#9
Brent Venables — Oklahoma, December 2021
Oklahoma 2022–The Clemson DC whose first year was a 6-7 disaster — and whose third-year 10-3 finish vindicated the Oklahoma program's most-criticized 2020s decision.
Year-1: 6-7 · Year-3: 10-3 · '24 SEC move · '24 8-5 first-year SEC
Venables took the Oklahoma job in December 2021 after Riley left for USC and produced the program's worst season in 24 years (6-7 in 2022). The pile-on was immediate; the recovery (8-5 in 2023, 10-3 in 2024 with a Big-12 farewell, 8-5 first-year SEC in 2024) was the patience-pays-off counterargument the year-one critics hadn't anticipated. The Venables hire's place in this list is contested — some panels would have it five ranks lower — but the directional evidence puts it in the top ten.
Cohort divergence
Stat-folks rank
#9
Casual-fans rank
#9
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consensus
Year-over-year
Prior edition rank: — \u00b7 Movement: ↑ NEW