Greg McElroy debates whether Brent Venables taking on DC duties impacts Oklahoma

Brent Venables will be calling the plays on defense for Oklahoma in 2025, and Greg McElroy is fascinated by the decision from the Sooners head coach.

Instead of relying on an outside hire or someone else to handle the gig, Venables is going to allow the play of his defense fall squarely on his shoulders. McElroy reacted to the news on the latest episode of Always College Football with Greg McElroy, explaining how it all came together for Oklahoma.

“Brent Venables has decided, ‘We don’t need a defensive coordinator. We’re not going to do it. I’m going to do it myself.’ He’s going to handle defensive play calling responsibilities for the Sooners in 2025. He announced that in a statement on Saturday. Full control on defense will reside with him,” McElroy stated. “It was interesting because this defensive coordinator hire went in a bunch of different directions. A defensive coordinator hire — I guess, no hire.

“Zac Alley was the play caller last year. Takes a job at West Virginia. on Dec. 29, and that kind of got the wheels spinning, ‘What’s going on? Why would Zac Alley leave? They just did a really good job on defense. Why would he leave for a more difficult job?’ Well, find out that they were kind of pursuing Jim Knowles, and Oklahoma was pretty confident that they’d be able to land him. They said they were comfortable going up to $3M a year.

“They thought that it was a done deal, but I do think there was some confusion how involved would Brent Venables be in the play-calling duties, and I think that might have scared Knowles just a little bit. That’s why Knowles ends up going to Penn State, where James Franklin assured him, ‘You have full control, full autonomy over what you guys are doing defensively,’ and they paid him $200,000 more than Oklahoma was going to pay him. So that’s helpful, as well.”

All told, 2025 will be a pivotal season for the Sooners, and Venables could be coaching for his job moving forward. McElroy believes the Oklahoma leader wanted his future in his own hands, and he’s taking control of his own destiny by calling plays himself. It’s something the former quarterback is enamored with.

“I think Brent Venables ultimately said, ‘Look, I have to win this year. I need to win a bunch of games. We need to make some progress. I got this job because of how good I am calling plays defensively.’ That’s why Brent Venables is the head coach at Oklahoma,” McElroy added. “So, while it’s a lot to expect a coach to go out and call plays and run a program, who can do it better than Venables?

“I’m not sure I have the answer to that. You go out and you get Wes Goodwin, who was at Clemson, coordinating their defense the last couple of years. Now, he’s reunited with Venables. Hopefully his addition can help take some of the pressures off Brent Venables, with the game planning on a week-to-week basis.

“So, I like this move by Brent Venables. I think it’s the right move, especially if you can’t get an obvious upgrade at the position. You’re there because of your expertise on that side of the ball. Lean into it. I think it’s gonna be a good thing for Oklahoma moving forward.”

Time will tell if Brent Venables made the correct decision or not, but Greg McElroy is willing to let it all play out in Norman. The Sooners will need to be ready to contend in the SEC this coming season, and they’re hoping their head coach can contribute to their success more than ever.