Like Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles needed each other to set records back in the day at Oklahoma, OU head coach Brent Venables and general manager Jim Nagy have found they also need each other for the Sooners to succeed, especially on the recruiting trail.
Venables on Tuesday ahead of the Sooners starting fall camp and him beginning Year 5 at the helm was asked during his press conference about Nagy, a year and a half after getting to Oklahoma to take over as GM. There's no denying the Sooners have gotten better because of Nagy's addition, but there's also the case that Nagy wouldn't be a home-run hire without Venables throwing the pitches.
Read more: Oklahoma already rewarding Jim Nagy with handsome payday after quickly proving his value
"As I said, I've talked about this a lot in front of y'all, but the piece that I did not like was having to do contracts and talk money and things like that,” Venables said. “That's just not comfortable for anybody. And now we're dealing with an age group of 17, 16 to 24‑year‑old young people that haven't done it before, and there's a maturity piece to it that is not an easy thing to navigate.
“Not complaining at all, but turning that piece over has been the most peaceful part of all of it. But everything else is the exact same.”
GMs have become a need in college football, just look at the Oklahoma Sooners
Basically, as a football coach, Venables can worry more about coaching football with Nagy handling a part of the job that didn’t exist for college coaches less than a decade ago.
When Nagy was hired last February, OU’s announcement included that he would work with the head coach, not under them or as their superior. His key responsibilities listed on OU’s website is long, but the second one on the list is "Work as a peer partner to the head coach to assemble a team that reflects the program’s identity, values, goals and style of play, and translates the head coach’s vision into actionable roster-building strategies.”
Nagy’s other responsibilities include lead the strategic and operational functions of the roster construction and operations, design and oversee financial strategies to allocate revenue-sharing and NIL assets, and oversee a scouting department.
“You still have to recruit every single day, whether it's developing relationships or constantly looking at video, evaluating players,” Venables said. “All of our coaches have that responsibility. They need to have extreme ownership in their room, for them to be at their best.
“We don't get to draft people. We have to recruit them. And you can have all the money, and you can have the best relationship, and you still don't get them — and it's onward. That's the nature of college football recruiting. So, it's been good."
Read more: Jim Nagy makes it clear playing for Oklahoma is a long-term investment
Oklahoma was somewhat early on adding a GM position and was even ridiculed by some fan bases for it. However, the jump the Sooners have made on and off the field just a year and a half later make Venables and Nagy an example that this type of partnership is now a need to succeed in college football today. It's not just hiring a GM, but the head coach also working with them.
"Any time something is brand new, there's always an adjustment period," Venables said. "I think all change is good. I think it's always an opportunity to grow and get better."
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