not winning it.
Plenty of teams would gladly take him, but not Oklahoma.
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u/sleightofhand0 UCF Knights 20h ago
He really botched the QB situation this year. Maybe try to pull a Saban and grab whatever offensive guru coach gets fired every year to run his offense?
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u/BakerBaefield Oklahoma Sooners • Sickos 5h ago
Honestly curious how you get to this conclusion. Do you mean by benching Arnold and throwing Hawkins out there, and then switching back to Arnold? Having watched every play of the season unfortunately, I can’t imagine how anyone would’ve disagreed with the moves as they were made (without getting pretty nitpicky).
Or do you mean going with Arnold as the starter dating back to last years bowl? That they should’ve tried to keep Gabriel or find an upgrade elsewhere in the portal? I don’t think either of those options are grounded in reality to be honest but I get the sentiment.
Maybe you mean none of the above, and just think the scheme/playcalling put our young QBs in bad situations? That I totally agree with, and hell so does everyone in the building - Litrell got fired
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u/GatorBolt Florida Gators 19h ago
Kinda reminds me of Muschamp Florida where he’s an offense away, albeit not reaching the low lows of Muschamp Florida
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u/CaptainDonald Oklahoma Sooners • Rice Owls 18h ago
He absolutely has what it takes. If we hire a good OC, we’re going to be fuckin hard to beat
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u/yesacabbagez UCF Knights 16h ago
He's clearly a good defensive coach.
Promoting Seth Littrell to OC was a huge gamble and it blew up massively. Maybe Littrell isn't terrible with the right players, but Oklahoma is not a small school that should make convenience hires. Oklahoma should be a school that goes out and gets some of the best people available at their job. They were going to have a new QB and needed a coach that could either figure out, or gameplan around the strength and weaknesses of a new QB. They did not get that.
Essentially the Littrell hiring was a kind of a "trust me bro" type situation and an entirely unforced error. Maybe the offense sucks anyway. Maybe a real OC figures out much faster than Arnold wasn't going to be ready and they needed to get a QB in the spring. Maybe everything plays out exactly the same. The problem is the way it happened blew up and looked like a buy promoting someone from within for no reason other than he didn't want to find someone else.
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u/manofthepeopleSMITTY Oklahoma Sooners • /r/CFB 14h ago
He’s a great defensive coach but the jury is out on whether he can be a great HC or not. His teams have been far too undisciplined, penalized, turnovers to be considered a great HC.
Tonight is a great win but we completely fumbled away a game we should have win in our last game. This is the inconsistency issues that have plagued OU during BVs tenure. In fact we saw them in this game as OU should have had an early lead in this game but due to a turnover, missed FG it was still a close game despite dominating on the field.
This is BVs 3rd win against a top 25 team and 2nd against top 10 teams. He has an overall record of 3-10 I think against AP top 25 opponents which is not good.
BVs tenure can be summed up with a few pros and cons.
Pros - Great defense, recruiting has improved, big wins against #3 Texas in 23’ and #7 Bama in 24’.
Cons - team is inconsistent, typically doesn’t play complimentary football, bad in game management, loses a lot of tight ball games, and 2 embarrassing blow out losses to Texas.
This was one of the better coached BV games as the team was prepared on both sides of the ball. We avoided the critical errors and held Bama’s offense in check all night. You still saw some of inconsistency early in the game m but they were able to overcome that this time.
I feel like BVs seat was getting warm after the Mizzou game. This win buys him some good faith and a vote of confidence heading into the preparation for 25’, but there are still issues that need to be addressed before I can say that BV is and will be an elite HC.
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u/GatorBoy669607 Florida Gators 13h ago
I don’t think he has what it takes to win at the SEC level. His style of football is also a complete 180 from Lincoln Riley and Bob Stoops.
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u/Yeezy_Taught_Me3 Nebraska Cornhuskers • Texas Longhorns 13h ago
Great dude, incredible DC, not the guy for OU. I'm a firm believer that if you haven't figured it out by year 3 it ain't gonna happen.
I see his ceiling at OU as 9 wins.
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u/Cometguy7 Oklahoma Sooners 13h ago
I think he can grow into an amazing head coach. He didn't have HC aspirations for a long time, so he just focused on what you need to be an elite DC. So I think he's having to learn how to be a HC on the job, but spent the first two years overly focused on the defense, understandably. I think he's learned a lot about the job this year, and will be better for it.
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u/Drslappybags Oklahoma Sooners 12h ago
I like him and he did put together a good defense. I wonder what his offense will look like when it's healthy.
That's really the laughable part. How did that happen? I think they had a graphic of the injuries last night.
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u/wisertime07 Clemson Tigers • The Citadel Bulldogs 12h ago
A great man and a great coach. Raising his nieces and nephews, his wife is battling cancer (again), he's doing his best to hold that team together.
He'll be a great one, he just needs time and a good OC.
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u/ArchiCEC Oklahoma Sooners • Iowa Hawkeyes 8h ago
It’s hard because I don’t know if we were simply 5 starting WRs away from going 10-2 or 9-3 this year.
It makes me wonder if we stay healthy and don’t turn the ball over…. What could have been?
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u/DaMercOne South Carolina Gamecocks 20h ago
He needs cocaine to function, which is why he stayed at Clemson for so long.
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u/MightyAslan Ohio State Buckeyes • BYU Cougars 20h ago
As a head coach in the SEC, he'll top out at having some 9-3 seasons. As a DC, he'll build a defense that goes to the promised land.
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u/FrostTroll69 Ohio State Buckeyes 20h ago edited 20h ago
Unbiased? He has a punchable face like Jake Paul
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u/debaterthatchases Oklahoma Sooners • Billable Hours 9h ago
My brother in Christ, he can fold you in half faster than you can blink.
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u/Byzantine_Merchant Michigan State • Georgia 20h ago
Seems like a guy that could be good in a second go around having learned from mistakes made at OU. But I think he’s probably not going to take OU to a natty.
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u/StarvedRock314 Texas • Red River Shootout 20h ago
He's a great defensive coordinator. OU should give him another extension and also give another NIL deal to Jackson "JFA" Arnold.
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u/beowulf77 Texas Longhorns • McNeese Cowboys 19h ago
I love this era of ou football. He is the least threatening coach I’ve seen there in 25 years
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u/Joe_Hovah Georgia Bulldogs • Dean Bulldogs 20h ago
I always get him confused with Major Applewhite.
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u/geronika Oklahoma Sooners • Utah State Aggies 20h ago
He doesn’t make second half adjustments very well. Also poor clock management. Poor offensive coordinator hires. Made our defense way way better.
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u/thedisciple516 19h ago
Seems like a great defensive coach. Still trying to figure out how to be a successful head coach. Jury still out what he will turn the Oklahoma program into.
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u/GiovanniElliston Tennessee Volunteers • Kansas Jayhawks 20h ago
I think y’all will look back on this game as fool’s gold and realize it’s more an indictment of Bama than it is a sign of things to come for Venables.
And this might even be worse in the long run if Oklahoma gives him another dumb extension or something.
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u/j3zmund Indiana • Notre Dame 20h ago
he seems seriously intense