Oklahoma
COLUMN: Poachers Came for Oklahoma Coaches, But Brent Venables’ Culture Fought Them Off
![COLUMN: Poachers Came for Oklahoma Coaches, But Brent Venables’ Culture Fought Them Off](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4767,h_2681,x_50,y_308/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_sooners/01j334ssrwyyq1dzt53s.jpg)
COLUMN: Venables on staff retention, culture
DALLAS — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables had a few nervous moments in the offseason.
Perhaps none as nervous as when Ohio State tried to hire running backs coach DeMarco Murray.
“That’s the one that y’all know of,” Venables said Tuesday when I asked him to recount the events that almost led one of the program’s most decorated players to Columbus. “And there’s been plenty more.”
Murray was a Sooner, is a Sooner, and apparently will remain a Sooner as long as Venables will have him — that is, as long as he continues to recruit running backs at an elite level and coach them up in Norman.
“DeMarco has been in high demand,” Venables said in a small-group interview at SEC Media Days.
So Murray got a nice raise, from $500,000 a year to $575,000, and received a contract extension through 2026.
When asked about the effort to retain Murray, Venables offered a sideways explanation for why OU assistants seem to get raises and extension every year.
“I got a whole staff of that happening,” Venables said. “ … There were several this year. Several. It’s the NFL, it’s other college teams, and people just, they’re gonna — they don’t know if you’re gonna say yes unless you ask.”
Venables said he’s run out of fingers trying to count the OU assistants who’ve had job offers.
“More than one hand,” he said, “where — this season alone.”
He said some of his staff don’t even bother to tell him they’re being courted elsewhere.
“We’ve had several coaches that have been approached,” he said, “and they didn’t even come to me and say, you know, ‘Hey, Coach, I got this opportunity.’ You know? Because they know I might blow him up like, ‘Man, why would you even think about that? That’d be the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.’ ”
Venables was laughing when he delivered that last line, but he was also dead serious.
“I have that to me, that kind of cactus mindset, you know — heavy sun, no water; that’s what should be for everybody,” he admits.
There aren’t many factors more important to building and sustaining a program than consistency on the coaching staff. Just ask Bob Stoops. Stoops had some a little early turnover, but his staff settled quickly and stayed static for the long haul. It was when he started consistently losing coordinators — Mark Mangino, Chuck Long, Mike Stoops, Kevin Wilson — that winning started to get harder.
So Venables — a key member of those Stoops staffs for 12 years and a vital element of Dabo Swinney’s dynastic tenure at Clemson for a decade — understands inherently how important retaining a staff can be.
“I’m very thankful,” Venables said. “Got an amazingly talented staff. That’s what I’m most proud of, is they have an appreciation for what Oklahoma is all about.”
Establishing a lasting culture at Oklahoma — additive to what Stoops built, beyond what Lincoln Riley had — has become one of Venables top priorities as he heads into his third season.
“There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious and there’s nothing wrong with maybe wanting to create a little more value for yourself and maximizing your value in that space,” Venables said. “I’m appreciative of our administration for being aggressive and responding every step of the way.
“Since I’ve been here, in a very short amount of time, Joe Castiglione and President Harroz have given us everything we need to retain our guys and put them at the market value that they deserve. As leaders, they recognize that’s the cost of doing business.”
Venables had to replace his defensive coordinator and linebackers coach this year, with Zac Alley stepping in for Ted Roof. He promoted Seth Littrell to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after Jeff Lebby became Mississippi State’s head coach. And he hired Doug Deakin to step in as special teams analyst when Jay Nunez took a coaching job at Alabama.
That’s a pretty good amount of turnover for one year. But among position coaches, everyone else is back in 2024, and Venables couldn’t be happier.
“I value people,” he said. “It’s a people business. More important than your acumen is finding great people that will align with your beliefs, your values, and you’ve got to be talented, too.”
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Oklahoma
Retired Oklahoma Secret Service Agent Reacts to New Details in Trump Assassination Attempt
![Retired Oklahoma Secret Service Agent Reacts to New Details in Trump Assassination Attempt](https://fueltools-prod01-public.fuelmedia.io/59e240fa-1ef9-4713-94e5-5289dca38660/20240718/ba556d94-7adb-41b1-871b-f30cd40ebb39/638568740876128348_thumbnail.png)
Law enforcement sources have revealed to CBS News that witnesses and local police identified and saw 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks at least two minutes before the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Todd Lamb, former Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma and a retired Secret Service agent, reacted to the new details stated in the case.
“When I was a site supervisor during a presidential campaign as a Secret Service agent, if I saw them with a scope or those who were working with me or for me saw someone with a scope, that person would be intercepted, they would be patted down, they would be interviewed, and they would be escorted from the premises,” Lamb said.
He also reacted to reports that the shooter was confronted by a local police officer, who fell from the roof after the shooter aimed their gun at the officer. Law enforcement sources tell CBS News that police were staged inside the building, but not on top of it.
“Tactically, that’s not how you do it,” Lamb said. “How it was done, and the reports we’re learning now, tactically that is an extreme misstep, obviously. What you do to prevent that is secure the building, make sure nobody crawls on the building, and, having counter sniper or any law enforcement inside the structure, that’s of no benefit whatsoever.”
He credited the Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service for now choosing to give protection to independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is lagging behind in polls.
Oklahoma
Phoenix Suns vs Oklahoma City Thunder Jul 17, 2024 Box Scores
- Summer League
- Free Agency
- Draft
- NBA Cup
- Teams
- Future Starts Now
- League Pass
- California Classic Summer League
- Salt Lake City Summer League
- Las Vegas Summer League
- 2023-24 Season Schedule
- U.S. Radio Broadcasters
- League Pass Schedule
- Livestream Schedule
- Key Dates
- Summary
- Box Score
- Game Charts
- Play-By-Play
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Hires Sean Snyder as Kickers and Punters Coach
![Oklahoma State Hires Sean Snyder as Kickers and Punters Coach](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3504,h_1971,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_pokes/01j310affp40adkz7px7.jpg)
Oklahoma State has some more help on special teams.
On Wednesday, the Cowboys announced the hiring of Sean Snyder as the team’s punters and kickers coach. Snyder has been coaching college football for nearly 30 years and brings an abundance of experience in the Big 12 to OSU.
Snyder spent most of his coaching career at Kansas State, where he coached from 1994-2019.
He is also the son of legendary Kansas State coach Bill Snyder and played for the Wildcats at punter. Snyder earned First Team All-America honors in 1992 and is considered one of the best punters in Kansas State history.
After coaching at Kansas State, Snyder has bounced around to a few different schools. In 2020, he took over as USC’s special teams coordinator. He spent two seasons there before leaving for Illinois, where he had the same role in 2022.
READ MORE: Three OSU Pitchers Taken Late on Second Day of MLB Draft
Most recently, Snyder spent the 2023 season as an assistant coach at Kansas and helped with the special teams unit. He left the Jayhawks earlier this year to pursue a personal coaching business but will head to Stillwater to join the OSU staff next season.
OSU coach Mike Gundy and his teams have matched up against Snyder’s special teams units many times throughout his career. Bringing Snyder into Stillwater could be a significant help for the Cowboys.
“Sean brings years of experience with kickers and punters and special teams concepts,” Gundy said. “We’re really excited about what he brings to our coaching staff.”
As the Cowboys look to be among the best in the Big 12 next season, they will return more talent than almost any team in the country. However, with some key special teams players from last season gone, Snyder could be a significant piece of OSU’s success in that area.
READ MORE: Who Are Oklahoma State’s Top Players in College Football 25?
Want to join the discussion? Like AllPokes on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Cowboys news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
-
World1 week ago
Australia appoints special envoy to combat anti-Semitism
-
California1 week ago
Two arrested in connection to separate California wildfires
-
World1 week ago
Auditors slam poor oversight of cohesion spending
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Film Review: Pierce (2024) by Nelicia Low
-
News1 week ago
How to fight shrinkflation? Pay attention to unit prices at grocery stores
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Film Review: Second Chance (2024) by Subhadra Mahajan
-
Sports1 week ago
Emma Raducanu's Andy Murray decision exemplifies tennis' battle with logic and emotion
-
News1 week ago
White House releases letter from Biden’s doctor after questions about Parkinson’s specialist’s White House visits