Fixing the Broken Machine: What Brent Venables Is Demanding From Oklahoma's Next OC

If you watched even one quarter of Oklahoma’s offense this fall, you didn’t need head coach Brent Venables to hold a Tuesday press conference to know things were broken. When a season goes sideways and you’re forced to part ways with an offensive coordinator midstream, the numbers don’t lie—and everyone in Norman has been living through the fallout.

During his weekly media session, Venables didn't dodge it. He laid out exactly what went wrong this year under Ben Arbuckle and, more importantly, what he’s actually looking for when he hires a full-time offensive coordinator for 2027.

Right now, Jason Witten is holding the steering wheel as the interim guy, getting a trial-by-fire audition over the final stretch of the season to prove he can handle the gig permanently. But whoever ends up running this unit next fall is going to have to fit a very specific, hard-nosed mold that Venables made crystal clear.

Here is what the head coach is demanding out of the next chapter of the Sooner offense.

1. Stop Obsessing Over Speed and Just Score Points

For the last decade, college football has been obsessed with dizzying tempo—how fast you can get lined up and snap the ball. Venables made it pretty obvious on Tuesday that he’s totally over the vanity metrics of pace.

“Incredibly important we get someone to come in here and help us score touchdowns,” Venables said. “I don’t care how fast it happens, how much time is off the clock. I’m not into that.”

That quote right there hits the nail on the head regarding OU’s offensive misery. The Sooners have scrounged together just 20 total touchdowns through eight games, averaging a meager 2.0 per game that has them tied for 116th in the FBS.

There’s been plenty of chatter around Norman all year that Venables himself was part of the problem—that his defensive background clashed with Arbuckle’s preferred up-tempo system brought over from Washington State. Whether there’s truth to that friction or not, Venables made his stance known: he doesn't care about a 15-second three-and-out. He cares about six points.

2. Find Some Actual Explosiveness

Venables hit on another major pain point, saying he wants an offense that can “put pressure on people, be explosive, and have balance.”

When it comes to balance, the play-calling distribution isn't actually the culprit. OU is running it on 49.7% of plays and passing it on 50.3%. The split is fine. The real issue is what happens after the snap.

The lack of vertical pop has been painful to watch. Oklahoma ranks 133rd out of 134 FBS teams in plays of 20-plus yards, managing just 13 such plays through eight games (a tiny 3.4% of their total snaps). You simply cannot survive in the SEC trying to string together grinding, 12-play drives every single time you touch the football. The next coordinator has to scheme up ways to stretch the field and create easy chunk yardage.

3. Let the Offense Dictate the Game

You can talk about scheme and play-calling all day long, but football ultimately comes down to blocking and tackling. Venables put it simply: “Run the ball when we have to, throw the ball when we have to.”

You can't do either of those things if your offensive line is getting pushed backward. Let’s be real—Oklahoma hasn't had a consistent, dominant push upfront, with guys who can take over a game in the ground game and keep a clean pocket in obvious passing downs, for the last three years. If the next OC can’t fix the trenches, nothing else matters.

4. Be More Efficient

If you want to know why Sooner fans have been pulling their hair out, look no further than the red zone. Venables stressed the need to “be efficient in all of the efficiency spaces.”

Right now, those spaces are a dead zone. The Sooners rank 136th out of 138 FBS teams in red-zone touchdown efficiency at a brutal 35.3%. They’ve only made 17 total trips inside the red zone all year—the fewest of any Power Four offense in the country. They sit 97th nationally at 22.0 points per game, and their goal-to-go conversion rate is sitting at 60%, good for 127th nationally and dead last in the SEC. Moving the ball between the 20s is nice, but you have to finish.

5. Protect the Football

For a defensive coach like Venables, giving opponents extra possessions is a nightmare.

“Lead the world in turnover margin, is incredibly important to me,” Venables said. “That’s what wins for you, turnover margin, being on the plus side of it.”

Right now, OU is bleeding in this category. The Sooners rank 116th nationally in turnover margin at -0.6. They’re coughing it up 1.9 times a game (131st in the FBS) and throwing picks at a 3.19% clip (111th). When your offense keeps putting the defense in terrible field position, nobody can stop everyone.

The Bottom Line

Venables isn't caught up in whether an offense operates at lightning speed or takes its time—he just wants someone who can put the ball in the end zone. Whether it's a quick-strike TD or a methodical drive, he doesn't care how fast it happens; he just cares that it ends in six points instead of a field goal or a turnover. He wants an efficient play-caller who values ball security, can actually punch it in when the field shrinks, and brings some toughness back to this unit.

Whether Jason Witten can show over the next few weeks that he’s the guy to do it remains to be seen. But the job description for whoever walks into Norman next year is crystal clear.