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Oklahoma officially named Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables as its new head coach Sunday.

Venables replaces Lincoln Riley, who accepted the head coaching job at Southern California.



Venables has been mentioned as a candidate for previous plum head coaching jobs, including at Florida State and Auburn, but declined to pursue them. Instead, he chose to remain at Clemson, which won national championships in 2016 and ’18 and where his two sons are on the roster.

But Venables has ties to Oklahoma, which could have convinced him now is the time to move on. He was the co-defensive coordinator from 1999-2003 and the DC from 2004-11. The Sooners’ most recent national championship came in 2000.

“We’re looking forward to making another decade-plus of incredible memories as we transition to a new era of Oklahoma football, especially with the opportunity and the challenge to join the SEC, the premier conference in all of college football,” Venables said in a statement.

𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!#BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/rQHVcBUWh3

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) December 6, 2021

Venables, who turns 51 this month, won the Broyles Award in 2016 as the nation’s top assistant coach.

He began his coaching career as linebackers coach at his alma mater Kansas State in 1996.

Entering the 2021 season, Venables had been part of a team with a winning record each season and had coached in 29 bowl games. Clemson finished this season 9-3 (6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) and will play Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 29.



–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)