Many around college football believe Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has lost it, and maybe when they say “it,” they mean Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, who was Swinney’s defensive coordinator during his greatest years.
The night after Venables was irritated about his OU defense’s 51-0 shutout victory against UTEP in the No. 10 Sooners’ opener, Swinney suffered maybe the worst loss of his career, as LSU made the Tigers look like a Week 1 cupcake in the 51-10 outcome in Lane Kiffin’s LSU debut. Week 1 assured that Venables still has the Sooners rising as College Football Playoff contenders, while it also confirmed why Swinney’s status may soon go from legendary to unemployed.
Venables left Clemson after the 2021 season to return to Oklahoma and replace Lincoln Riley as the Sooners’ head coach. He had previously been a defensive coordinator at OU, including for the Sooners’ last national championship in 2000 under Bob Stoops. He then left Norman to join Swinney’s staff in 2012. Swinney certainly had Clemson’s stock rising, but the Tigers still weren’t a national power yet.
Oklahoma finally benefitting from Brent Venables' defensive genius as Tigers crumble
Clemson was 29-19 between 2009 and 2011, Swinney’s first three seasons in charge. Then Venables got to town. With Venables running the defense, the Tigers went 121-18 and won two national titles between 2012 and 2021. In 2016, Venables was named the Broyles Award winner as the best assistant in college football.
It seemed as if Swinney had built Venables into a promising head coach, but it actually might have been the other way around. There were early concerns about Venables running a program, but once he relied on what he knows he's great at -- calling a defense -- there hasn't been any worry since in Oklahoma. Meanwhile, all hope has been lost in Clemson with Swinney as its leader.
Swinney's hesitancy to take advantage of the transfer portal certainly hindered the Tigers' ability to keep up in college football today, but there's no coincidence that was also the same time Venables left.
Since Venables left Clemson, the Tigers are 37-17 and continue their fall from the ranks of college football’s elites, while Venables’ Sooners have gotten their seat back at the table. That comes out to a .685 winning percentage since Venables left.
Clemson, under Swinney, won 60 percent of its games before Venables showed up. With Venables at Clemson, though, the Tigers won 87 percent of their games. Numbers don’t lie, and Clemson was at least 20 percent better with Venables as its defensive coordinator.
Was just perusing the @TIinClemson boards this morning and came across a pretty wild stat relating to the #Sooners in regard to Dabo Swinney's time at Clemson.
— Josh McCuistion (@Josh_Scoop) September 6, 2026
Before Venables: 29-19
With Venables: 121-18
After Venables: 37-17
The Sooners are the beneficiaries now. OU’s defense was once mocked throughout college football, but since Venables took full control of the unit before last season, Oklahoma has one of the best defenses in the country. The elite defense in 2025 carried OU to 10-3 and the CFP. The Sooners have even higher expectations in 2026 with an offense that compliments their defense. The expectations couldn't be lower at Clemson.
Swinney might have lost what it takes to succeed in college football today, but, fortunately, the Sooners have him now.
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