I’ve been the biggest Brent Venables supporter there is. I love who he is as a person. I love how he is a leader of men. If one of my sons wanted to play college football, I’d want him to play for Venables. He reminds me of Oklahoma baseball head coach Skip Johnson in how he leads the program and molds not only great football players but great men.
Even amidst this disaster season in which the offense has regressed back to the Seth Littrell days, I’m still team BV. I believe he is not only the right person to lead Oklahoma’s elite defense (which ranks toward the top of the nation and has kept OU in the last two games), but I also believe he is the perfect leader to handle "CEO" duties.
That said – A.) can he be the CEO while still leading the defense, and B.) can he get the offense right?
He hit the Jeff Lebby hire out of the park when he first got here. Lebby was not only the best OC since BV has been here, but he also has the Mississippi State program reaching peak levels – mirroring what his father-in-law, Art Briles, did at Baylor in the mid-2010s.
The problem is, since that hire, Venables has whiffed repeatedly. The Littrell promotion was a disaster waiting to happen. He made that move in order to keep Jackson Arnold around and keep some continuity, even though Littrell had zero experience in the Briles offense and had no clue how to call it.
Littrell was obviously fired midseason, and Joe Jon Finley, who actually did have Briles/Lebby/Heupel experience, limped to the finish line.
Arnold and that regime of OCs were out. In was hot shot Washington State OC Ben Arbuckle and his prized QB John Mateer.
The start wasn’t perfect, but they were able to play enough complementary football with the elite defense to string together a CFP run in Year 1 and darn near won the first playoff game in school history.
Hopes were high heading into 2026. And while the defense has maintained its “Hard to Kill” style, the offense has been hard to watch. (I can’t take credit for that, but I chuckled when I saw it).
There is only one move that seems inevitable, and that is Ben Arbuckle out as OC.
But for the first time, doubt has crept in about the head coach that I love dearly. What if BV doesn't connect with the next OC? As much as I’d love for it to work out, it feels like it may be his last chance.
That leads me to the whole point of this article. If OU somehow has to part ways with Venables, which got more complicated with this offseason’s extension, where would the Sooners even turn? Venables has been beloved by all his players, dating back to his days as OU's DC. His players have never wavered, and the recruiting classes remain steady at the top of the nation.
If you part ways with BV, the whole thing is done, and you have to rebuild from the bottom. Not only is the defense gone, but you better make sure the next hire is right, or you risk being in the middle of the pack (or worse) for a decade. So who would be the right hire? Here are a couple of potential moves:
5 options to replace Brent Venables if it comes to that
Home run: Jeff Lebby, HC, Mississippi State
Jeff Lebby is the first call, in my opinion, and the job is his if he wants it. An OU alum, Lebby has built Mississippi State into something I’m not sure many thought he could do. His offense’s numbers resemble that of the team he was an assistant for at Baylor alongside his father-in-law from 2008-16. His Bulldogs lead the nation in total offense and are top-15 in scoring offense.
Would he even leave the program he’s building now, especially after “the incident”? Who knows? But at the end of the day, Oklahoma is a better job than Mississippi State, so he’d at least listen.
Bases-clearing triple: Josh Heupel, HC, Tennessee
Perhaps less likely than Lebby, and a bit of a step down anyway, in my opinion. However, Josh Heupel has recovered magnificently from his struggle as OU offensive coordinator and has the Tennessee program doing quite nicely – hosting ESPN College GameDay this weekend against Texas. However, that bridge may be quite burned, as he was actually fired from OU. But Heupel is 76-28 as a head coach, including an admirable 48-20 at Tennessee. His 24-16 record in SEC play, though, is not the Oklahoma standard.
Solid base hits
Mike Shanahan, OC, Indiana
After the Venables defensive experiment, I feel like you absolutely have to go with an offensive-minded head coach. And who better than Mike Shanahan, who has the Indiana offense rolling even with the departure of several NFL skill players? The Hoosiers rank sixth in scoring offense, something that would be a breath of fresh air for Sooner Nation in Norman. Shanahan is a future head coach, for sure. Whether or not that is in Norman remains to be seen.
Shannon Dawson, OC, Miami
Once again, if you’re looking for elite offense, look no further than what Shannon Dawson is doing at Miami. After he helped the Canes to the national title game last season, he has Miami rolling again and ranked No. 2 in total offense and No. 10 in scoring offense. The Canes look very much headed for another playoff run and a potential national championship. And they have the QB and skill players to match – something Sooner fans would welcome with open arms.
Wild Card: Kendal Briles, OC, South Carolina
Yeah, I get that this wouldn’t make any sense because why would Lebby turn it down but his brother-in-law, Kendal Briles, accept? But Briles has yet to get a head coaching position, and if you’re looking to get the offense and the program rolling, the former Baylor OC would be a high-reward, high-risk hire. He certainly has the South Carolina offense rolling, ranking fifth in total offense and 11th in scoring offense. Is he a diamond in the rough? Oklahoma is probably not in the position to take that risk, but you never know.
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