When Oklahoma chose to hand head coach Brent Venables a new contract extension on the eve of the 2026 season, it begged one question: Why? Just 12 months earlier, Venables was on one of the hottest seats in the country, with two 6-7 seasons in his first three years in Norman. And while OU did make the College Football Playoff in 2025, they did so in pretty uninspiring fashion — with plenty of miracle escapes and just one win over a team that ended the year in the AP top 25 — before getting dumped by Alabama at home in the opening round.
Just a few weeks later, we're still asking that question, as Oklahoma's loss to Michigan on Saturday afternoon followed a depressingly familiar script. Only instead of being able to easily pull the plug if Venables doesn't take a meaningful step forward this season, the Sooners are stuck with a terrible choice of their own making: Either ride with a head coach who doesn't seem right for the job, or pay through the nose to send him packing.
Loss to Michigan shows Oklahoma is stuck in neutral under Brent Venables
Oklahoma talked a big game over the offseason about this year being different. After a bumpy debut, QB John Mateer and OC Ben Arbuckle were now entering their second seasons in the SEC with an offensive line that brought lots of talented pieces back and had nowhere to go but up. And the school's NIL efforts allowed new GM Jim Nagy to go to work in the transfer portal, arming Mateer with far better weapons to throw to.
And yet, all we saw on Saturday was more of the same. Oklahoma's defense wasn't overwhelming, but it was good enough to win. Mateer, on the other hand, completed just 17 of 33 passes for 178 yards, a touchdown and a pick — including several brutal misses with the game hanging in the balance in the fourth quarter. The Sooners once again could not generate anything on the ground, and Mateer once again wasn't trustworthy enough with his accuracy or his decision-making.
No, Venables doesn't coach offense. But the entire program is his responsibility, and he was the one who put his unit in the hands of up-transfers in both Arbuckle and Mateer. He's also the one who doubled down on that duo this offseason, and so far his portal additions don't appear to be moving the needle much at all.
Venables remains a very good defensive coordinator, no doubt. But Sooner fans saw last year what kind of ceiling that has on its own. He's shown very little ability to excel in the other areas required of a head coach of a big-time program in 2026, so really, what is his value-add here?
Unfortunately, that might be a moot point, because Oklahoma is stuck footing the bill no matter what.
Brent Venables buyout leaves Oklahoma with no easy exits
That extension back in August made Venables one of the highest-paid coaches in the country at nearly $10.5 million per year — all the way through 2031, no less. All this for a guy who's made the Playoff once in four years and never gotten the Sooners particularly close to winning an SEC title.
We don't yet have the updated details of Venables' buyout, as his new contract has yet to be officially approved by the university's board. But some back of the napkin math suggests that OU could be on the hook for something north of $40 million if they want to fire him without cause. That's a massive number, especially considering what the school would be paying the coach they hire to replace him.
They might not have a choice, though. Oklahoma gets a reprieve against New Mexico next week, but then comes a trip to Georgia before a bye and then the Red River showdown against Texas. It's entirely possible, if not likely, that the Sooners come out of that stretch at 2-3, with a closing stretch of at Florida/Ole Miss/Texas A&M/at Missouri still to go. The Playoff would be out the window; at that point, even winning eight or nine games would be a toss-up.
That would be one CFP trip and two 10-win seasons in five years. Even more damningly, it would mean that there's no tangible sense of progress for one of the most storied programs in the country. All because their administration got spooked by their own shadow.
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