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An SEC head coach got a question he might not have been expecting during Tuesday’s press conference.
It certainly had nothing to do with playing mighty Alabama at home in primetime on Saturday night, which is what Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables was expecting to talk about. And while the Sooners welcoming the Crimson Tide to Norman for the first time as SEC rivals in the showdown on ABC is big-time fodder, somebody veered off that path and asked Venables if he was interested in hiring Dan Mullen as his offensive coordinator.
Interestingly, Venables didn’t shut down the question and give a total non-answer, which is notable in itself.
“I’m not going to comment about the details of the search. I reached out to him a year ago, so …,” said Venables.
Brent Venables is asked straight up: Is the OC job Dan Mullen’s if he wants it?
BV: “I’m not going to comment about the details of the search. I reached out to him a year ago, so.”
— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) November 19, 2024
Oklahoma fired Seth Littrell as offensive coordinator almost exactly a month ago, creating a firestorm of questions about who the Sooners would get to run the offense in 2025. Mullen has deep SEC ties, having been the head coach at Mississippi State and Florida, and he has an extensive background as an offensive assistant at various college locales.
OU is sleepwalking through the 2024 season with a 5-5 record going into the Alabama game, and the Sooners have had big-time quarterback issues among their offensive problems. Mullen could be the answer, but only time will tell.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
