Brent Venables admits Oklahoma is ’embarrassing.’ So was his contract extension

Brent Venables admits Oklahoma is 'embarrassing.' So was his contract extension Oklahoma's contract extension for Brent Venables looks dumber than ever after another loss to South Carolina.

Key points

• There were few positives for OU football coach Brent Venables in the Sooners' 42-25 loss to South Carolina on Saturday in Norman.
• Arbuckle and Mateer came to Oklahoma from Washington State in what amounted to a coordinator-quarterback package accord.
• When announcing the contract extension, athletic director Roger Denny explained there "isn't a better ambassador for Oklahoma football" than Venables.
• The Sooners pushed their chips in on Brent Venables with the confidence of someone holding pocket aces.
• "Just disappointed, " Venables remarked after losing to South Carolina for the second time previously three seasons.

OU football coach Brent Venables notes Sooners secured 'whooped' by South Carolina.

There were few positives for OU football coach Brent Venables in the Sooners' 42-25 loss to South Carolina on Saturday in Norman. "We got our ass whooped, " he remarked.

Oklahoma awarded Brent Venables a contract extension before the season. That move looks worse with every loss.

If Oklahoma won't fire Venables (his buyout is massive), then staff changes are probable. Oklahoma offense still not fixed, and defense finally caves.

Just when you thought you'd seen it all in college football's rat race of contract lunacy, Oklahoma upped the ante in August.

Meanwhile, the Sooners pushed their chips in on Brent Venables with the confidence of someone holding pocket aces. Then, the season began, and Oklahoma had to reveal its hand. It didn't have squat, and its major bet amounted to a waste of capital. What's a waste of funds look like? It looks like a 42-25 loss to South Carolina. "It's just embarrassing, " Venables remarked afterward. "It's embarrassing in every way."

Toppmeyer: Would Notre Dame be No. 6 without those golden helmets? You know the answer. Hayes: Curt Cignetti blew it. Indiana's title defense somehow survived.

He was referring to the game, but his words additionally apply to that preseason contract extension. An embarrassing bit of business. What's next for Oklahoma? Sooners hitched themselves to Brent Venables.

Do you know who was kicking down Oklahoma's door after last season to steal Venables? Oklahoma bid against itself, a hallmark move within College Sports Inc.

Venables might be roasting on it, if not for Oklahoma recklessly hitching its schooner to a middling coach.

If Oklahoma (4-4) finishes this season below.500 – and that's where this is headed, can't you see? – it'll be the third time in Venables' five seasons that he served a losing record.

It's a resume that ought to raise questions regarding Venables' job security, but as of the preseason extension, Oklahoma would owe Venables more than $51 million if it fired him. Contract lunacy, pure and simple.

"Just disappointed, " Venables remarked after losing to South Carolina for the second time previously three seasons. "I watched the game. Everybody else watched the game. They were the more physical team and they created explosive plays. We couldn't obtain any offensive rhythm."

For context, a lack of offensive rhythm will become the epitaph of the Venables experience. Even when his Sooners created the playoff last season, offense came in fits and starts. Brent Venables buyout protects him, but not his staff.

Since a coaching change would be so expensive, this probably ends with staff changes, and Venables probable will reload behind a new quarterback and a different offensive vision next season. He wouldn't discuss either possibility after this loss.

"I'm not ready to say anything, " Venables remarked when asked concerning the possibility of benching quarterback John Mateer. Seconds before that, he dodged a question regarding staff changes.

Venables doesn't need to say it. As he put it, everybody else watched the game, and we see what a broken offense and an insufficient quarterback look like.

So, we can say what he won't: Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle stands on thin ice on a warm day.

Arbuckle and Mateer came to Oklahoma from Washington State in what amounted to a coordinator-quarterback package accord. The SEC's rigors humbled them both.

If Venables tries another coordinator next season, it'll be the fifth OC of his tenure. Jeff Lebby was the only one up to the job. The Sooners can't return to that well. Lebby is coaching Mississippi State.

When Venables' job was on the line last season, he returned to his roots and took over defensive play-calling. Good move. For the past year and a half, his defense carried the water. That overworked and overstressed defense that had supported prevent disaster up to this point finally provided up the ghost against South Carolina.

For context, a fine ambassador, perhaps, and a proven defense coordinator, too, but that's not the job.

At Oklahoma, the assignment for any coach is to win, and win often.

Venables' Oklahoma win percentage sits at an even.600. For perspective, LSU fired Brian Kelly after his LSU win percentage dipped to.708.

Venables' win rate puts him one rung above ex-Sooners coach Snorter Luster. At least ol' Snorter had an explanation for his bumpy tenure: His players left to go fight a war. Luster coached during World War II, and dozens of Sooners players left the team to join the fight.

What's Venables' excuse? He's not offering any. He's owning up to this mess. "I'm incredibly pissed at myself, " he remarked. Buck up, Coach. The ink's still fresh on that contract extension.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Listen to his podcast, "College Football Unfiltered." Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, brent Venables admits Oklahoma is embarrassing. So was his contract extension is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.