Firing Ben Arbuckle was both deserved and a dodge, and Oklahoma is counting on you not spotting the difference. Brent Venables got rid of the coordinator the home crowd was already chanting about, and he pointed every angry Sooner fan at the one person in the building who doesn't sign the checks.
The case against Arbuckle is real. Oklahoma's offense averaged 1.56 points per drive through eight games this season, the exact same floor it hit under Seth Littrell, the coordinator Venables fired the last time Oklahoma lost to South Carolina. In 21 games running the offense, Arbuckle's unit failed to top three touchdowns against Power Four opponents 16 times. Three first-half points on Halloween, sitting in a 28-10 hole, is a fireable afternoon on its own. Entering the firing, the Sooners ranked 15th of 16 SEC teams in scoring offense at 22.0 points a game. That's a professional failure, and Arbuckle owns it.
The offensive line is the real problem. Oklahoma has now fired two offensive coordinators in three seasons while running the same broken line behind the same line coach, Bill Bedenbaugh. That line has been among the worst in the country for much of the past five years, ranking 133rd nationally in sacks allowed in 2024, 99th in 2025, and 121st six games into 2026. Same coach, same results, three different coordinators cycling past the problem. Add two years of receiver injuries on top of that, and the issue isn't play-calling.
You can't hand a rotating cast of play-callers a unit that can't protect the quarterback or keep its skill players healthy, then act stunned when the numbers rhyme every year. John Mateer has thrown four interceptions and fumbled twice this season, including three turnovers in the South Carolina loss. Some of that falls on Mateer, who followed Arbuckle over from Washington State and has thrown 21 touchdowns to 15 interceptions since a thumb injury. But a quarterback running for his life behind the 121st-best pass protection in the country makes it hard to pin his turnovers on the coordinator.
Somebody has to answer for an offense this bad, and the coordinator is the usual answer. The coordinator owns the finished product. But Venables hired Arbuckle, kept Bedenbaugh through all of it, and built the roster that can't stay on the field. He's now two-for-two on firing his coordinator the week after a South Carolina loss instead of looking at himself. Whoever Oklahoma names full-time becomes the fifth man in that chair under Venables, after Jeff Lebby, Joe Jon Finley, Littrell and Arbuckle.
Meanwhile, the bill arrives. Oklahoma owes Arbuckle roughly $1.875 million through January 2028, offset by whatever he earns next. That's what Venables paid for a change he could point to.
It's both the right call and a scapegoat, more scapegoat than anything. At 4-4 with Florida, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Missouri left, Oklahoma is trying to avoid missing a bowl for the first time since 1998, and Jason Witten takes over play-calling with Kevin Wilson expected to help. If the offense looks the same behind the same line a few weeks from now, that falls on Venables no matter who's calling plays. The man who should be sweating is still employed. He just bought himself a few more months of deniability.
