-
Pete Thamel, ESPN
Oklahoma has agreed to a new six-year contract with football coach Brent Venables that includes a significant raise and adds two additional seasons, sources told ESPN.
Venables is coming off a 10-3 season at Oklahoma, and the commitment by the school is part of an overall push to help prepare the program as it enters the SEC this year.
Venables is 16-10 in two seasons there and secured a top-10 recruiting class in 2024. Oklahoma currently has the No. 7 class in ESPN’s 2025 class rankings.
Venables, 53, is a longtime successful assistant coach and coordinator at Kansas State, Oklahoma and Clemson. He has coached in eight national championship games.
He took the Oklahoma job two years ago after being selective for a decade about being a head coach. His decision came in the wake of being a linchpin of two staffs that won national titles at Clemson.
From the moment Venables arrived at OU, the school was amid preparations for the move to the SEC. It has significantly increased the financial commitment to the support staff, which included 22 more support staff members in Venables’ first season compared to the prior year.
Venables’ deal requires board approval, and there’s an expectation that multiple football staff members will also receive significant new deals with pay increases, sources said. Upon Venables’ arrival at OU two years ago, the on-field coaching staff increased by $1 million and the off-field pool by $2 million.
Venables’ second season included an upset of No. 3 Texas in the Red River Rivalry game, which highlighted a 10-2 regular season. Oklahoma completed the regular season with a 69-45 win over TCU before falling to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.
Oklahoma debuts in the SEC this season — the program has been ramping up for it nearly three years. It has a schedule that includes road games at Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU, along with the traditional neutral-site game against Texas. The home schedule includes Alabama and Tennessee.
Oklahoma will arrive in the SEC with two of the league’s top defensive players — linebacker Danny Stutsman and safety Billy Bowman Jr.