Brent Venables 'not on the hot seat,' but Oklahoma must fix its offense in 2027

After doubling down on Venables following a CFP trip, Oklahoma faces pressure to rebuild an offense that continues to lag behind Nov 11, 2026 at 1:50 pm ET • 4 min read Just months after signing an enormous six-year extension that pays him $10 million annually, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables is fighting to reach bowl eligibility in his fifth season on the job. Despite that disappointment, Venables is in no danger of losing his job this year.According to The Oklahoman, Oklahoma Board of Regents chair Rick Nagel downplayed the hot seat talk surrounding Venables this fall. "The board doesn't typically comment much on what's going on in the athletic department," Nagel said. "That's maybe a smart thing. But I want to say this ... our head coach, Brent Venables, is not on the hot seat. There is no hot seat. We just extended his contract."Admittedly, it's probably not a great sign when a coach's contract is the first thing power brokers point to when affirming his job security. Big-money buyouts are only prohibitive until someone decides to throw down the money for a coaching change. Just ask Mike Norvell. Nevertheless, Venables' contract serves as a buffer for now as the Sooners sit at 5-4 with zero guaranteed wins left on the board this fall. They have to go at least 1-2 against Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Missouri just to achieve bowl eligibility.This season has continued the yo-yo effect that has defined Venables' tenure at Oklahoma. The Sooners have alternated between six wins and 10 wins, and that pattern is likely to hold in 2026.2022: 6-72023: 10-32024: 6-72025: 10-32026: 5-4On the heels of a College Football Playoff appearance last season, Oklahoma wanted to lock in Venables for the long run, but that decision has aged poorly. If the Sooners can't -- or won't make a change -- where do they go from here to get back on track under Venables? SEC Power Rankings: Alabama cements status as national title contender with statement at LSU Austin Nivison Did Oklahoma jump the gun?Without spoiling too much, the answer is probably, "Yes."Even after that 10-win season last fall, Venables' record through four seasons was just 32-20, including an 11-11 record in SEC play and zero postseason wins. That doesn't seem like the kind of resume that warrants an eight-figure salary and a $51.6 million buyout, which drops by $10 million per season, according to 247Sports.Coaching salaries continue to rise annually, so overpaying is baked into the equation, but who were the Sooners bidding against? Even if Venables took lucrative money to go elsewhere, Oklahoma has the resources to find another candidate who could produce similar results.If Oklahoma was building upon last year's success and firmly in the College Football Playoff race, maybe the extension would look like a stroke of genius. But that's not the case, and there wasn't much reason to believe it would be the case when reviewing Venables' first four seasons on the job. Now the Sooners are married to Venables for at least one more season, and they'll have to do the best they can to make it work.Where Venables goes from hereFor all that's gone wrong for Venables at Oklahoma, the one constant has been great defenses. That's not surprising given Venables' track record as a defensive coordinator, but it should be a good foundation for success.The Achilles heel for Venables has been the other side of the ball. The Sooners have rolled out offenses that range anywhere from pedestrian to outright bad. This year's offense falls into the latter category, which is why first-year tight ends coach Jason Witten is now calling plays. Oklahoma offense since 2024SEC rank in parentheses202420252026Points per game24.0 (15th)26.2 (12th)22.1 (15th)Yards per game331.0 (14th)354.3 (12th)338.4 (15th)Pass yards per game175.8 (16th)235.8 (9th)227.6 (11th)Rush yards per game155.2 (11th)118.5 (13th)110.9 (16th)Prior to the 2025 season, Venables brought in the duo of John Mateer and Ben Arbuckle from Washington State in hopes of elevating the offense. He deserves credit for taking a swing on that move, but it never panned out. Mateer has too many limitations in the passing game, and Arbuckle failed to scheme around those.That means the upcoming offseason will be pivotal for the Venables era at Oklahoma. He cannot afford to miss on that side of the ball again.When it comes to hiring an offensive play caller, Venables probably can't promote Witten, even if the rest of the season goes well. Putting the offense in the hands of a coach who has called plays for four games would be a mistake.Venables needs to take another big swing at that position, and Oklahoma should be an appealing destination with a defensive head coach in place. That is, assuming Venables allows his offensive play-caller to run the scheme as he sees fit, without too many limitations.The new offensive coordinator should be allowed to hand-pick the quarterback who best fits his scheme, although that may be easier said than done. The quarterback transfer market is projected to be very expensive this winter.If the Sooners were willing to invest huge money in Venables, they may as well provide him with the necessary resources to fix the offense in 2027.