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Oklahoma and football head coach Brent Venables have agreed to a new six-year contract that offers him a “significant raise,” Pete Thamel reported for ESPN.
The deal still requires approval from the OU Board of Regents, per Thamel.
Venables still had four years remaining on the fully-guaranteed $43.5 million deal he signed with the program in 2022.
Pete Thamel @PeteThamel
Sources: Oklahoma has agreed to a new six-year contract for coach Brent Venables. The new six-year deal includes a significant raise for Venables, and there’s been an uptick in overall program commitment as OU heads to the SEC. pic.twitter.com/Poq859eg40
Venables joined the Sooners in 2022 after previously working with the program’s defense from 1999 to 2011.
He coached Oklahoma to a 10-3 record during their final season in the Big 12 and will now lead the team through their debut SEC campaign this fall.
That won’t be the only change for the Sooners heading into 2024, with Jackson Arnold slated to take over as starting quarterback in an offense run by new quarterback coach and offensive coordinator Seth Littrell.
The OU board voted to approve contracts for both Littrell and new defensive coordinator Zac Alley through 2027 in March, per AllSooners’ John E. Hoover, locking in the coaching staff the board hopes will lead Oklahoma to its first bowl victory since the 2021 Alamo Bowl.
The board also extended defensive line coach Todd Bates and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, who has helped developed a dozen offensive lineman into NFL prospects during his 11 seasons in Oklahoma.
According to Thamel, OU allotted the raise to Venables in part due to “an uptick in overall program commitment” during his tenure.
The Oklahoma recruiting classes for both 2024 and 2025 both rank among the top 10 in college football, according to 247Sports.
The 2024 class is headlined by five-star defensive lineman David Stone, whom 247Sports ranks as one of the top 20 prospects in the nation.
Venables already led the Sooners to improve from a 6-7 record in his first season as head coach to a 10-3 slate, including a 7-0 start to the season in 2023.
With historic recruiting classes set to address key defensive weaknesses and the Sooners hoping Arnold can come into his own as a starter, Oklahoma has every season to hope for another wins increase this fall. That trajectory was enough to encourage the program to make sure Venables sticks around in Norman.
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