Oklahoma’s first year in the SEC has been a disaster. The Sooners are a mere 1-4 in conference play and 5-4 overall. Their once-mighty offense, a trademark of the program, is now ranked a dismal 107th out of 134 teams. Head coach Brent Venables’ questionable coaching decisions have come under intense scrutiny. His inability to right the ship has raised serious doubts about his future with the program. With the season slipping away, the pressure is mounting on Venables to turn things around or face the consequences.

In case you missed it, on October 20, the head coach fired Seth Littrell, the Sooners’ offensive coordinator, to fix the offensive issue. However, the program’s ongoing issue is who will be in command of the offensive line. “Well, it’s Brent Bowl’s first year in the SEC and it is a rocky one. I mean, they measure themselves against those Texas Longhorns and Texas running laps around them. Texas was ready for the sec. They were not,” Richard Johnson boldly stated on CBS Sports on November 8.

Additionally, he described the head coach’s impatient decision-making skills by saying, “I understand they have deep issues on offense with injuries. I understand that is a significant thing, but they went portal shopping to re-jigger that offensive line, and it has not worked. So Brent Venables this offseason, the most important decision he will make is who is going to be the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma.” Now, Venables’ coaching decisions are under fire. After sacking the offensive coordinator, he’s left his team struggling on that side of the field. With a mediocre 5-4 record and mounting pressure, Venables’ job security at Oklahoma is now in question. These late-season coaching changes are raising eyebrows and leaving fans wondering what the future holds for the Sooners.

However, Oklahoma would have to bid farewell to this rookie coach or incur significant expenses. Because there is still a question about the $44M.

How Brent Venables was hired as Oklahoma’s head coach

As per USA Today’s recent computation, Brent Venables’ salary ranked 15th among CFB’s highest-paid coaches. Through the 2029 season, Venables has a six-year deal for $51.6 million, with an average of almost $8.5 million each year. Along with that, performance bonuses, including $125,000 for playing in the SEC and another $125,000 for winning the game, are part of the contract.

Now, if the Oklahoma Sooners were to fire the coach after the 2024 season, the Sooners would have to give him a $44.8 million buyout. For the remaining 5 years of his contract, the buyout would be made in monthly increments. Safe to say, Among head coaches in the FBS, Venables’ buyout ranks tenth in terms of size. In addition, the Sooners would have to pay millions extra to recruit a successor. Therefore, the program may not be able to fire Brent at this time.

However, since improving teams should be the first objective for any school, including the Sooners, anything can happen. Let’s wait and see what decision they make on their head coach.