Goodbye Venables

   After a day of what could only be described as being chaotic and confusing the official announcement came late last night that Brent Venables the Co defensive coordinator of Oklahoma has taken the defensive coordinator job at Clemson University. What does this mean for the Sooners? Well just last week Oklahoma picked up Mike Stoops to be a Co defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. The question in the air after that was which one of them (Venables or Stoops) would be calling the plays on defense. Well now with Venables taking the Clemson job that makes the choice obviously Stoops and Oklahoma will now be in search of a new linebackers coach.

   Now the big problem with this loss isn't Venables coaching. Although he ran a good defense and is a great coach Mike Stoops is also a great play caller and coach. The big problem is that Brent Venables was possibly the best recruiter on the Sooners staff. Venables also had really good ties to Texas which is where most of the Sooners recruiting comes from. A lot of the Sooners 2012 commits are quite shocked by Venables departure and might be seeking to attend other schools. Mike and Bob Stoops have been hitting the road hard this past week trying to keep whatever commits that they can.                    

   With all of this being said I believe that Mike Stoops is more than capable of being the main defensive coordinator and play caller. I also believe maybe next year he will bring in a decent defensive recruiting class. Oklahoma will move on and find a good linebackers coach to replace Venables and I believe will go on to have a winning season. The things Oklahoma will miss from Venables is his enthusiasm, his great relationships with his players, and his amazing recruiting skills. Good luck at Clemson Brent, you will make a great head coach some day.