According to reports by ESPN and Brett McMurphy, Brent Venables is the new head coach at Oklahoma, a place he already knows well, and a deal is expected to be finalized Sunday.
The Clemson defensive coordinator has been mentioned for countless jobs and interviewed for a few for nearly a decade, and he's finally getting the opportunity he wants to run his own program. And his first head coaching gig is a big one.
Venables takes over one of the most storied programs in college football history, which he's well aware of. He worked under former OU head coach Bob Stoops, is currently the interim coach after Lincoln Riley left Sunday for Southern Cal, and helped the Sooners win the 2000 national title.
Venables inherits a program that has won a claimed seven national championships and 50 conference titles. The Sooners have been to the College Football Playoff four times since the era began in 2014.
Venables coached at Oklahoma from 1999-2011, serving as defensive coordinator, associated head coach and linebackers coach. He left for Clemson in 2012 after Stoops brought in his brother Mike Stoops to help with the defense.
For the Tigers, Venables has produced a defense that's been a huge part of Clemson's six consecutive ACC titles and CFP berths. That run came to an end this year, but not because of Venables, whose unit ranks second in points allowed nationally this season.
Under his tutelage, the Tigers have gone 120-17 overall as a program the last 10 seasons and finished with a squad ranked in the top-10 in total defense seven of the last eight years. He'll be a tough replacement as he's been Dabo Swinney's right-hand man during so much success, including two national championships.
Considered one of the best coordinators in the country, Venables has been courted for years by various programs. He flirted with Auburn last year after it moved on from Gus Malzahn, and ironically, he'll likely be coaching more in the SEC than the Big 12, where he played at Kansas State.
Oklahoma announced this summer that it's headed to the SEC along with Texas, but it's unknown exactly when that move will happen. Their contractually obligated to stay until 2025, but few people think either school will stay in the Big 12 that long.
It'll be interesting to see if Venables plucks any of Swinney's current staff members, and even players, to join him at OU. Venables' son, Jake, a linebacker for the Tigers, announced earlier this month that he's giving up football, so it could be a good segway into coaching for him.
His other son, Tyler, is a sophomore safety and could follow his dad without sitting out a year because of the NCAA transfer policy.
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