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Brent Venables pens 'thank you' letter for Clemson family

James Fletcher IIIby:James Fletcher III12/29/21

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Brent Venables cranked out cranked out 10 neutral-grip pull-ups while he was at Tampa Jesuit on Wednesday (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

Former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables recently accepted the head coaching job at Oklahoma, ending a 10-year stint as an assistant under Dabo Swinney. After several years of consistency at the top of Clemson’s staff, the Tigers must replace both coordinators in one offseason.

Clemson is currently preparing for the Cheez-It Bowl on Wednesday night at 5:45 p.m. ET on ESPN. Brent Venables released his farewell message and a sent a thank you to his former employers at Clemson.

“Clemson family, words can’t fully describe my families’ love and appreciation we have for Clemson and the Clemson family! Our lives’ have been enriched beyond our comprehension because of the people of Clemson! ‘Thank you’ from the bottom of our hearts for the constant love and support. What an amazing blessing the last 10 years has been for our family. Clemson will always be home to the Venables family.

“To the former Clemson players I want to ‘thank you’ for your tireless commitment to a culture of excellence… don’t forget, culture is the soul of an organization! Defend the standard! As coach Batson says, the quality of the constructive is dependent on the commitment of the crew! ‘Distractions’ are the enemy of greatness… Go be great! You will grow that you plant – continue to believe, keep the faith no matter what, for faith no matter what, is the substance of things hoped for… It’s the preview of life’s coming attractions! Keep dreamin’ until we meet again.

“Much love and thankfulness, Coach V.”

More on Brent Venables

According to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, Venables signed a six-year deal that is worth $43.5 million overall. He is set to make $7.25 million per season. McMurphy notes that Venables’ deal with Oklahoma is still pending approval by the Oklahoma’s Board of Regents.

Oklahoma found themselves with a surprising need for a new head coach after Lincoln Riley accepted the coaching position available at USC. Riley took over for legendary Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops in 2017 and appeared to be the man to lead them for much longer.

Riley left Oklahoma with a 55-10 record in his five years as coach. Oklahoma also made the College Football Playoff three times under Riley, but never made it to the national championship game.

Much like Riley, Venables comes from the Stoops coaching tree. While Riley previously served as Stoops’ offensive coordinator, Venables served as a defensive coordinator. Hired in 1999, Venables was Oklahoma’s co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, then he was promoted in 2004 to assistant head coach, too.

Venables coached the defense under Stoops in 2000, when the Sooners were consensus national champions, and he was a Broyles Award finalist in 2006. That season, Venables led Oklahoma to an excellent performance in which the Sooners led the Big 12 in total defense and scoring defense.