Winning almost always gets rewarded.
Nearly all of Brent Venables' Oklahoma football coaching staff earned new contract extensions and pay raises during Friday's University of Oklahoma Board of Regents meeting, according to multiple reports. The Board of Regents also approved a contract for new tight ends coach Jason Witten, who will make $675,000 in his first year as a college football coach.
Brent Venables' assistants get pay raises after trip to College Football Playoff
Unlike most raises and extensions throughout college sports, these were actually well-earned after the Sooners went 10-2 during the regular season and made the College Football Playoff for the first time under Venables thanks to one of the best defenses in the country.
Other than firing Joe Jon Finley as tight ends coach, Venables has kept his entire 2025 staff intact so far, and these new raises should keep it that way so the Sooners can continue to build from this past season. It's also worth noting that Finley's 2025 salary was $900,000, so OU actually saved money while upgrading to Witten.
According to George Stoia of SoonerScoop, defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis got the biggest raise of $260,000, which put his annual salary at $1 million. After the Sooners just had one of the best defensive lines and pass rush in college football, OU fans didn't argue the extra money spent on Chavis.
Worth every penny
— Firstname Lastname (@ADBoomer29) January 30, 2026
Stoia also noted the new salary of every assistant that got a pay bump. Offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh is still the highest-paid position coach with $1.2 million, followed by associate head coach and defensive tackles coach Todd Bates at $1.15 million. Chavis is the only other position coach to reach the million-dollar threshold.
The only position coaches who did not receive a raise on Friday were running backs coach DeMarco Murray and outside linebackers coach Wes Goodwin.
Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle was also not part of group that got raises, but he just joined the staff less than a year ago and signed a three-year deal that gave him an annual salary of $1.5 million. A raise could also still be in the future for Venables, who is currently set to make $8.65 million in 2026 as part of his deal that expires in 2029.
Sooners On SI's John Hoover also pointed out that a pair of offensive analysts were promoted, with John Kuceyeski being elevated to quarterbacks coach and Kevin Wilson to offensive line, along with Bedenbaugh.
OU position coach salaries from greatest to least
Bill Bedenbaugh (OL): $1.2M
Todd Bates (AHC/DT): $1.15M
Miguel Chavis (DE): $1M
DeMarco Murray (RB): $863k*
Brandon Hall (S): $785k
Jay Valai (CB): $785k
Jason Witten (TE): $675k
Emmett Jones (WR): $675k
Nate Dreiling (ILB): $635k
Kevin Wilson (OL): $500k
Doug Deakin (STC): $500k
John Kuceyeski (QB): $250k
Wes Goodwin (OLB): $200k*