Brent Venables insists Oklahoma’s OC move doesn’t mean a change from John Mateer at QB

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables finally made a change in an attempt to fix his horrendous offense, but that doesn't mean a complete overhaul of the unit. At least not yet.

Venables on Monday finally fired offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, while also promoting tight ends coach Jason Witten as the new play-caller. Arbuckle's firing was the first domino to fall, with more staff changes likely looming, but fans also anticipated that no Arbuckle also meant no quarterback John Mateer. Not so fast.

In his first public appearance since firing Arbuckle, Venables refused to discuss depth-chart changes during his weekly coach's show on Monday, but he did reiterate his confidence in Mateer as OU's starting quarterback.

"I'm not talking about depth charts or anything like that," Venables said. "... I think our guys believe in John. Some of the decisions we've made is because of that."

CBS Sports national college football senior reporter Matt Zenitz, who broke the news about Arbuckle, also had a report late Monday night that matched Venables' words. According to Zenits, the Sooners still plan on starting Mateer against Florida on Saturday, and he "handled his normal amount of reps with the first-team offense" in the first practice with Witten running the show.

Arbuckle and Mateer came from Washington State to Norman ahead of the 2025 season as a package deal. They created a dynamic duo against Pac-12 competition, but then never lived up to expectations with the Sooners and facing SEC competition.

While OU's offense was stagnant in the past two seasons, it became somewhat of a chicken-and-egg situation. Is Arbuckle's offense lifeless because Mateer turns the ball over too much, or is Mateer struggling because of Arbuckle's system that falls entirely on his shoulders? Venables seems to believe the latter based on his recent quote.

Since Venables already fried the chicken, we might as well see if the egg will hatch.

John Mateer deserves shot in Jason Witten's OU offense

Arbuckle was glued to the hip with Mateer. Even after three first-half turnovers against Georgia and during garbage time against South Carolina on Saturday, Mateer was still never pulled. We could look back and say Arbuckle's loyalty to Mateer cost him his job, but it's also Mateer's stellar 2024 season that landed Arbuckle this gig.

Mateer has never played in a system that wasn't run by Arbuckle. He needs a shorter leash than Arbuckle ever gave him, but let's at least see what he can do under new guidance before suddenly scrapping everything and moving on.

The Sooners are also headed to The Swamp, which is no environment for Whitt Newbauer or Bowe Bentley to get their first meaningful snaps, let alone make their first start. Blame Arbuckle for Newbauer and Bentley having zero experience, but it's now the hand Witten was dealt.

We've also seen a glimmer of hope from Mateer before. He looked his best this season against Mississippi State just two weeks ago, when Arbuckle finally committed to the run and took pressure off Mateer. Mateer completed 76% of his passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers in that win.

Witten has only ever called plays before at the high school level as the head coach of Liberty Christian School. His approach will likely be a lot different against SEC defenses than against the lower division of private schools in Texas. Witten did like to run his quarterback, though, and that's a strength of Mateer's when utilized correctly.

The tight end group was also the most vocal over the offseason about running the dang ball. Florida transfer Hayden Hansen, listed at 6-foot-8 and 270 pounds, knew he was brought in to run block, not catch passes. Witten had his guys bought into transforming the run game, so that's a sign he'll lean on the ground attack and his players when calling plays.

After a trip to Florida, the Sooners return to Norman to host Ole Miss. That will be after Witten's first experience calling plays and back in friendly confines. That will be the best opportunity to trot out Newbauer or Bentley if Mateer still isn't enough, but at least for this week, Mateer needs to be the guinea pig for OU's new-look offense.

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