Depending on the fan, this is either good or bad news: Brent Venables is here to stay.
Venables' seat was warming up again this time last week, and he was a third straight Red River Rivalry loss away from having a fire under him. Instead, his Sooners embodied the culture he has built as Oklahoma's head coach and took down No. 1 Texas to improve to 3-2 and maybe even turn this season around.
That win alone dumped ice on Venables' seat, but after SoonerScoop's George Stoia just revealed Venables' new buyout after a contract extension over the offseason, his throne as OU's leader is pretty comfortable. For fans wanting Venables gone, that's not happening any time soon, between his buyout and coming off a massive upset in the biggest game of the season.
What is Brent Venables' buyout at Oklahoma?
Stoia reported on Friday that Venables' buyout for OU to fire him after the 2026 season would be $51.67 million, which wouldn't be paid in one giant lump sum, but is still a hit to the budget if the Sooners are trying to restructure their football program.
For comparison, before new athletic director Roger Denny gave Venables a new two-year extension right before the season, his projected buyout was $26.2 million, so the cost to fire Venables if this season went south basically doubled. That's exactly why many fans questioned why OU extended Venables entering Year 5.
Here's Stoia's full breakdown of Venables' buyout structure by year, which indicates it won't be until 2029 when OU can fire Venables for the same price pre-extension:
Here is a breakdown of how the buyout works after each season of the new deal. The $51.67 million buyout ranks as the 12th-highest in college football this season. #Sooners https://t.co/hhY5r2DRhD pic.twitter.com/q9DraeewHH
— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) October 16, 2026
Venables' new extension put his contract through 2031 and made him one of the top-10 highest-paid coaches in college football with a $10 million salary. It's a fair argument that Venables should be near the top of that list when coaching a blue blood like Oklahoma, but the counterargument is that a raise should be earned, not given based on brand and the market around him.
Brent Venables' contract extension still a questionable decision by OU
Just because Venables is somewhat invincible right now doesn't mean he should be.
Venables is 35-22 overall as OU's head coach and 19-17 in conference games, between the Big 12 and SEC. He's posted a losing record in half of his four full seasons leading the Sooners so far. That does not warrant an extension.
The Sooners had extremely high expectations for 2026 after going 10-3 and making the College Football Playoff last year. That was a heck of an accomplishment by Venables, but it was also just his second winning season in four years leading the Sooners.
So far this season, the Sooners have mostly disappointed at 3-2. The offense has been lifeless, which has been a common issue under Venables and has led to two early road losses to Michigan and Georgia, plus an underwhelming showing against New Mexico, despite the narrow 14-6 win. Even the upset of Texas required a special teams and defensive touchdown to overcome a dormant offense.
The Sooners were dealt maybe the toughest first five games in college football, but that's also life in the SEC. Everything is still on the table for OU, but there are still four ranked opponents left on the schedule ahead, including No. 15 Kentucky on Saturday.
Denny claimed he prepared for success with the new extension, but 2026 can still be a failure, and even then, Venables will still be leading the Sooners in 2027.
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