The way the players have bought into the new staff's vision is something that first-year Oklahoma coachBrent Venables is proud of.
Venables said that they had handled everything well and not allowed it to become a distraction. Sometimes, you have to go through mud. You need to get scars. You have to go through some things in order to improve. It's not possible to get better and improve through easy and comfortable living.
Gundy, an assistant coach at OU for 23 years, resigned after reading aloud a racially charged word to his players. In a statement announcing his resignation, Gundy apologized and said that he picked up the player's iPad and read the words on the screen while he was distracted.
Venables said that the situation was very complex and difficult and that there was a lot of clarity and peace about it.
Venables said that there was great unity on the team.
Venables said the team has been eager to move forward since he took the Oklahoma job. Lincoln Riley left for USC after the Bedlam loss and the Sooners lost two of their last three regular-season games.
Venables said that the locker room was fragmented because the leader of the program left them out of nowhere. It was an emotional locker room, but what has been exciting to me is the hunger and edge they've shown since we've been here. Since January, it's been amazing.
The harder we've tried, the better they've responded.
Venables, who spent 13 years as an assistant coach at OU, said he met with members of the team's leadership council and that it was Gundy's decision to resign.
Venables didn't want them to feel like they had to bear it. It's not fair to a group of young people.
Cincinnati Bengal running back Joe Mixon was one of the former OU players who supported Gundy.
At the end of the day, it was Cale that resigned, and that was his decision, according to Venables. He didn't want to be a distraction and knew what was wrong.
The time was terrible. We talked about it the next day and moved on.
About 40% of the Oklahoma roster has never worn a Sooners jersey in a game, but Venables thinks the turnover has aided the transition.
"There was a little bit of a locker room that was confused, hurt ... and fragmented because the leader of the program [Lincoln Riley] just left them out of nowhere. So, yes, it was an emotional locker room, but what's been exciting to me is the hunger and the edge they've shown since we've been here. It's been incredible and been that way since January."First-year Oklahoma coach Brent Venables
Venables said there had been no pushback or "Well, this is how we've done things in the past" For a program that has been to four of the last seven playoffs, there has been no entitlement. We have been winning a lot. What do you want us to know? It hasn't been like that.
Venables, who was a major part of the championship run, had many chances to leave for a head-coaching job, but he loved his job and was the highest-paid defensive coach in the country. He was told by his college coach and former boss at Kansas State that if a school tried to lure him away from his current school, they would be told what to do.
Venables told them not to screw up happy. Years and years ago, I was taught that by the coach.
Venables said that keeping the Sooners in the national championship race will always be the standard. In the last seven seasons, the Sooners have won at least 11 games in six of them.
"These players have bought into everything we've asked them to, and whether it was last week or something else, they've answered the call," Venables said. It is exciting to see the engagement across the board.
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