Brent Venables pressed on if he will make further staff changes before 2025

On Oct. 20, Oklahoma fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Seth Littrell. After the Sooners’ 21-20 loss to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, a reporter asked OU head coach Brent Venables if he was considering making any other sta changes this offseason.

“Again, this isn’t time to say any of those things other than I will look at everything,” Venables said. “When you win, you look at everything. But, certainly being 6-7, you look at every part of your program. You evaluate all of it.”

Brent Venables and Co. already filled their offensive coordinator opening, hiring Washington State‘s Ben Arbuckle on Dec. 2. However, Venables could still make changes to his position coaches or examine the team’s defensive staff. After all, offense wasn’t Oklahoma’s only problem this season.

While Oklahoma’s run defense was stellar in the 2024 campaign, the Sooners allowed 17 passing touchdowns, ranking 11th in the SEC. In comparison, Oklahoma’s defense, in general, ranked fifth in the prestigious conference.

Another weak point for Oklahoma this season was its offensive line. The Sooners gave up 50 sacks this season, the most in the country. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume Venables will at least consider offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh‘s role with the team this offseason.

Of course, Venables isn’t simply pointing fingers at his fellow coaches. After the loss on Friday, the 54-year-old head coach immediately shouldered the blame for the loss.

“Everything falls on me,” Venables said. “Everything falls at my feet. Really disappointed in myself. I need to be a lot better, and that goes without saying.”

“… Everybody’s disappointed, embarrassed, all of those things. But I’m not embarrassed of the fight, the commitment, the work, the belief, the strain, the sacrifice, all the things that these guys have represented. I’m not in any way, shape or form embarrassed in them for that. But we’ve got to be better. This is a game of performance…and we fell well short of that this year.”

This season was Venables’ third at the helm of Oklahoma. It was a step backward for the Sooners, who finished with a 10-3 record in the 2023 campaign.

Now, Venables must find a way to get the program back on the right track or his assistants might not be the only ones on the hot seat. He isn’t off to an excellent start this offseason, with 28 Oklahoma players entering the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Alas, the Sooners have also added nine transfer to soften the blow of their losses. Moreover, Oklahoma has the No. 16 recruiting class in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.