The Oklahoma Sooners Are Learning Life on the Other Side

While the OU Sooners fanbase has been shockingly understanding in the transition to Head Coach Brent Venables and the SEC, it appears the moods have swung and Sooner Nation is ready to move on with different leadership.

As an outsider looking in, I see that Sooner fans have been pretty patient during the last two and a half seasons, but time may be up for the coaching staff.

One and Four

At an even 4-4 on the overall season and 1-4 in SEC conference play, OU hasn't had a season this bad since - checks notes - 2022 when Venables came in to take the reigns as the new OU Head Coach.

As the resident OK-State fan, I try to reassure my Sooner brethren that some years go like this, and while they've been overwhelmingly supportive and patient, it appears patience has run out. Sooner fans across the state are ready to move on.

@thepressroom_ How long y’all sooner fans lettin Brent Venables ride it out? #ou #sooners #collegefootball ♬ original sound - The Press Room

Let's not get it all twisted, there are tons of Sooner fans still on the bandwagon with great hopes Venables will be a great head coach for OU. He's certainly got plenty of championships under his belt, but there is a growing voice wondering why he's still here.

The answer is, of course, money.

@snapscfb Brent Venables has a 44 million dollar buyout 😬 #BoomerSooner #OU #collegefootball #cfp #cfb #venables ♬ original sound - SnapsCFB

To be honest, I thought Venables was a great hire for my in-state rivals. He's a defensive genius - which has historically been the Sooner weakness for several years prior to BV. As if tackling is a plague amongst Big12 teams.

I think everyone knew OU was going to have a rough entrance to the SEC. It's the biggest, toughest, and most competitive conference in college football... but then again, Texas found a way to dominate with relevancy.

Some will say it's the NIL, which has been a scourge so far. The transfer portal allows players to up and leave with ease, to follow the money deals wherever they're paying out, so it's hard to build teams with ever-changing lineups... but other familiar dominant teams have managed so far.

Who could replace Venables?

Now that is the big question... and there are several hilarious scenarios to look over. Most notably, ex-Sooner coach and Norman's Benedict Arnold - Lincoln Riley.

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As head coach at OU, Lincoln Riley remains statistically The Sooners most successful head coach to date. He has the highest win average of them all. In the 100+ year history, Riley remains the best so far... but Sooner Nation absolutely despises him.

The only reason Riley's name even comes up is because he's in the same boat as Coach Venables. He's currently led USC to a paltry 2-4 B1G conference start this year. Trojan fans are begging USC to give him the boot... so he might be available for next year.

Relax, he won't come back.

If you remember, Riley absconded to California when OU announced their move to the SEC. He doesn't want to play there. He won't play there.

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The other familiar name that keeps popping up is Josh Heupel. He was the last National Champion to come out of OU and has made an impressive name for himself - not only for what he's doing at Tennessee as a head coach but what he was able to do at UCF in the same role.

He's contracted on Rocky Top through 2027 unless the school opts to fire him. Given his current season, he's going to be a Vol for a while.

Acceptance.

Honestly, the best thing OU fans could do right now is just accept that they're going to have to claw their way up from the bottom. The Big12 wasn't very competitive after it started breaking up in the 2000s up til now. It was a two or three-team conference and OU got used to being on top these last twenty years.

Like everything in life, there are ebbs and flows. The Sooners may be the 1990s Baylor at the moment, but even Baylor eventually got good. There's hope for them yet. As an OK-State fan, trust me, there are big highs and bigger lows in store. Don't jump ship just yet. These next few horrible years will make OU's eventual return to greatness even better.

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Source: The Oklahoma Sooners Are Learning Life on the Other Side This Year

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