Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables Paints Misguided Picture About Lincoln Riley’s Time With Sooners

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When Lincoln Riley left Norman, Oklahoma, for the USC Trojans, a new rivalry was born. Maybe not to Trojan fans, but those Sooners left behind, a hatred was created.

Whenever a head coach leaves a program, there is typically a large number of players who will end up hitting the transfer portal. Some will follow that coach to their new destination, as QB Caleb Williams and WR Mario Williams, and others will find new, fresh starts.

Brent Venables was hired after a very successful tenure as the Clemson defensive coordinator. He inherited an Oklahoma team that would require some retooling, but not one that was broken.

Now three years into the job, and after a very disappointing 6-7 season, Venables is preaching about how the program that he inherited was broken, and he has had to rebuild it.

“We had a 2.2 team GPA, guys not going to class, failing drug tests, no motivation, broken spirits,” Venables told the media. “We had to change the mindset and how we thought.”

When you are a new football coach of a new program, you obviously want to bring in your own culture and mentality, but most of this statement feels misguided. It could certainly be true about the team that he coached in Year 1, but it paints a misleading story about the program he inherited.

Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Paints Misleading Portrait About Lincoln Riley’s Sooners

There has rarely ever been a time in college football history when a head coach leaving one program for another has been a completely smooth break. It wasn’t for Kalen Deboer when he left Washington for Alabama. It wasn’t for Jedd Fisch when he left Arizona for Washington. It wasn’t for Jonathan Smith when he left Oregon State for Michigan State. It wasn’t for Jim Harbaugh when he left Michigan for the NFL.

You get the picture.

When Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma, it was not in perfect fashion; it never is. But Coach Venables seems to be alluding to a previous mindset and culture that caused issues for the team he inherited. This is simply not true.

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In regards to the team’s 2.2 GPA. Maybe this was the case during the spring semester after he had already been hired or during his first fall on the sidelines, but just 10 days before Lincoln Riley left for USC, the Oklahoma Football account posted this:

The post reads: “31 Academic All-Big 12 honorees, including 5 with a perfect 4.0, most in the league.”

Huh.

The previous culture appeared to be very strong.

Also, while losing your head coach will certainly dampen the spirits of the remaining players, the Oklahoma Sooners had been one of the top programs in the country over the previous decade.

During Lincoln Riley’s tenure:

  • 4 Straight Conference Titles
  • 3 Straight College Football Playoff Appearances
  • 4 Top 10 Recruiting Classes
  • 11-2 Final Season Record, Top 10 AP Poll Finish

If that is inheriting a broken program, it is really hard to imagine what a successful one looks like.

Facts are facts. If Venables hasn’t had the NIL resources required to win, then say that. If his players have been too inconsistent, then say that. If his defense hasn’t lived up to what he built at Clemson, then say that.

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But saying a program that went to three straight College Football Playoffs was broken? Ya, that ain’t it.

Just to throw some salt on the wound, since being at USC, Lincoln Riley has helped the program achieve this.

Highest recorded team cumulative GPA. 6 players with a 4.0 GPA. 69 players with a 3.0 GPA or higher. 11 players on the Dean’s list. 12 fall graduates.

The USC Trojans kick off their season this Saturday against Missouri State at the Coliseum at 4:30 PM PT.

Fight On.

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