Clemson Football: Brent Venables goes scorched earth on Deion Sanders and Mario Cristobal

Most Clemson Football fans were sad to see defensive coordinator Brent Venables leave the program but gratified that he was getting a great opportunity at a school he was very familiar with. He will always be part of the Clemson family.

Venables had a tough job rebuilding an Oklahoma program that had so many departures following the 2021 season. The Sooners battled but finished 6-7 overall following a bowl loss to Florida State.

One might think someone in that position might keep their head down and focus entirely on their own house. Jimmy Greenbeans apparently has no intention of flying under the radar.

Venables commented this week on the way Colorado head coach Deion Sanders handled his program versus the way BV handled Oklahoma when he arrived in Norman:

"“You know, I gave guys twelve months of grace. I was unlike Deion (Sanders). I gave guys 12 months of grace to figure it out. Here’s the three, you know, go to class, you know, live right off the field, and when you show up, man. You show up with respect and appreciation for your opportunity.”"

Those comments came on the heels of Venables taking a big shot at Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes:

"“6-7, none of it’s any good, right? But had we gotten blown out by a Middle Tennessee, had we gotten beat by Florida State 45-3, the conversation is probably a little different.”"

Coach Greenbeans isn’t holding anything back right now. Clemson fans know there is no shortage of competitiveness in Coach Venables, but it is something of a surprise to see him publicly criticize other coaches and programs.

Clemson Football fans are familiar with Brent Venables competitiveness

Understandably, he might simply be edgy because of some of the criticism he has received for a losing season in 2022. It is hard to know or understand why he has elected to take out his frustration on Cristobal and Sanders. Cristobal didn’t come to Miami as the head coach until after Venables left Clemson, and Sanders was at Jackson State up until this past spring.

The Colorado SI website tried to chalk it up to jealousy, but that doesn’t sound like BV. More than likely, Venables simply doesn’t respect the way Sanders has handled his program, and it would be disingenuous to pretend a lot of other people haven’t express similar critical opinions.

Perhaps there have been interactions with both men (or their staff) we are unaware of. Regardless, I hope every program on Oklahoma’s 2023 schedule is ready for battle. It looks like Coach BV will have his guys fired up.