The Sooners head coach has officially announced and clarified to

The Sooners head coach has officially announced and clarified to the team that there will be changes in strategy and training regimen starting next week.

The Oklahoma Sooners have locked up their leadership long-term. The Sooners agreed to a six-year contract with head coach Brent Venables, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

The deal will be worth a little over $46 million, per multiple reports. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.

Update your settings here to see it. The contract keeps Venables, who was hired by the Sooners in 2021 to replace Lincoln Riley, in Oklahoma through 2029. The 53-year-old coach will also stay at the helm to help navigate Oklahoma’s transition to the SEC.

Under the new contract, Venables will earn $7.225 million next season, with his salary rising each season and eventually capping at $7.925 million in the final year.

He signed a six-year, $43.5 million contract when he joined the Sooners two seasons ago. Per ESPN, the deal has received board approval, which was the final obstacle to making it official.

More college football news Additional select Yahoo articles It’s bigger, and it just means more: Texas’ jump to the SEC shows how much college sports is about to change Texas officially welcomed into the SEC & Utah names their coach in waiting Utah State places football coach Blake Anderson on administrative leave with ‘intent to terminate’ Venables was hired in December 2021 after Riley left for USC, and has gone 16-10 in two seasons with the Sooners. The first-time head coach led Oklahoma to a 10-2 record in the 2023 regular season, including big wins over No. 3 Texas, before losing to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.

Oklahoma went 7-3 in-conference and finished third in the Big 12; the Sooners finished the season at No. 15 nationally.

Prior to becoming head coach, Venables had been co-defensive coordinator and later assistant head coach at Oklahoma from 1999 to 2011 before spending 10 seasons as an assistant at Clemson. Terms/Privacy PolicyPrivacy DashboardAbout Our Ads The Canadian PressThe Canadian Press Utah State informs football coach Blake Anderson he will be fired for cause after Title IX review The Canadian Press Wed, Jul 3, 2024, 12:43 a.m. GMT+1·3 min read LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Utah State informed football coach Blake Anderson on Tuesday that he will be fired for cause after an external review of allegations that he hadn’t complied with Title IX policies regarding the reporting of sexual misconduct cases.

Nate Dreiling, who had been Utah State’s defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach, will serve as interim coach during the upcoming season. Athletic director Diana Sabau met players and staff Tuesday to inform them of the move, the university announced in a news release.

Utah State also said associate vice president and deputy athletic director of external affairs Jerry Bovee and football director of player development and community Austin Albrecht were fired “for violations of university policies related to the reporting of sexual and domestic violence and failures of professional responsibilities.” Bovee was Utah State’s interim athletic director in 2023. Utah State said Anderson would be fired for actions that took place in the spring of 2023.

Utah State noted that Title IX policies “require full and timely reporting of disclosures of sexual misconduct—iincluding domestic violence—aand prohibit employees from investigating disclosures of sexual misconduct themselves.” “As leaders, we are responsible for ensuring allegations of USU policy violations are investigated,” Sabau and Utah State President Elizabeth Cantwell said in an email they sent to faculty and staff.

“Today’s actions are the result of a thorough external investigation, and we believe the evidence demands immediate action. Our job is to fearlessly hold ourselves and others accountable for their conduct and to make sure that, for the sake of our students and our community, we are living the values of our university.

“While recognizing the impact of these decisions on our student athletes and football program, we will continue to take the steps necessary to deliver a respectful, transparent and winning culture at Utah State University.”

School officials noted that Anderson has 14 days to respond to the university’s decision under terms of his employment agreement. School officials said they couldn‘t release any additional information until all opportunities to respond or appeal the decision had expired. Tom Mars, an attorney representing Anderson, said Utah State lacked justification to fire Anderson for cause.

“Like any university, Utah State could fire Blake Anderson for any reason as long as they paid his buyout,” Mars said. “However, based on the facts alleged and the language in Blake’s employment agreement, USU is going to be fighting an uphill battle if they try to fire him for cause just to avoid paying Blake what he’s owed.

“Stiffing a head coach by blaming him for what his supervisor allegedly failed to do is a novel approach that hasn’t been tried before, but that theory will never hold up in court.” Anderson posted a 23-17 record in three seasons at Utah State, with the Aggies reaching bowl games each of those years. He went 11-3 in 2021 before going 6-7 each of the last two years. He came to Utah State after going 51-37 at Arkansas State from 2014–20.

He took a leave of absence prior to the 2019 season just before his wife, Wendy Anderson, died after a two-year fight with breast cancer. He returned for the second game of that season, and helped Arkansas State go 8-5.

ChatGPT

In college football, coaching contracts and decisions can have significant impacts, both on and off the field. Recently, Oklahoma made headlines by securing head coach Brent Venables a lucrative six-year contract extension. The deal, reported to be worth over $46 million, ensures Venables will lead the Sooners through 2029 as they transition to the SEC.

Venables, who took over in 2021 after Lincoln Riley’s departure, has been instrumental in maintaining Oklahoma’s competitive edge. His initial contract was valued at $43.5 million over six years, showing a clear commitment from the university to build on his leadership.

On the other hand, Utah State University faced controversy as they moved to terminate football coach Blake Anderson for cause. This decision followed an external review that raised concerns about Anderson’s compliance with Title IX policies regarding the reporting of sexual misconduct cases. The university also dismissed two other officials for similar reasons.

Anderson, who posted a 23-17 record over three seasons at Utah State, faces potential legal challenges to the termination. His attorney suggested that the university’s grounds for firing him may not hold up in court, particularly regarding the specifics of his employment agreement and the alleged failures of his superiors.

These developments underscore the complexities and high stakes involved in college football coaching decisions, ranging from contractual negotiations to institutional accountability and legal implications.

Tags: Oklahoma Sooner