Where does Brent Venables land in USA TODAY Sports' SEC head coach rankings?

Oklahoma Sooners head football coach Brent Venables is entering his third season leading the program. After a disappointing 6-7 finish in 2022, OU bounced back in 2023 with a 10-3 mark. With the Sooners moving from the Big 12 to the SEC, Venables’ already daunting challenge of rebuilding the program gets even tougher.

Venables has been preparing for the SEC move since arriving two and a half years ago. His primary focus has been getting Oklahoma ready to compete in college football’s most difficult conference.

While OU’s roster looks to have improved again this offseason and could be ready to take another step forward, the SEC schedule will be extremely difficult to navigate.

Part of the reason for this is the number of excellent coaches, teams, and players in the conference, as USA TODAY Sports noted when they ranked all 16 SEC head coaches heading into the 2024 season.

With Alabama‘s Nick Saban retiring this winter, the choice at the top was obvious. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is the best in the business and is one of three active head coaches to have won a national championship. Only Smart, Clemson‘s Dabo Swinney, and North Carolina‘s Mack Brown can say that. The Bulldogs have won two out of the last three national titles, losing just two total games in three seasons, both to Saban and the Crimson Tide.

Behind Smart in the SEC, there are a number of excellent coaches who still have things to prove, but where does Brent Venables rank among them?

Out of the 16 head coaches in the conference, USA Today Sports’ Blake Toppmeyer has Venables all the way down at No. 11.

The jury remains in deliberations as to whether Venables will be a hit at OU. He misfired in Year 1 before rebounding last season, but the Sooners limped to the finish. His expertise comes on defense, a unit that remains under construction but is improving. His star quarterback (Dillon Gabriel) and offensive coordinator (Jeff Lebby) departed in the offseason. The fork in the road of his tenure arrives this year. – Toppmeyer, USA TODAY Sports

Venables landing at 11th has him trailing Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian (No. 3) by eight spots on the list. Sarkisian, who has had one good season in Austin, is ranked above every other SEC head coach besides Smart and Brian Kelly at LSU.

Venables signed a contract extension this offseason, proving that Oklahoma feels like they’ve got their guy both for the present and for the future. At least among the decision-makers in Norman, there is no deliberating “whether Venables will be a hit at OU.”

While Toppmeyer praises Venables’ defense and the improvements they’re making, he fails to mention what the Sooners gained on offense when Gabriel and Lebby went elsewhere this offseason. Jackson Arnold steps into the spotlight as the starting quarterback, with Seth Littrell calling the plays. One could argue the Sooners are in a better spot in 2024 with a more physically gifted QB and a more experienced playcaller running the show.

For Venables, who isn’t interested in the outside noise, it’s a huge opportunity on a bigger stage in the SEC in 2024. Either he proves the doubters right and OU regresses, or the Sooners take another step forward this season, and there will be a healthy dose of respect for Venables and Oklahoma on these types of lists this time next year.

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