It goes without saying that the Oklahoma Sooners hit a home run when athletic director Joe Castiglione brought in the big guns to replace Lincoln Riley. He brought Brent Venables home.
With help from Bob Stoops, Venables stabilized a program left in turmoil by its former head coach’s sudden departure, and the Oklahoma culture change happened almost overnight.
Sooner Nation was beside itself with joy when the hire was announced. Steve Lassan over at Athlon Sports gave the hire an “A-“ for the Sooners.
Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Previous Job: Defensive Coordinator, Clemson
Venables was regarded as the top defensive coordinator in college football at Clemson and was in no in rush to take a head-coaching job. However, the opportunity to return to Norman where he worked under Bob Stoops from 1999-2011 was simply too enticing. Under Venables’ watch, Clemson ranked inside of the top 10 nationally in scoring defense in six out of the last eight years. Also, the Tigers thrived at creating…