Brent Venables is stepping back into his comfort zone in 2025, taking over the Oklahoma Sooners’ defense after Zac Alley left to be the defensive coordinator for Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia. Venables, in his fourth year at the helm of Oklahoma Football, was one of the best defensive coordinators in college football before taking the OU job.
While meeting with the media to open spring ball, Venables was asked why he took over play-calling duties for the Oklahoma defense this season. His answer was simple: “Why am I going to call the defense? Because I’m good at it and I’m confident in it. We’ve got a great staff. And if I’m going to be successful and the players are going to be successful, the product is going to be what we want it to be, it’s going to take all of us,” Venables said.
Venables is good at it. In 2000, he helped lead the Oklahoma Sooners to a national title, thanks to really strong defensive efforts. He then helped the Sooners return to the national title game two more times before leaving to be the defensive coordinator for Dabo Swinney and Clemson. With the Tigers, Venables won two more national titles before becoming the head coach at Oklahoma.
During his run as the Clemson defensive coordinator, the Tigers finished in the top five in scoring defense five times. At Oklahoma, the Sooners finished in the top five in scoring defense four times and also finished No. 6 in 2000.
It’s a massive season for the Sooners, coming off of their second 6-7 campaign in three seasons. But Venables isn’t making the decision based on the pressure that comes with the job. Venables said, “Every game’s that way, every day I show up something’s on the line. My job’s on the line. Every day for the past 30 years. Nothing’s changed for me.”
Answering concerns about his ability to manage the game and call the defense,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/why-brent-venables-taking-over-201051905.html
Author : Sooners Wire
Publish date : 2025-03-05 20:10:00
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