Brent Venables Joins Brian Kelly and Mike Norvell in Major Sacrifice as Hot Seat Debate Intensifies

Head coaches are often seen as the standard-bearers for their teams, the ones who set the tone for every player in the locker room. With the 2025 season about to storm onto the gridiron, the spotlight isn’t just on the athletes; the men leading them are claiming it too. On the hot seat? Florida State’s Mike Norvell, LSU’s Brian Kelly, and Oklahoma’s Brent Venables. While Norvell and Kelly had already shown their willingness to make tough sacrifices, Venables has now stepped into the same fire, proving he’s just as ready to put his program first. 

USA Today released a hot seat list. After going 6-7 last year and 6-7 three seasons ago, Venables found himself a ticket. This season serves as a fascinating litmus test for Oklahoma’s viability in the SEC. Having made many mistakes in the past, like trying his hand as an offensive coordinator, Venables now walks the path of sacrifice. And what did he do? 

On August 29, On3 tweeted, “NEW: Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables is taking a $1 million pay cut this season, per @ByBerkowitz. The money will go to revenue sharing.” As per the new contract that Venables signed, including this reduction, his salary will be $7.55 million this year. As reported by USA Today, Venables was the one who stepped forward for this decision. The money will be diverted to the school’s revenue-sharing efforts. Given the latest developments in the House vs. NCAA settlement, schools can now directly share up to $20.5 million with their athletes.

“It was initiated by Coach Venables as a one-time give-back to contribute to the department’s revenue-sharing efforts,” an Oklahoma athletics department spokesman told USA Today. This agreement for the pay cut came in early February. Turns out that beyond 2025, his contract stayed the same. Now, how does the rest of his contract look?

Venables’ current deal with Oklahoma runs through January 31, 2030. That brings the head coach $8.65 million for 2026 and 2027, $8.75 million in 2028, and $8.85 million in 2029. Turns out that within and outside the state, Venables is not the only one to be following this trend.  Shortly after last season, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy also reduced his salary by $1 million. And outside Oklahoma? Last year in December, LSU head coach Brian Kelly and his wife, Paqui, promised they would match $1 million in donations given to LSU’s name-image-and-likeness collective, Bayou Traditions. 

Cut to Norvell, who narrowly clung to his role as head coach, holding on by the thinnest of threads, and made a $4.5 million sacrifice. However, in Norvell’s case, there is a catch. The Florida State head coach has the option to win back that money if he reaches a new performance incentive. While Venables joins the Donors Club, where does his Sooners squad stand?

Brent Venables’ new era with a quarterback who got Chris Doering’s seal of approval

The 2024 season was all about the Brent Venables-Jackson Arnold romance fallout. The quarterback felt trapped playing for a defensive-minded head coach. This was topped by a wide receiver room that was plagued by inconsistency. The result? Venables’ former quarterback was sacked 34 times last season. As Cole Cubelic noted on the Jox 94.5 podcast, “I am not trying to rip anybody, I’m not trying to drag another coach, but that’s accurate. The mindset of the defensive-minded coach usually he is, ‘Don’t screw this up, don’t make a mistake, don’t hurt a position, don’t turn the ball over here.’”

While Venables’ hot seat debate intensifies with a new quarterback, John Mateer, in town, there are chances of a big comeback. He is the one who got to cool down the head coach’s seat’s temperature, which is “scalding.” The AP Poll generously gave the Sooners the most ranked preseason opponents in the country, placing them at No.18. This was the 26th time in a row that Venables’ program has been ranked in the Top 25 of the AP Poll. Can Mateer help his squad live up to the hype?

This time, Chris Doering shared his views about the quarterback on the SEC ESPN Network podcast. “I’m high on him for a number of different reasons. This guy’s got amazing athletic ability. He’s comfortable in the offense; he has already been running at Washington State with Ben Arbuckle, as the two come over to Norman together. But I look at his arm strength and the ability to move outside of the pocket and make plays when things break down,” said the former second-team All-American and Florida player.

Now, how will Brent Venables’ quarterback room look better than last year? The Oklahoma quarterback is at his best operating in chaos outside the pocket. Quarterbacks aren’t usually the ones plowing through 265-pound defensive linemen. But John Mateer broke the mold with his display against Utah State. With Venables sacrificing $1 million from his own paycheck and betting on a more promising quarterback, the Sooners’ 2025 journey carries the weight of bold choices.