Brent Venables’ contract extension has tact and timing on Westfall

Oklahoma Sooners head football coach Brent Venables signed what amounts to a two-year contract extension last week. The new six-year contract also comes with a pay rise.

While opinions from local and national analysts were wide-ranging about OU’s decision to extend Venables, one writer believes Oklahoma made a sound tactical move.

Rock Westfall, writing for Mike Farrell Sports, weighed in on the move made by athletic director Joe Castiglione, praising the timing of the extension:

“The 2024 schedule is a maneater,” Westfall said. “And it could have left Venables vulnerable. If Oklahoma does well against this roster, the Venables extension will look like pure genius. But if, as is more likely, the Sooners struggle in 2024, the new contract will stop any heated discussion and allow Venables to recruit effectively without opposing coaches being able to tell he won’t survive.

Westfall was highly complimentary of Castiglione for his record of good decisions:

“Joe Castiglione is in the running to be the best athletic director in college sports,” Westfall continued. “He’s been leading Oklahoma since 1998 and the football program has been outstanding under his leadership. Castiglione hired Bob Stoops to usher in a generation of glory in Norman. Lincoln Riley and Brent Venables were both celebrated as good hires when Castiglione made them. Most importantly, Castiglione made Oklahoma athletics attractive enough to receive an invitation to the SEC. So while Venables’ extension seems hasty, there are logical reasons behind it. The best reason for the expansion is that Castiglione did it.”

While we have to wait and see how Oklahoma performs in 2024, Venables’ new deal eliminates any heated discussion if the Sooners fall short of expectations this season. Nationally, most are predicting a tough year in Norman, but the list continues to improve. There aren’t many holes on the depth chart other than offensive line. Even that unit looks better than the national media probably thinks it will.

But, like it or not, negative recruiting happens in college athletics, especially college football. Coaches on the hot seat have an uphill climb to attract elite recruits because those recruits don’t know if that coach will still be there in a few years. Other programs know this and pounce, doing everything they can to sway prospects from that school.

Castiglione’s decision to extend his coaching means high school athletes and transfers know who will be putting the shots in Norman, both now and in the future.

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