Brent Venables outside top 25 Power Four coaches on CBS list

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Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables silenced a lot of doubters by winning 10 games and making it to the College Football Playoff last season. OU's coach worked his way off the hot seat and now has high expectations for this season.

However, Venables still has a lot to prove. At least that's what the college football experts over at CBS Sports believe. This week, their panel of analysts unveiled their yearly rankings of all 68 Power Four head coaches, and Venables was not ranked inside the top 25. Instead, Venables landed at No. 28 on the list, with a high rank of 22 from the writers, but also a low rank of 35.

The good news for Brent Venables is that he climbs 24 spots in our rankings after getting Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff last year. The bad news is that he's one of only four coaches who reached the CFP last year and didn't crack the top 25 … So, clearly, there's still some respect to be earned among our panel, but a 24-spot climb from 52nd is nothing to sneeze at. – Tom Fornelli, CBS Sports.

These rankings included every head coach in the SEC, the Big Ten, the ACC, and the Big 12, in addition to Notre Dame. Venables was the No. 8 SEC head man on the list. He ranked behind Georgia's Kirby Smart (2), Texas' Steve Sarkisian (6th), Alabama's Kalen DeBoer (8), LSU's Lane Kiffin (9), Texas A&M's Mike Elko (14), Tennessee's Josh Heupel (19th), and Missouri's Eliah Drinkwitz (23).

In the SEC, Venables was ranked ahead of Vanderbilt's Clark Lea (29), Florida's Jon Sumrall (36), South Carolina's Shane Beamer (40th), Auburn's Alex Golseh (45), Ole Miss' Pete Golding (51), Arkansas' Ryan Silverfield (56), Mississippi State's Jeff Lebby (58), and Kentucky's Will Stein (64).

Venables and his Sooners defied expectations last season, and they believe they have the pieces to make an even stronger run this year. After a rocky 2024 season that landed him at No. 52 on this same list last year, Venables' rebound has earned him a lot more respect heading into his fifth year in Norman.

Oklahoma head coaches

Record at OU in parentheses

  • 1895: John Harts (0-1)
  • 1896: No Coach (2-0)
  • 1897 to 1900: Vernon Parrington (9-2-1)
  • 1901: Fred Roberts (3-2)
  • 1902 to 1903: Mark McMahon (11-7-3)
  • 1904: Fred Ewing (4-3-1)
  • 1905 to 1926: Bennie Owen (122-54-16)
  • 1927 to 1931: Adrian Lindsey (19-19-6)
  • 1932 to 1934: Lewie Hardage (11-12-4)
  • 1935 to 1936: Lawrence Jones (9-6-3)
  • 1937 to 1940: Thomas Stidham (27-8-3)
  • 1941 to 1945: Dewey Luster (27-18-3)
  • 1946: Jim Tatum (8-3)
  • 1947 to 1963: Bud Wilkinson (145-29-4)
  • 1964 to 1965: Gomer Jones (9-11-1)
  • 1966: Jim Mackenzie (6-4)
  • 1967 to 1972: Chuck Fairbanks (52-15-1)
  • 1973 to 1988: Barry Switzer (157-29-4)
  • 1989 to 1994: Gary Gibbs (44-23-2)
  • 1995: Howard Schnellenberger (5-5-1)
  • 1996 to 1998: John Blake (12-22)
  • 1999 to 2016: Bob Stoops (190-48)
  • 2017 to 2021: Lincoln Riley (55-10)
  • 2021 bowl game (interim): Bob Stoops (1-0)
  • 2022 to present: Brent Venables (32-20)

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Where is Brent Venables on CBS Sports' list of all 68 P4 head coaches?

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