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Lincoln Riley was once the most hated man in the state of Oklahoma. The former Sooners coach bailed on the program for USC, and he took a number of high-profile players with him.
The departure began a rebuild for replacement Brent Venables. The current OU coach is now exposing the former.
Venables is entering Year 4 with the program. To this point, he’s posted one 10-win campaign sandwiched between a pair of losing seasons.
He believes he’s gotten the program to a good spot ahead of 2025. He admitted that he had his work cut out for him with the team previously in disarray.
Brent Venables exposed Lincoln Riley.
Brent Venables on rebuilding OU’s culture when he first arrived:
🗣️ “We had a 2.2 team GPA, guys not going to class, failing drug tests, no motivation, broken spirits. We had to change the mindset and how we thought.” pic.twitter.com/PLj2kNe4AL— News 9 (@NEWS9) August 26, 2025
“We had a lot of issues the first year,” the coach said. “Guys weren’t going to class. We had a 2.2 team GPA. A lot of guys that didn’t pass drug tests. A LOT.
“What comes with that? Lack of motivation. Lack of synergy. Lack of ambition. There were some broken spirits, too… Guys weren’t confident.”
Venables cited a lack of control and leadership. He suggests Riley didn’t care what players did off the field. Only for on-field results.
Those on-field results were evident. Riley never lost more than two games in a season and boasted a 55-10 overall record.
Venables says those outcomes came at the expense of players’ off-field growth.
Venables is the anti-Riley.
They couldn’t be more different. Their personalities are opposite with Riley laid back and Venables in your face. Their football expertise sits on different sides of the ball.
Their roster management and recruiting outlooks differ, too.
Riley took as much five-star talent as possible from his former school as a foundation at USC. No one can blame him, but the optics weren’t great.
Oklahoma fans weren’t thrilled to see the roster ravaged by a former trusted leader. USC saw attrition, too, with players like Jaxson Dart and Kedon Slovis immediately bolting to be replaced by Caleb Williams.
Brent Venables took a different approach. He allowed Oklahoma players the opportunities to stay and compete. He took no Clemson players with him, only a few coaches from his defensive staff. Even his own son stayed with the Tigers.
The coach was forced to clean up Lincoln Riley’s mess. He believes he’s done so after three seasons. Now, he’ll hope to see the on-field results reflect his hard work.