Brent Venables lists what he learned from Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, Dabo Swinney

Prior to being named Oklahoma’s head football coach, Brent Venables was an assistant coach throughout his entire career – and he’s been able to work alongside some highly successful head coaches during his time in the sport.

From Bill Snyder at Kansas State to Bob Stoops at Oklahoma and Dabo Swinney at Clemson, Venables has had the luxury of learning from each of those three well-respected coaches, and he’s bringing what he’s learned from them into his new role as the Sooners’ head coach.

During his introductory press conference in Norman, Venables was asked what he had learned from the three aforementioned head coaches, and Oklahoma’s new head man provided a couple of key notes on each of them.

“I would say Bill Snyder, organization and details, thoroughness, the what-ifs,” Venables said. “Bob Stoops, very aggressive, go for broke, confident mentality. Dabo Swinney, how to love. … Loving the staff, loving the players, showing a genuine appreciation for everyone.”

Venables is stepping into his first head coaching job after spending the past 10 years at Clemson serving as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator, including the last four as Swinney’s associate head coach. Prior to going to Clemson, Venables spent 13 years at Oklahoma in roles as Stoops’ associate head coach and defensive coordinator. Venables got his start under Snyder at Kansas State as a graduate assistant in 1993 and worked his way into the linebackers coach role in 1996.

Brent Venables shares how much he paid attention to Oklahoma while at Clemson

Although he was away from Oklahoma’s program for quite some time, Venables never stopped keeping up with what the Sooners were doing. He spent 13 long years in Norman, so he couldn’t just move onto Clemson and forget all about OU.

“You feel like that’s a part of your fiber,” Venables said during his introductory press conference at Oklahoma. “It’s not just a job – for me. You pour your life into it. You don’t just walk away and forget about it, good or bad. You try to learn from all of it. So, for me, absolutely – always paying attention. Coach Stoops and his family, Joe Castiglione and his family – our children were christened together. We’ve done it all … changed diapers together.

“I’m just a very connected person, and even to a lot of you. I feel like business relationships, I’m not really like that. I’m deeply connected, whether I say that outwardly or not. But when you pour your life into something, you pour your heart into it and you’re really passionate about it, you don’t just close that door. So, absolutely … looking on, pulling for – it’s been a lot of fun.”