The two narratives I’ve heard from social media that I just find annoying are 1. That he was scared of the SEC and 2. That Oklahoma is somehow better off now. Before I start, I’m aware that as a Texas fan I could be a bit biased here and that I’m throwing stones from a glass house.

But for being scared of the SEC, I feel like the real answer is he didn’t want to move into a situation where his job would be tougher and expectations and likely salary would be the same. At USC, he makes more money, has lower expectations (look at how long of a leash Helton had), an easier path to success given the state of the Pac 12 South compared to the SEC West as well as the recruiting talent and local competition for said recruiting talent, and has other benefits like getting a very nice LA house, making bank off selling his houses in Norman and a private jet. I suppose you could say he’s scared, but to act like he’s some coward is kind of dumb. I don’t think he’s scared, he just weighed out options and saw one side was better. I guess if he’s scared, so are a ton of people in his position.

Also. I suppose Oklahoma could be better off, but it’s not because Lincoln all of a sudden sucks or something. Also there isn’t a ton of history of a coaching change making a team go from a top 10 program to a top 3 or 4 program. The one other example I can think of in recent times is Kirby Smart to Georgia. There are a lot more examples of teams at that level being worse with a new coaching hire. I thought Venables was a great hire for them, but it absolutely is a risk.