It was an impressive scene at the airport on any given day and time. But for a Sunday night at about 10 p.m., it was an unbelievable showing from Sooners fans who were waiting to welcome their new coach Brent Venables.
About an hour before he landed, Oklahoma announced the deal to make Venables the program's new football coach and gave updates while airborne that featured Venables and his family en route to their new home. All the while, a raucous group began to form only to stare at a runway in anticipation of their new coach.
There was also no shortage of fans who were tuning in from their homes. Oklahoma was live-streaming the whole event on Instagram. Although, fans patiently waited some time before seeing Venables finally make an appearance.
Once he was on the ground, the new head coach didn't waste any time and he found himself at the nearest microphone.
"There's a lot of great football programs out there," he said. "But there's only one OU."
Venables will replace Lincoln Riley, who left the program to join USC. Venables left behind his role as defensive coordinator at Clemson. He spent 13 years as an assistant with Oklahoma from 1999 to 2012 before joining the Tigers as defensive coordinator.
He has a long road ahead of him as he begins to hit the recruiting trail and make up for lost time after Riley's shock departure. But for what he lost in time, he made up for in fan support.
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- A History-Making Playoff... With a Familiar Face at No. 1
- All Sooners: Oklahoma Lands Spot in Alamo Bowl
For more Oklahoma news, head over to All Sooners.
