Odds to Be Next Oklahoma Head Coach After Lincoln Riley Leaves for USC – Clemson’s Brent Venables the Initial Favorite

• Oklahoma is looking for a coach after Lincoln Riley left for USC
• Riley had a 55-10 record in five seasons as Sooners coach
• A look at the odds on who will replace Riley can be found below with analysis on the Oklahoma search

One of college football blueblood programs is looking for a coach after Lincoln Riley’s abrupt move from Oklahoma to USC over the weekend.

Riley will be a tough act to follow in Norman. He guided the Sooners to a 55-10 record in five seasons after being promoted from offensive coordinator when Bob Stoops retired.

Oklahoma will surely have plenty of highly qualified applicants for a plum job. The following odds were generated by SBD on the latest intel and news, and can be used for informational and entertainment purposes.

Odds to Be Next Oklahoma Head Coach

Odds as of Nov. 30th

Venable has been reported as being in-line for the job by various OU insiders in the wake of Riley’s departure for LA.

Venables the Favorite

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables is considered one of the best in the business and has drawn plenty of head coaching interest in recent years. However, Clemson has been able to retain him with a salary of $2 million a year.

While Venables has been choosy to this point, Oklahoma may be too good of an opportunity for the 50-year-old to pass up,

Bob Stoops calls Brent Venables the other Stoops brother. Could Brent Venables become another first time head coach at Oklahoma? pic.twitter.com/pfPzSiU4f4

— Dan Harralson (@danharralson) November 29, 2021

However, Oklahoma may not be as hot on Venables as one might think. While Venable was as assistant coach with the Sooners for 12 seasons from 1999-2001, including the last eight as Defensive Coordinator, he was basically forced out.

Furthermore, Venables has two sons playing at Clemson, senior linebacker Jake and sophomore safety Tyler. Dad might not want to leave the program until his boys have exhausted their eligibility.

Other Contenders

Mississippi offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby’s stock is currently very high. The Rebels are 10-2 and QB Matt Corral has emerged as a Heisman Trophy candidate in his finale season at Ole Miss.

Lebby played at Oklahoma and began his career as a graduate assistant in 2002 for the Sooners after sustaining a career-ending injury. He spent five years on the staff before moving to Baylor.

Beautiful play design/call by Jeff Lebby and Lane Kiffin. #OleMiss #CFB pic.twitter.com/pWf7OI5jgH

— SportSource Analytics (@SportSourceA) September 7, 2021

One strike against Lebby is he was named as one of the Baylor coaches who took no action when notified of sexual assault allegations under Art Briles.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer has gone 6-6 in his first season with South Carolina. While the record isn’t great, it is a significant improvement over the Gamecocks’ 2-10 mark of a year ago and they are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2018.

Beamer, who was Oklahoma’s assistant head coach from 2018-20, says he is not leaving Columbia.

https://twitter.com/BarstoolUofSC/status/1462450380453916677

Beamer comes from good bloodlines. His father, Frank, was Virginia Tech’s coach for 29 years from 1987-2015 and won 238 games.

One surprising name that has surfaced as a candidate is Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury. He is a strong candidate for NFL Coach of the Year in guiding the Cardinals to a league-best 9-2 record so far in his third season.

The Cardinals have increased their win total each year under Kliff Kingsbury …

Going from 3-13 to 5-10-1 to 8-8 and now at 9-2 with 6 more to go

They are the only NFL team to improve its win total each of the last 3 seasons pic.twitter.com/R3N0sRHlwl

— Mark Dalton (@CardsMarkD) November 22, 2021

Kingsbury went 35-40 in six seasons as Texas Tech from 2013-18 and seems better suited to the pro game. Kingsbury has one year left on his contract and there are suspicions his agent planted the Oklahoma story to gain leverage in negotiations with the Cardinals.

The Legendary Longshot

Stoops will serve as Oklahoma’s interim coach in their bowl game and there is plenty of support from the fanbase for him to come out of retirement permanently.

Stoops had a 190-48 record leading the Sooners for 18 seasons from 1999-2016. He also coached the program to its last national championship in 2000.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘖𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢.@CoachBobStoops

🎥 https://t.co/XhOdfeJeYP | #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/N27Vlo5iCZ

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 29, 2021

On the surface, it seems Stoops is quite happy in his role as a studio analyst for Fox. Perhaps returning to the sidelines, though, will give him the itch to get back into coaching.