Colin Cowherd roasts Brent Venables after swipe at Lincoln Riley era

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables recently had some comments go viral when he exposed some details about the Sooners' culture when he took over the program in 2022 after Lincoln Riley. Although most would agree it wasn't how you would want a program led, FOX Sports radio personality Colin Cowherd later took a jab at the difference in wins and losses between the two coaches.

During his first weekly press conference of the season on Tuesday, Venables admitted that during his first season in 2022 that OU had a team GPA of 2.2 and “a lot of guys that didn’t pass drug tests. A lot.”

Brent Venables recently commented on Oklahoma's culture when he took over

Entering his fourth year, though, the Sooners are now maintaining a team GPA at 3.0 or better with an improved culture. However, the Sooners have also had two losing seasons in three years under Venables, including a 6-7 record last season.

Cowherd made sure to point that out in a post on X after hearing Venables' comments.

In five seasons as the Sooners' head coach, Riley never had a losing record with double-digit wins in all but one season and a 55-10 total mark. He also won four Big 12 titles in a row and made the College Football Playoff three times when it was just a four-team field.

Riley then fled to USC before the 2021 season was even over in fear of the Sooners' looming move to the SEC. Venables then went 6-7 that first season with a decimated roster thanks to Riley, then went 6-7 again in OU's first year in the SEC. The Sooners were 10-3 in Year 2 under Venables in their final round in the Big 12, which could be a sign of what Venables' tenure could have been in the Big 12.

There are a lot of hypotheticals, but Venables was definitely handed a much more difficult situation in Norman than Riley, who had a Heisman Trophy winner in Baker Mayfield his first season after Bob Stoops handed him the reigns. Riley also had a much easier schedule to navigate in the Big 12 than Venables does now in the SEC.

Venables' recent comments also revealed that there was even more off the field that he was dealing with because of the mess that Riley left.

“We had a lot to work through,” Venables said. “I chose not to ask anyone to leave when I first got here. Let me give everybody a fair shot and just kind of see where we’re at. Through time, some players chose to leave, some players just weren’t fitting the bill when it came to going to class and living right off the field. As a football program, we had a lot of issues the first year.”

Cowherd's comments match what a lot of Sooner Nation has also been stating. It's somewhat head-scratching for a coach to take a subtle jab at the previous regime when they've lost more than they've won so far. But, Rome, or OU, wasn't built in one day, so if Venables does turn things around on the field, then the foundation will be much stronger than the house of straw Riley built.

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