With Mike Stoops arrival back in Norman last week to be co-defensive coordinator for the Sooners, many had been wondering what that meant for the guy that had been defensive coordinator since Stoops left the first time, Brent Venables. Wednesday night, everyone finally found out when Venables confirmed what had been rumored the past week and that he's heading east to take the same position at Clemson.
It had been speculated Venables was unhappy with the situation with Stoops coming back on board who also was likely to take over the play-calling duties. He reiterated this morning that was absolutely not the case and after listening to his interview on SportsTalk 1400 in Norman this morning, you can't help but believe him.
"Absolutely not," Venables said. "I don't have anything to be upset about."
He is expected to make between $750,000 and $1 million per year at Clemson after making $440,000 at Oklahoma. He did say this morning, however, that Oklahoma had matched whatever Clemson was indeed offering. "Oh yeah, years and dollar figures. I couldn't have been more humbled at, really again, their actions and what they were willing to do for me to keep me in Norman."
It'll definitely be different not seeing him on the Sooners' sideline. The guy has been a staple there since Bob Stoops arrived and took OU back to being one of the top programs in the country. Listening to the interview, you can tell what an tough decision it was for him. As far as his career goes, it's not hard to see why he would make the move though.
"It really came down to just really feeling like it was time for me to go pursue a really unique opportunity and one that I didn't know would maybe come up again," Venables said. The guy still wants to be the head coach one day and if he's able to replicate much of what he's done for the Sooners at Clemson, making the move was probably the best path to get there one day.
He will take over a Clemson defense that finished the year ranked 81st in scoring defense giving up 29.3 points per game. What's fresh in everyone's mind however, is the 70 points that Dana Holgorsen and West Virginia put on the Tigers in the Orange Bowl. Despite the Orange Bowl showing, Clemson still finished 10-4 with victories over Auburn, Florida State, and two over Virginia Tech.
Best of luck to Coach Venables and here's hoping he finds his way back to the Big 12 one day.
