Baker Mayfield voices 'a lot of faith' in Brent Venables with Oklahoma coach's job security in question

The pressure is on at Oklahoma as Brent Venables enters a pivotal fourth year in Norman, and at least one prominent Sooner expressed confidence that the highly scrutinized coach will deliver. Program legend and Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield said he has "a lot of faith" in Venables' ability to take Oklahoma back to championship contention despite his two losing seasons in three years.

Venables was in charge of preparing the Sooners for life in the SEC, and a 6-7 overall debut and 2-6 conference record made last year a failure in that regard. Venables in the process became the first coach since John Blake in the late 1990s to produce multiple losing seasons in an Oklahoma tenure, and his .250 conference win percentage was the second-worst in school history.

"Obviously, offensively last year had a lot of injuries," Mayfield said. "You can't win when you have that many different starting rotations on the o-line. It's injuries. It's a lot of stuff. But I have a lot of faith in Coach V. Defense was great last year. That's the standard he sets: tough, hard-nosed guys that hustle to the ball. He's gonna carry that on. So I have a lot of faith in him."

Venables sits upon the hottest seat of any power conference coach, according to the CBS Sports voting panel of college football insiders and experts. He is one of nine coaches in FBS in the "start improving now" or "win or be fired" tiers of the 2025 hot seat rankings. His buyout last season was one of the 10 largest figures in college football, but the price tag associated with moving on from Venables would drop to a slightly more palatable $34.9 million after the 2025 season.

As Mayfield emphasized, health was a major factor in Oklahoma's 2024 woes. The offensive line and wide receiver lineups were revolving doors as key players went in and out of the rotation all year with countless maladies.

Back at full strength and with a number of new faces in the room, the offense is suddenly a source of optimism. The Washington State tandem of offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer could be a gem of a package deal while former California star Jaydn Ott brings versatility and years of high-end production to the running back spot.

"Love the way he plays," Mayfield said of Mateer. "I think there's some similarities in our game. Just the way he carries himself, you can tell the leadership goes a long way with him. I love that, and I'm excited that he came in. We'll see what happens, but it's exciting."