Apr 12, 2025; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables does an interview during the Crimson Combine at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Things change quickly all the time in college football. Look at how quickly James Franklin went from being a national title contender to on the unemployment line at Penn State this year. Yet, as rapid as the pace of change is, few coaching dramas in 2025 have been more remarkable than the SEC football turnaround authored by Brent Venables at Oklahoma. He smoked Kalen DeBoer and Alabama on Saturday to take a big step toward the College Football Playoff.

We can all immediately grasp that Oklahoma over Alabama was a very big deal, but it's worth going inside the deeper details here to underscore that point. This is an SEC football earthquake -- not in the sense of being surprising, but in terms of the enormity of impact and the severity of a shift in two coaches' overall situations.

Let's tell those stories:

Brent Venables

Brent Venables has a deserved reputation as an elite defensive tactician. There were two ways for him to rise at Oklahoma: 1) Find the quarterback and offensive coordinator who would dramatically improve that side of the ball; 2) Be so strong on defense that No. 1 would not matter.

Venables used path No. 2, but what's more important is that Venables has changed the conversation at Oklahoma.

Leaving mediocrity behind

Brent Venables had a mediocre 2024 season. One month ago, after the loss to Ole Miss, Oklahoma had two losses with the teeth of the SEC schedule ahead. Now, Venables has beaten Tennessee and Alabama on the road. Oklahoma just has to hold serve at home against Missouri and LSU to make the CFP. It is not only easy, but legitimate and warranted, to think Venables has turned the corner at OU.

Beating Lincoln Riley

Brent Venables and Lincoln Riley have both coached in the College Football Playoff, but not at their current schools. Oklahoma is in position to beat Riley and USC to the CFP if the Trojans lose to Oregon and Oklahoma wins its next two games. That matters a lot in Norman -- certainly more than it does in Los Angeles, where attention to sports and entertainment isn't nearly as focused on college football as it is in the South Central Plains.

Passing Texas

Brent Venables got dusted by Steve Sarkisian and Texas in head-to-head competition earlier this year. It's not as though Oklahoma's offense has been special or even above-average, but Oklahoma has verily and undeniably passed Texas in the CFP hierarchy. Making the playoff while Texas does not would be huge for the Sooners. That's part of the SEC football earthquake we are referring to.

Kalen DeBoer

While Brent Venables has crafted a tremendous turnaround over the past month, Kalen DeBoer is back in trouble at Alabama. His loss to Florida State had the vultures circling, but then he won at Georgia and authored a series of road wins, which put Alabama ina prime position to make the SEC Championship Game and the CFP.

This one loss to Oklahoma doesn't ruin Alabama's season, but it does put DeBoer one loss away from ruin. It's a dramatic change for a coach who seemed to be riding high as Nick Saban's successor.

The Auburn crucible

Kalen DeBoer, if he is going to succeed at Alabama, must -- must -- win the Iron Bowl at Auburn. If he allows everything to slip away -- SEC title, playoff, and the Iron Bowl -- in two weeks, the pitchforks will be out again in Tuscaloosa. Losing to Auburn, in a year when the Tigers have struggled, would erode faith and trust that DeBoer is a worthy successor to Nick Saban, someone Bama fans can believe in.

Bill Curry

Bill Curry was not a bad Alabama coach. He won an SEC championship. He made the Sugar Bowl. However, in addition to committing the sin of not being Bear Bryant, Curry couldn't win the Iron Bowl. Notably, Curry coached at Alabama when the series went away from Legion Field in Birmingham on an annual basis. Auburn hosted Alabama in 1989 and beat the Tide. Even when Curry had a really good team, he couldn't solve Auburn. This is why Curry did not last on the job despite respectable results.

This is what Kalen DeBoer is going up against.

One month ago

In October, Kalen DeBoer looked like he had figured out how to coach at Alabama, and Brent Venables was teetering on the brink of irrelevance and another failed season at Oklahoma. Here they are, in entirely different positions.

Things change very quickly in college football.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Brent Venables outcoaching Kalen DeBoer is a seismic SEC event

Reporting by Matt Zemek, College Sports Wire / College Sports Wire

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