Venables Introduced As OU Head Coach

Eight days after Lincoln Riley left for Los Angeles, the Sooners turn to a familiar face to lead the football program.

At an introductory news conference that felt much like a reunion, OU AD Joe Castiglione said his first call in his search was to Brent Venables, the former Defensive Coordinator of the Sooners who had great success leading the Clemson defense during his decade with the Tigers and winning two national championships.

Venables returns to Norman well aware of the culture and expectations and his immediate concerns are all about recruiting, both the potential incoming players and those currently on the roster like Caleb Williams.

"Whether it's Caleb or anybody else, everybody talks about recruiting and going to get the next class and the next class after that even," said Venables, "There's nobody that's more important to recruit than your players everyday. And you do that with relationships, you do that with connectivity. You gotta, again, reach them the right way."

As for the Venables' staff, News 9 Sports Director Dean Blevins said the expectation is all offensive coaches under Lincoln Riley will stay with OU.