NEW OKLAHOMA HEAD FOOTBALL COACH

University of Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione said he’s looking for a new head coach who wants to come to Norman.

Well, he landed just the right man in announcing that current Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables will be returning to Norman, where he had been co-defensive coordinator from 1999 to 2003, and head defensive coordinator from 2004 to 2011.

“I’m overjoyed to be returning to coach at Oklahoma,” Venables said at Monday morning‘s press conference on the Norman campus. “You can call this an early Christmas present, a privilege, and they don’t even have to give me a tour of the campus because I know it well.”

Castiglione, who has been A.D. at Oklahama since 1997, was overjoyed to bring in just the kind of new coach who will can step right in.

“He’s a coach who has been on the staff of other teams that have won national titles and has appeared in eight national championships. He’s a players coach, a very knowledgeable coach who knows the game well, and just a great guy.”

The 50-year-old Venables was the Sooners’ co-defensive coordinator when Oklahoma won the national championship over Florida State in  2000.

In 2016, four years after leaving Oklahoma for Clemson, he was won the annual Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant.

Now he will be a head coach for the first time and is totally excited.

He emphasized that he is excited to add to the history of a program that has won seven national championships and has had seven Heisman Trophy winners that included two recent players and another who finished second.

Despite the departure of former head coach Lincoln Riley, the Sooners have already gotten commitments from a number of quality players, plus the present roster returns what is expected to be another successful season for the school and its fans and graduates.

“When I heard back from Joe,” Venables said, “I took a deep breath, exhaled, shouted hallalloya and made many phone calls to family and friends. My wife said, ‘good for us.’

Now he’s back as a Boomer Sooner and will again be spelling out

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A.