Oklahoma is not letting Brent Venables get away, and after the season the Sooners are coming off, it's easy to see why.
The school announced Thursday that Venables agreed to a two-year contract extension that runs his deal through January 31, 2032. The Board of Regents still has to sign off, and that vote is expected when the board meets Sept. 15-16.
Athletic director Roger Denny made clear what Venables means to the building. "Coach Venables is elite at building culture, not just in the locker room, but throughout the entire program," Denny said. "Our players are drawn to him, they trust him, they believe in him."
Venables pointed back at the people above him. "I'm incredibly grateful for the trust, belief and support of President Joe Harroz, Athletics Director Roger Denny, Chair and Special Advisor for OU Athletics Randall Stephenson," he said.
Rewind twelve months and this looks a lot different. Oklahoma went 6-7 in its first SEC season in 2024, the second losing record of Venables' tenure. The seat was certainly warming.
Then 2025 answered the question. The Sooners won 10 games in the regular season, earned the No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff and hosted a first-round game. The defense was the engine. Venables' group finished sixth nationally in yards allowed at 272.5 per game and seventh in scoring defense at 15.5 points per game, and it led the country in both tackles for loss (9.4 per game) and sacks (3.5 per game). Kicker Tate Sandell won the Lou Groza Award.
Defense carrying an Oklahoma team is familiar territory for Venables. He spent 1999 through 2011 in Norman as Bob Stoops' defensive coordinator, part of the staff that won the 2000 national title. From there he built one of the sport's best units at Clemson from 2012 to 2021, won the Broyles Award in 2016 as the nation's top assistant and coordinated national championship defenses under Dabo Swinney. Oklahoma hired him as its 23rd head coach in December 2021.
The four years since have been up and down. Venables sits at 32-20, with 10-win seasons in 2023 and 2025 sandwiching a pair of 6-7 finishes. The 2025 run, built on a defense that ranked among the country's best in his own specialty, was enough for Oklahoma to commit to him deeper into the SEC era but the offense will need to perform in their big-ticket games for them to have a legit chance at a return to the College Football Playoff and shot at that elusive national title for the program.
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