Which Rising Coaches Are Poised to Skyrocket Their Careers This Season?

Every fall the pressure mounts anew for a head coach, but for Brent Venables and his Oklahoma Sooners, the spotlight’s been especially fierce. After stumbling through a 6-7 record in 2022, Venables sparked hope with a solid 10-3 run in 2023 — only to slide back to an identical 6-7 finish this year. That rollercoaster has folks scratching their heads: Can Venables really steer this storied program to the heights it once enjoyed? Knowing what’s at stake, he’s rolled up his sleeves and made some bold, sweeping adjustments, aiming to reforge the Sooners into serious contenders in his fourth year and sophomore SEC campaign. Industry insiders like CBS Sports’ Will Backus see this as a pivotal moment — especially with fresh weapons like Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer poised to inject life into an offense that struggled mightily last season. Venables isn’t just trying to survive; he’s gunning to prove he belongs calling the shots on college football’s grandest stage. LEARN MORE

The offensive coordinator-quarterback relationship is becoming increasingly important in the transfer portal-NIL era of college football. The Sooners look like they’ll have one of the nation’s best in 2025 after having one of the nation’s worst in 2024. Venables and Sooner Nation hope that an improved offensive output can lead to more victories this fall in Norman.Venables’ Sooners did not take the SEC transition well. Sure, they pulled off a gigantic upset against Alabama, but they were outscored by an average of 15 points in their other four games against ranked conference opponents and then capped the whole campaign with a loss against Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. So, in an effort to ensure Oklahoma doesn’t fall too far behind, Venables made sweeping changes in the offseason. He’ll handle defensive play-calling duties while handing the offensive coordinator role to Ben Arbuckle, who engineered some of the nation’s most effective passing offenses at Western Kentucky and Washington State. Arbuckle’s Wazzu QB, John Mateer, followed him to Norman. Oklahoma also signed five wide receiver transfers to bolster a position decimated by injuries and portal departures. As long as the offensive line takes a big leap, the rest of Oklahoma’s offense should follow, and that would mean improvement for the Sooners. – Backus, CBS Sports

Will Backus, who covers college football for CBS Sports, believes that Venables is on a shortlist of Power Four head coaches who have a chance to improve their stock the most this year. Backus cites the new offensive battery of Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer as the primary reasons why.

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After a 6-7 season in 2022, Venables got on track with a 10-3 season in 2023. But regressing back to a 6-7 record in 2024 has fans and analysts alike wondering if Venables has what it takes to lead the Sooners. He’s made some massive changes to the program this offseason to try and set himself up as best as he possibly can for Year 4 overall and Year 2 in the SEC.

Every season, plenty of head coaches come into the fall with something to prove. In the case of Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables, he’s looking to prove that he does, in fact, belong as a head coach at the highest level of this sport.