Oklahoma Says Brent Venables Is Safe. In This SEC, November Pressure Lands on the Coordinators First

Oklahoma's board of regents almost never talks about football. On Wednesday it did, and that tells you more about the SEC's November than anything said on a Saturday.

Rick Nagel, the board's chair, said Brent Venables is not on the hot seat and pointed to the contract extension the university gave him, according to The Oklahoman as reported by Field Level Media. He made a point of noting how unusual it was for the board to say anything at all.

The board doesn't typically comment much on what's going on in the athletic department.Rick Nagel, via Field Level Media

Here is the position this column will take: Oklahoma is right to keep Venables, and the regents' statement is the least interesting part of how it got here. In this league, a disappointing season no longer costs the head coach first. It costs his coordinator, and the head coach gets a public vote of support. Watch Texas A&M, Tennessee's opponent Saturday, follow the same script.

Oklahoma's version

The Sooners are 5-4 and 3-3 in the SEC with Ole Miss, Texas A&M and a trip to Missouri left. Venables, in his fifth season, is 37-24 and 0-4 in bowl games. Before this season he signed a six-year, $63 million extension through 2032, and his buyout would top $50 million if he were fired without cause after the season, Field Level Media reported.

This is not Oklahoma's first November vote of confidence. In 2024, after a 5-5 start, president Joseph Harroz Jr. and athletic director Joe Castiglione both backed Venables publicly following a regents meeting, according to Field Level Media. The Sooners answered with a 10-3 season last year and a College Football Playoff appearance.

The move that mattered this year came Nov. 2. After a 42-25 loss to South Carolina dropped Oklahoma to 4-4, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle was fired, according to EssentiallySports, citing On3. Tight ends coach Jason Witten, in his first year on staff, took over play-calling.

The early returns are tidy rather than dazzling. In Witten's debut, Oklahoma won 23-7 at No. 25 Florida, with John Mateer completing 21 of 33 passes for 214 yards and running for 56 more, the AP reported. The Sooners had one play longer than 20 yards and won anyway, partly on a 20-play, 89-yard drive that ate 12:45.

That is the template: change the play-caller, back the head coach, and buy a month of evidence.

Texas A&M's version

Texas A&M is further down the same road and has not made the coordinator move yet.

The Aggies are 4-5 and 1-5 in the SEC after opening the year with playoff expectations, according to Roundtable Sports. Their offense has nine touchdowns in six league games, and four of them came against Arkansas. They gained 457 yards at South Carolina last week and lost 17-9.

Elko has defended quarterback Marcel Reed, saying after the loss that he thought it was Reed's best game of the year, Gameday Chatter reported. The scrutiny has fallen on the staff around Reed. Holmon Wiggins was elevated to offensive coordinator without previous play-calling experience, Gameday Chatter noted, and Aggies Wire expects Elko to overhaul the offensive staff after the season while keeping first-year defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill, whose unit leads the country in red-zone defense.

Elko, to his credit, is not hiding behind progress reports.

We've made improvements, but we're not a program that's looking for improvements. We're looking for wins.Mike Elko, via Field Level Media

Why it matters for Tennessee

A team in this spot is not a soft landing. Texas A&M has blown fourth-quarter leads in each of its last two losses, against Alabama and South Carolina, Field Level Media reported. It has an elite red-zone defense, a home crowd and a coach who described Saturday as a chance for his team to pick itself up and show who it is.

Tennessee, eighth in the College Football Playoff rankings, has more to lose. CBS Sports' Brad Crawford wrote this week that a loss at Kyle Field would turn the Nov. 21 game against LSU in Knoxville into a must-win.

The rest of the map

Pressure in the SEC this month runs in more than one direction. Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, in his seventh season, was floated as a Florida State candidate by Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman after the Seminoles fired Mike Norvell, MassLive reported. Missouri, No. 22 in the CFP rankings, plays at No. 1 Georgia on Saturday.

Oklahoma hosts Ole Miss on Saturday and Texas A&M on Nov. 21. By the time the Aggies get to Norman, both programs will have a clearer answer about whether the play-caller was the problem. Tennessee would prefer the Aggies are still asking that question on Saturday night.

Kickoff at Kyle Field is 2 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Sources: Field Level Media via Jefferson City News Tribune, Oklahoma brass: Venables not on hot seat; Field Level Media via National Football Post, Oklahoma president, AD give Brent Venables vote of confidence (2024); EssentiallySports, Oklahoma fires offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle; AP via ABC News, Oklahoma throttles No. 25 Florida for a 23-7 victory; Roundtable Sports via Yahoo Sports, Texas A&M's offense has just 9 SEC touchdowns in six games; Gameday Chatter via Yahoo Sports, Mike Elko backs Marcel Reed despite Texas A&M's fifth loss; Aggies Wire via Yahoo Sports, Texas A&M's defense has quietly improved under first-year DC; CBS Sports (Field Level Media), Tennessee looks to sharpen passing game at Texas A&M; MassLive via Yahoo Sports, SEC head coach mentioned as name to watch in Florida State search; CBS Sports, Breaking down SEC's path to five or more College Football Playoff bids; College Football Playoff, second rankings of 2026