In an Era of Uncertainty, Brent Venables has Brought Oklahoma Stability

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Oklahoma fans slept easy on Saturday night.

Once the adrenaline wore off from the Sooners’ dramatic 17-13 win over LSU, everyone wearing Crimson and Cream got to look forward.

The Sooners will be on the bracket when the College Football Playoff field is revealed this Sunday; the only questions left are who will take on OU in the first round and where that game will be played.

That peace did not come to many other fanbases across the SEC.

Once again, Lane Kiffin left wreckage in his wake as he departed for greener pastures.

Fans of the Rebels closed one of the best regular seasons in Ole Miss history feeling angry, heartbroken and everything in between, while the remaining members of the coaching staff must get the team refocused and ready for the CFP.

Georgia and Alabama will play for the SEC title, while Florida, Auburn and Arkansas fans read up on a trio of new hires.

Mark Stoops is out at Kentucky, and while its fans believe that era had run its course, the Wildcats are now late entrants into the coaching carousel.

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Outside of the SEC, Penn State still seems to have no Plan B.

After rushing to get James Franklin out the door to hire Kurt Cignetti, the Indiana coach decided to stay with his Hoosiers, leaving the Nittany Lions scrambling.

Life is simpler in Norman.

Brent Venables steadied the ship. He entered the season feeling pressure after finishing 6-7 in two of his first three seasons back at OU.

But he has his team in the playoffs with a rebuilt defense that not only is ready for the challenge now, but appears stocked to excel in the future.

The focus this week for Oklahoma and its coaching staff will be to close out the 2026 recruiting class with National Signing Day on Wednesday, while Venables’ staff and general manager Jim Nagy’s staff continue to build one of the nation’s best recruiting classes in 2027.

Oklahoma Sooners, Jim Nag — Oklahoma football general manager Jim Nagy | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That doesn’t mean things inside the Switzer Center are perfect.

The offense still needs to take a drastic step forward to match the defense’s output.

But it’s a far easier task for Nagy to add star skill position talent this offseason as opposed to replacing an entire roster with a new coaching staff.

It also doesn’t guarantee 2026 will be a success.

South Carolina thought it had life made with Shane Beamer after narrowly missing the playoffs in 2024, but the Gamecocks suffered one loss after another in 2025.

But Venables now knows what his winning formula looks like.

David Stone and Jayden Jackson are set to return to anchor OU’s 2026 defense.

Taylor Wein, Adepoju Adebawore and Danny Okoye are waiting in the wings, and key pieces like linebackers Kobie McKinzie and Kip Lewis and safety Peyton Bowen can all return to build on this year’s success alongside underclassmen Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory.

An offseason of growth along the offensive line and at quarterback would set the 2026 Sooners up for a phenomenal year — a reality that was almost unimaginable after 2024’s 6-7 finish.

At a place like Oklahoma, it won’t be “job well done” until Venables ends the Sooners’ national title drought.

But in the midst of one of the most chaotic coaching carousels in recent memory, it feels like Venables is far closer with OU than previously thought.

And it doesn’t seem he’s going anywhere soon.