Why four years later OU leadership finally feels affirmation in hiring Brent Venables

OU coach Brent Venables — University of Oklahoma president Joseph Harroz Jr., left, and Athletic Director Joe Castiglione, right, pose for photos with OU's new football coach Brent Venables as they arrive at Max Westheimer Airport in Norman, Okla. on Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. Brent Venables

It was 1,480 days ago, on Sunday morning, Nov. 28, 2021, when Lincoln Riley called Joe Harroz and Joe Castiglione. Harroz was finishing a workout. Castiglione was on his way to church. And Riley, who had been Oklahoma’s head football coach for five seasons, was packing his bags for Los Angeles. “He said he was thinking about visiting USC,” Harroz told SoonerScoop, recalling a day he said he'd never forget. “I asked if he could meet in the afternoon, and he said, ‘Can we do it before then?’ That raised my antenna. It turned out that he had already made the decision to go.” Fast forward to the present.