So now we know. Brent Venables will be Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator in 2025.
There are a multitude of reasons why that’s a good thing for OU football, and a few reasons to fear it might not work.
Knowles was Venables’ first choice after the great things he did at Oklahoma State and the national championship he fueled at Ohio State with college football’s best defense in 2024.
But Knowles looked into the OU opening and figured he was better off taking the job at Penn State.
So Venables, with his hand-picked choice of Zac Alley having left for West Virginia in December, was suddenly limited in his options.
And he figured the best of those limited options was one he settled on with Saturday’s announcement: hire a linebackers coach in Nate Dreiling, add a defensive analyst in Wes Goodwin, and take over as defensive coordinator himself.
“I have reflected on all facets of our program over the past several weeks,” Venables said in a press release announcing the hires. “Since I was hired as head coach, we have carefully assembled the defensive personnel and scheme that is suited to compete at the highest level, and we’ve built a deep and talented roster ready for the moment. I have high expectations for our program and will do everything in my power to achieve our goals for our players. To that end, I will take over defensive play-calling responsibilities for the 2025 season.”
At times during his first three seasons as a head coach, Venables has had moments — call it indecision, hesitation or just situational awareness — where his inexperience as the boss was exposed.
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