A couple of SEC coaches received significant contract extensions over the spring in the summer before facing a brutal nine-game conference schedule this fall. After months of speculation, Alabama signed Kalen DeBoer to a seven-year, $87.5 million contract extension in April. There was chatter the Crimson Tide would sign him to a new deal after the team beat Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff.
The Sooners waited until August to sign head coach Brent Venables to a new deal. Per Pete Thamel of ESPN, Oklahoma signed Venables to a new six-year contract worth $10.5 million per year, keeping him locked down through 2031. More news: Kirk Herbstreit Calls Out Notre Dame for ‘Embarrassing’ Schedule More news: Three Teams That Can Win the Big 12 "Sources: Oklahoma and coach Brent Venables have agreed to a new 6-year contract that averages $10.5 million per year," Thamel posted on X.
"It adds two years to the current deal and goes through 2031. Venables led Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff in 2025, OU’s first CFP since 2019." Venables, a two-time national champion defensive coordinator at Clemson, took over at Oklahoma before the 2022 season, his first head coaching gig. He's 32-20 during his four seasons with the Sooners and 8-8 in SEC play.
Oklahoma has been known for having a powerful defense under Venables, but the offense has struggled to make the team a true contender in the SEC and College Football Playoff. The Sooners hope the offense will look much better in the upcoming season with quarterback John Mateer returning. The Sooners will enter the season with a No. 10 ranking but a challenging schedule.
Oklahoma will play six ranked teams this fall: No. 16 Michigan, No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 Texas, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 25 Missouri. With the new deal, Venables will enjoy some extra security if Oklahoma regresses this season while playing a grueling nine-game SEC schedule. Like Alabama showed with DeBoer's contract extension, Oklahoma is giving Venables some patience to build a championship program.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
