Brent Venables is about to enter his fourth season as the head coach of the Oklahoma football team, and outside of a decent 2023 season, his tenure has been disappointing. The Sooners did go 10-3 with a win against Texas in 2023, but that season is sandwiched between two 6-7 years. Meanwhile, the Longhorns have made the College Football Playoff two years in a row and won the Big 12 during that 2023 season. Things need to change for Oklahoma in 2025.

If the Oklahoma football team has another bad season in 2025, Brent Venables is going to be in trouble. ESPN's Paul Finebaum thinks that it's a make-or-break year.

“I give him a lot of credit for not sitting by idly,” Paul Finebaum said, according to an article from On3. “He also knows the reality, and you can’t continue to have subpar seasons at a school like Oklahoma, especially while your biggest rival is in the playoff two years in a row. This is the make-or-break year for Venables. Doesn’t matter how nice the guy is or how hard he works. It’s a cutthroat business.”

Right now, there is reason for Oklahoma fans to be optimistic about the 2025 season despite recent shortcomings. This offseason, the Sooners landed the top quarterback in the transfer portal as Washington State transfer John Mateer has joined the team, and Oklahoma hired Ben Arbuckle as their new offensive coordinator.

“He has a great boss in Joe Castiglione, but the fanbase, which I believe believes in him at the moment, will not be believing in him if all these changes don’t work,” Finebaum added. “I think they are still with him, but again, we’re talking in February. I think they really like Mateer and the new coordinator.”

We should learn a lot about this Oklahoma football team early on in the season as they have a massive home game right out of the gates against Michigan in week two.

“There’s a willingness to be patient and do what it takes, but the season will come fast,” Finebaum said. “He’s got the Michigan game in Week Two. You have a chance to punch a ticket on a really big win perceptively, but then the reality strikes.”

Brent Venables has all of the tools to be successful for the 2025 season, but can the Oklahoma football team put it all together? That's the big question as Venables gets ready for a massive season that could determine his coaching future.