When Brent Venables arrived back in Norman in December 2021 as the newly hired Oklahoma head coach, the once unstoppable Sooner offense had slipped back somewhat while the defense couldn't manage to stop anybody, all while the Sooners were just two seasons away from joining the heavily defense-minded SEC, a characteristic that was the polar opposite of how teams won in the Big 12.
With the hiring of Venables, it was clear from the start that Oklahoma was destined to look very different if the Sooners were going to be ready to compete at the level they are historically accustomed to in the much stronger and deeper SEC.