Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables might be insane, or he's at least going to drive OU fans there.
The Sooners head into their bye week at 2-2 after a humiliating 41-13 loss to No. 2 Georgia on Saturday in Athens. The Bulldogs are serious national title contenders, so a road loss to them wouldn't ever be detrimental, but OU is supposed to be at that level too. Those grueling 60 minutes further proved, though, that Venables' program is a long way from contending for anything.
The defense might be stellar, but the offense has been dormant for three seasons now, including the last two with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer, plus all three behind an abysmal offensive line that's coached by Bill Bedenbaugh. The last three games have shown the Sooners are destined for a failed season with the toughest schedule in the country and no ability to score unless something changes.
There obviously needs to be change for anything to, you know, actually change for the Sooners. Venables has stood behind the mic the last three weeks saying he wants improvement, especially on offense, but it's on him to make that change, and it's starting to feel like he's going to keep doing the same thing while expecting different results, which is the definition of insanity.
Venables was asked after the loss to Georgia if he expected any staff changes during OU's upcoming bye week before facing No. 1 Texas in the Red River Rivalry. Obviously, Venables would never boldly claim during a press conference that he's thinking about firing someone, but his answer definitely didn't give fans a reason to anticipate that change coming.
"I'm not there right now," Venables answered. "Try to figure out what we need to do to get better and to get ready for Texas and the rest of our season. So I'm not in any kind of place to talk about something like that."
“I’m not there right now.”#Sooners Brent Venables on the potential of any staff changes ahead of the bye week. pic.twitter.com/e4TJyoVnVK
— Davis Cordova (@byDavisCordova) September 26, 2026
Firing Ben Arbuckle is the obvious move Brent Venables has to make
Sooner Nation has a hit list of guys they'd like to see Venables take out before the Sooners take the field again. The most popular name right now is Mateer, but considering how hands-off Venables is with the offense while also serving as a defensive coordinator, that likely won't be a call he makes.
Replacing Mateer wouldn't really fix anything with two inexperienced quarterbacks behind him anyway. The Sooners would still have a lifeless running game, a leaky offensive line and questionable play-calling. Venables does have direct authority to make those moves, though.
A week ago, OU fans spent all Sunday anticipating a notification to alert them that Arbuckle had been fired. The Sooners were barely able to score against New Mexico, so the writing was on the wall then that there was no way they could be productive against Georgia the next week or any other SEC defenses ahead. Why wait if we all already know the result?
Venables has fired an OC midseason before, when he let Seth Littrell go only seven games into his tenure in 2024. Arbuckle has already had one full season and another four games this year of the same disappointment.
This time, Venables also already has a perfect replacement in waiting in Kevin Wilson, who was OU's OC during some of its best seasons, on staff as Assistant Head Coach for Offense. Wilson also has experience coaching offensive linemen, so he could be a 2-for-1 in replacing Bedenbaugh too. From there, maybe there could be a way the Sooners cut all ties and also bench Mateer if Wilson can conjure up a scheme to take pressure off an inexperienced QB.
If there's ever a time to shake things up in hopes the season doesn't get so lost it's gone, it would be during a bye week before facing a rival. But don't hold your breath.
It's not just the last few weeks; the Sooners have exhibited no change under Venables, other than OU transforming from a program with a great offense that lacked defense, to having an elite defense but now no offense to speak of. This season has been deja vu for OU fans, as they feel like they're still watching the same 2025 team, and even the same 2024 group, but in 2026.
Who knows, that alert about Arbuckle getting fired could come anytime, but as consistency under Venables was supposed to benefit this program, it seems to only be holding it back.
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