Ranking Oklahoma's Brent Venables Among His Coaching Hire Class of 2021

Column

The dust has settled from the new coaching hires that entered the 2022 season.

Brent Venables is enjoying an offseason following a 10-3 record and a berth in the College Football Playoff. Is his seat hot? Absolutely not. Is he the head coach at Oklahoma in 2030? 2026 will go a long way in answering that question.

But for now, enough time has passed to see where Venables ranks among his fellow coaching hires of 2021-2022.

The list is interesting now that four seasons have passed.

Coaching Hires Entering 2022

Billy Napier — Florida
Brent Pry — Virginia Tech
Brent Venables — Oklahoma
Brian Kelly — LSU
Clay Helton — Georgia Southern
Dan Lanning — Oregon
Don Brown — UMass
Jeff Tedford — Fresno State
Jerry Kill — New Mexico State
Jay Norvell — Colorado State
Jake Dickert — Washington State
Jim Mora Jr. — UConn
Joe Moorhead — Akron
Joey McGuire — Texas Tech
Jon Sumrall — Troy
Kalen DeBoer — Washington
Ken Wilson — Nevada
Lincoln Riley — USC
Marcus Freeman — Notre Dame
Mario Cristobal — Miami
Michael Desormeaux — Louisiana
Mike Elko — Duke
Mike MacIntyre — FIU
Rhett Lashlee — SMU
Sonny Cumbie — Louisiana Tech
Sonny Dykes — TCU
Stan Drayton — Temple
Timmy Chang — Hawaii
Tony Elliott — Virginia

Venables quickly rises above the ones who were shown their walking papers since 2022: Billy Napier, Brent Pry, Brian Kelly, Don Brown, Jeff Tedford (stepped away for health reasons), Jerry Kill, Jay Norvell, Ken Wilson, Mike MacIntyre and Stan Drayton.

Then there are coaches who have had some success, but nothing better than what Venables has put together — even with two seven-loss seasons: Clay Helton, Jake Dickert, Joe Moorehead, Jon Sumrall, Michael Desormeaux, Sonny Cumbie, Timmy Chang and Tony Elliot.

From there you're left with the few highly successful coaches: Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Lincoln Riley, Marcus Freeman, Mario Cristobal, Mike Elko, Rhett Lashlee, Sonny Dykes and Venables.

Oklahoma Sooners, Brent Venables — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables looks on at practice. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Addressing the elephant in the room — Lincoln Riley hasn't reached a College Football Playoff, but he did add another Heisman Trophy to the halls of USC. A strong start in 2022 with an 11-3 record quickly fell into mediocrity with an 8-win and 7-win seasons back-to-back.

USC transitioning into the Big Ten during his third year did not help his cause. 2026 proves vital for Riley's coaching future, but at this point it is fair to say Venables has been better than his predecessor.

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Marcus Freeman has easily been more successful than Venables, and while Mario Cristobal flirted with disaster early during his tenure, his Hurricanes were a few plays away from being crowned national champions.

Kalen DeBoer spent two seasons at Washington, ending with a national title game appearance, before taking on the nearly impossible job of replacing Nick Saban at Alabama. After missing the playoff in his first season and losing to Venables’ Sooners twice, DeBoer and the Crimson Tide answered in 2025 by beating Oklahoma in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.

Sonny Dykes, fell off quickly from a superb first season only to then stabilize as a nine-win program over the last two seasons.

While Dykes' road each season is easier to navigate than Venables' SEC morass, it's hard to argue against reaching a national championship game. Rebounding from his second-year 5-7 outing with back-to-back nine win seasons validates his lightning in a bottle year in 2022.

Brent Venables, Sonny Dyke — Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables shakes hands with TCU head caoch coach Sonny Dykes after the game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Terry-Imagn Images | Bryan Terry-Imagn Images

It’s hard to rank Venables above those four given the heights they’ve reached at their programs. Even with favorable head-to-head records against DeBoer and Dykes combined, Venables still hasn’t won a playoff game.

Rhett Lashlee has helped build SMU into a consistent winner with two double-digit winning seasons. SMU reached the College Football Playoff even after dropping the ACC Championship to Clemson in 2024.

Mike Elko was hired away from Duke by Texas A&M and has brought immediate success to College Station. The Aggies reached the College Football Playoff in 2025 before losing to Cristobal's Hurricanes in the opening round.

Oregon’s Dan Lanning has won a Big Ten title and owns the best record of any coach hired before the 2022 season, at 48-8. With two appearances in the College Football Playoff including two playoff wins, Lanning has thrust himself into the shortlist of elite coaches in the sport.

Brent Venables, Kalen DeBoer — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables talks with Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer before a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

You can debate whether or not Venables has done a better job than Elko at Duke and Texas A&M. While Lashlee has brought success to SMU football, Venables' success against tougher competition has to be accounted for.

If Venables is no doubt behind Freeman, Cristobal, DeBoer and Lanning — is he even with Dykes?

Regardless of your criteria, Venables is very much in control of his destiny. Should he lead the Sooners to success in 2026, he will more than likely have more space between him and Riley. Perhaps a return to the College Football Playoff and a win or two could propel him over Cristobal or Lanning.

The two 6-7 seasons weigh him down compared to his peers, but they've not doomed him. Nine or more wins may put him in the top-five of his coaching class after 2026.

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