Oklahoma's Brent Venables Got His First Career W, Then Broke Out His Best Dance Moves
NORMAN — The joy was too much. Brent Venables tried to dance. He really did.
“That man can’t dance,” said Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman. “But that’s OK because he can really coach.”
Saturday night was a celebration, a party at the Palace, so to speak, as the No. 9-ranked Sooners handled UTEP 45-13 in the season opener.
No man is bigger than the program, Bob Stoops famously said last December. That includes Venables, of course. But Saturday’s game was much more than a game. It was the first step in Venables’ head coaching career — one for which he’s waited a lot longer than nine months.
“We’ve talked about this being team 128, and we want to celebrate success no matter how it looks,” Venables said. “But, a special day. Certainly for our players in 2022, you know, where we want to go as a program. For me, this is gonna be a date that we all remember for a long, long time.”
When it was over and Venables had awarded every player on the team a game ball for participating in his first career head coaching victory, athletic director Joe Castiglione handed Venables his own game ball. Venables was overcome with emotion. He reciprocated by giving Castiglione and OU president Joe Harroz a game ball as well.
“I gave them to Joe and Joe for believing in me,” Venables said. “This is Oklahoma. They didn't have to hire me. And I don't take that for granted at all.”
It’s on to Kent State now, and then Nebraska, and then the Big 12 Conference. This team has a to-do list with 12 items on it, and Saturday against UTEP was just the first item being checked off.
But celebrating had its place, too, as everyone lifted up their head coach. When Venables took Joe C’s offering and started talking to the players, he was suddenly and unexpectedly silenced by emotion. He paused to gather his thoughts, and the players all started cheering.
“Most of the time you think he doesn’t show a lot of his emotions sometimes,” said safety Billy Bowman. “Him talking to us like that in a team meeting after the game, it was great because this is his first game as a head coach and he’s 1-0.”
“Being in that captain’s seat,” said running back Eric Gray. “You have so many people saying, ‘Can he be a head coach?’ Him being able to win that first one shows he can be a head coach.”
Venables isn’t the only one who’s thankful. The players sound thankful to have him as their head coach.
“We have a leader who has been through it and come out on top,” said defensive end Reggie Grimes, “who’s won big, who’s won the games that we’re all trying to get to, and that’s national championships.
“So as far as that’s concerned, as far as the guys in the locker room, when he came here we were all pumped. We were stoked because we had a guy who one, has done it before, two, has done it multiple times and three is just — he’s a player’s coach. He loves us, but when it’s time to flip that switch, he can flip that switch and have it be player and coach.”
So Saturday night in the OU locker room, there was a lot of cheering, a lot of shouting, a lot of laughing, and a lot of dancing.
“A lot of dancing,” said tight end Brayden Willis. “A lot of dancing. Guys were going crazy. Coach V went in there and danced a little bit, too. I don’t know if that will be aired, but he went in and danced a little bit, too. It was a great atmosphere in the locker room after the game, too. We celebrate hard, but we don’t celebrate long. We’re going to celebrate this win, but then put it to bed.”
So what if Venables can’t dance? Like Stutsman said, he can coach.
“I’m going to let this slide,” Stutsman said, “but I love his intensity. I love everything about him. Seeing him after that game, I would do anything for this man. Anything he says, I would do for him.”
Would he grade his head coach’s dance moves? Would he be the one to tell Venables he can’t dance?
“Nah. I’m surprised I said it,” Stutsman said. “But no one’s going to have the guts to tell him.”
“Man, that’s the head man,” Willis said with a laugh. “So 10 — 10 out of 10. No doubt.”
