NORMAN — Brent Venables will be back doing what he does best during the 2025 season.
Following former defensive coordinator Zac Alley’s departure to West Virginia, Venables went back to the drawing board for OU football’s defensive staff.
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Instead of hiring an outside established playcaller, Venables opted to take over himself and hire additional staffers he trusts — former Utah State defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling as inside linebackers coach and Clemson playcaller Wes Goodwin as assistant inside linebackers and outside linebackers coach.
“Why am I going to call the defense? Because I’m good at it and I’m confident in it,” Venables said in March.
Venables called the defensive plays while also managing games during the 2023 season when the Sooners finished 10-3. OU struggled at times last season with game management, but Venables hopes to replicate the success of 2023.
The Sooners will boast four staff members (Venables, Dreiling, Goodwin and safeties coach Brandon Hall) who have held the role of defensive coordinator in their careers. Defensive line coach Todd Bates and cornerbacks coach Jay Valai also currently serve as co-defensive coordinators.
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“It’s a collaboration,” Venables said last week at SEC Media Days. “It’s all of us, it always has been. Even in the last — whenever, last year and the first year — I’ve got a lot of involvement, always have, a lot. At the end of the day, you’ve got things pared down week to week, and there’s some simplicity to it, but you have a rhythm and a tempo from a scheduling standpoint. It’s not overcomplicated.”
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For Venables, he’s already handled most in-game situations with his players during game week or addresses them directly on the field.
As the head coach, he’s always involved with the offense, but he’s hired someone he trusts in Ben Arbuckle following last season’s disappointing showing. Over Arbuckle’s two seasons with the Cougars, they ranked 10th nationally in passing yards per game and passing touchdowns, and 20th in scoring offense.
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“You just dig right in situationally,” Venables said. “You’ve got your practice schedules and how they compete against each other, and then just — for example — there’s parts of practice I’m with the offense and parts of practice I’m with the defense. It’s how you have practice set up, and it enables you to do that.”
It’ll also help having Kevin Wilson, who Venables worked alongside on Bob Stoops’ staff for nine seasons.
Venables is hoping that taking over the defense and having Arbuckle lead the offense will lead to more success for the Sooners.
“There are times when I’m going over and getting very involved with one side of the ball or the other,” Venables said. “When the defense is out there, you’re all hands-on deck with the defense. They’re coming off – you’ve already communicated several times on that last drive the things we have to mark on these tablets.
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“I have an amazing staff. ‘Hey, make sure the linebackers dut dut dut.’ That’s why I hired those two guys. Or, ‘Hey, B-Hall, the safeties, show them that or show them this.’”
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Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football’s Brent Venables says leading defense is ‘collaboration’
