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By Aman Sharma
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Oklahoma Board of Regents chair Rick Nagel shut down talk that Brent Venables could be fired, telling the regents in Norman that the Oklahoma Sooners head coach is safe.
Nagel spoke up with the Sooners at 5-4 overall and 3-3 against SEC opponents, after trading wins and losses all fall.
Venables will finish the year with Jason Witten calling plays as interim offensive coordinator after Ben Arbuckle’s firing. On3 wrote that the job doesn’t appear headed for a vacancy this coaching cycle.
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Nagel admitted the board rarely weighs in on athletics before breaking that habit, per Joe Mussatto.
“The board doesn’t typically comment much on what’s going on in the athletic department. That’s maybe a smart thing. But I want to say this … our head coach, Brent Venables, is not on the hot seat. There is no hot seat. We just extended his contract.”
The extension added two years, stretching his remaining term to six, up from four. On3 valued it at six years and $63 million, averaging $10.5 million a season. Firing him without cause once this season ends would trigger a buyout estimated at $51.6 million.
Across five seasons, Venables has a 37-24 record. Since the 2024 move to the SEC, his teams have gone 21-14, splitting 22 league games.
Oklahoma has beaten Mississippi State, New Mexico, UTEP, Florida and a Texas team ranked No. 1 when they met. Michigan, Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina handed it losses.
Before Arbuckle’s dismissal, Oklahoma’s run game ranked 128th in FBS at 106.8 yards a game.
Asked whether offensive struggles were wearing down his defense and drove the move, Venables paused for roughly three seconds before a one-word reply: “Yes.” He then defended the timing.
“But I do feel like, as I said, from a timing standpoint, never a good time to make those types of decisions, but it was the right time. I did have a peace about that, and it was all about what is best for the team.”
Witten’s debut went well. The Sooners piled up 144 rushing yards in a 23-7 win at Florida, with drives of 7:11 and 12:45.
Quarterback John Mateer has drawn criticism for seven interceptions this year after 11 a season ago.
If the every-other-week pattern holds, No. 19 Ole Miss visits at an awkward moment. Texas A&M follows, and Oklahoma closes its schedule at No. 22 Missouri.
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