The final 12-man list for the 2025 FWAA Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award has been released. And a certain name from the SEC was particularly absent from the list, which didn’t sit well with fans. Angered by the snub, fans took to social media to vent their frustrations.

Imagine missing out on the Coach of the Year finalist list after a 10-2 season. That’s exactly what happened to Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables. Beyond the 10-2 record, the $51.6 million head coach guided the Sooners to a playoff spot, something fans felt should have carried significant weight.

The 2025 recipient will be announced on December 16. The official presentation will be at a reception on January 17 in Miami. The 12-man list includes Bob Chesney, Curt Cignetti, Ryan Day, Mike Elko, Tony Elliott, Marcus Freeman, Clark Lea, Jerry Mack, Joey McGuire, Jim Mora, Kirby Smart, and Jon Sumrall. On3 reporter Brett McMurphy released the report on X.

Oklahoma had one of the toughest schedules in 2025. The Sooners faced Michigan, Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU, taking on the final five in a brutal consecutive stretch. They lost only to Texas and Ole Miss, a testament to how strong Brent Venables’ team has been this season.

A defensive specialist, Venables has turned Oklahoma into one of the best defensive units in the country. The Sooners rank seventh nationally in points allowed, giving up just 13.9 per game. They sit at No. 8 in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. They will face Alabama in the first round of the playoffs, a team they beat in Week 12.

With that resume of feats this season, fans were left puzzled by Venables’ snub for COTY.

How fans reacted to Brent Venables getting snubbed

For the fans, it didn’t make sense as to how a coach who went through such a hard schedule and came out victorious on most occasions got snubbed.

One fan captured exactly what fans had in mind with the comment, “This list is bull—-. How could you exclude a guy all the so-called ‘experts’ in the media said was coaching for his life all offseason, not have him on this list after he went 10-2 and made the playoffs vs what was one of the toughest schedules around? 🤔 ”

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Other fans agreed, with one fan commenting, “How does Oklahoma go from a 6-6 reg season in 2024 to 10-2 reg season and making the playoffs in 2025 playing the exact same conf schedule and a harder OoC schedule, and their HC isn’t a coach of the year candidate?”

One fan discredits the list with the comment, “Brent Venables was considered to be on the hot seat by many people going into this season and has Oklahoma at 10-2 and in the playoffs. Him not being on this list is a disservice.”

Another fan commented with the same intent while making a 6-7 pun. “People were already expecting BV to possibly be fired this year because of the schedule OU had in front of them. Instead, he managed to get this team to the playoffs while winning games in some really hostile environments, and he can’t even make this list? 6-7 ➡️ 10-2*”

The 54-year-old came to Oklahoma in 2022, and that year, the program finished 6-7 overall and 3-6 in the conference. The following year, the Sooners were 10-3 overall and 7-2 in the conference. Then came 2024, where the program could only manage a 6-7 record overall while putting up 2-6 in the conference.

Now, being 13th in the standings meant that Venables entered the 2025 season in the hot seat. But beginning the campaign with an impressive 5-0 start with victories over then-No. 15 Michigan on Sept. 6 and then-No. 22 Auburn on Sept. 20 was enough to shut the doubters.

In the end, being left off the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year shortlist has only fueled the debate — and the outrage. For many fans, the snub feels less like an oversight and more like a dismissal of a $51.6 million coach’s impact. Whether the committee reconsiders or not, the backlash makes one thing clear: this conversation isn’t dying down anytime soon.