Oklahoma is the only program in college football with four head coaches who won 100 games there, and three of them won national championships. Bud Wilkinson won three and the sport’s longest winning streak, Barry Switzer won three and has the best winning percentage of any long tenured Sooners coach, and Bob Stoops won the most games of anyone. Brent Venables begins his fifth season after taking Oklahoma to the playoff in its second SEC year.
The Modern Era
| Coach | Seasons | Record | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Venables | 2022 to present | 32, 20 | None; 2025 playoff |
| Lincoln Riley | 2017 to 2021 | 55, 10 | Four Big 12; three playoffs |
| Bob Stoops | 1999 to 2016 | 190, 48 | National 2000; ten Big 12 |
| John Blake | 1996 to 1998 | 12, 22 | None |
| Howard Schnellenberger | 1995 | 5, 5, 1 | None |
| Gary Gibbs | 1989 to 1994 | 44, 23, 2 | None |
| Barry Switzer | 1973 to 1988 | 157, 29, 4 | National 1974, 1975, 1985; twelve Big Eight |
| Chuck Fairbanks | 1967 to 1972 | 52, 15, 1 | Three Big Eight |
| Jim Mackenzie | 1966 | 6, 4 | None; died after one season |
| Gomer Jones | 1964 to 1965 | 9, 11, 1 | None |
| Bud Wilkinson | 1947 to 1963 | 145, 29, 4 | National 1950, 1955, 1956; fourteen conference |
| Jim Tatum | 1946 | 8, 3 | Big Six 1946 |
| Dewey Luster | 1941 to 1945 | 27, 18, 3 | Big Six 1943, 1944 |
| Tom Stidham | 1937 to 1940 | 27, 8, 3 | Big Six 1938 |
| Biff Jones | 1935 to 1936 | 9, 6, 1 | None |
| Lewie Hardage | 1932 to 1934 | 11, 12, 4 | None |
| Adrian Lindsey | 1927 to 1931 | 19, 19, 6 | None |
| Bennie Owen | 1905 to 1926 | 122, 54, 16 | SWC 1915, 1918; MVIAA 1920 |
Before Owen: John Harts 1895 (0, 1), V.L. Parrington 1897 to 1900 (9, 2, 1), Fred Roberts 1901 (3, 2), Mark McMahon 1902 to 1903 (11, 7, 2), Fred Ewing 1904 (4, 3, 1). Bob Stoops returned as interim for the 2021 Alamo Bowl win after Riley left. Gold rows are the four 100 win coaches plus Riley.
Bud Wilkinson, 1947 to 1963
Wilkinson won three national championships, fourteen conference titles in seventeen seasons, and 47 consecutive games between 1953 and 1957, a record no major college program has approached since. His teams went 145, 29 and 4, won thirteen straight conference titles, and lost a total of eight games across the entire 1950s before the streak ended against Notre Dame in November 1957. He left to run for the United States Senate.
Barry Switzer, 1973 to 1988
Switzer went 157, 29 and 4 across sixteen seasons, a .837 winning percentage that is the best of any Sooners coach with a decade or more in the job, and won national championships in 1974, 1975 and 1985 with the wishbone. He won twelve Big Eight titles and beat Nebraska in most of the games that decided them. He resigned in 1989 amid NCAA sanctions and later won a Super Bowl with Dallas. Our national championships page covers all seven titles.
Bob Stoops, 1999 to 2016
Stoops inherited a program that had gone 12 and 22 over the previous three seasons and won the national championship in his second year with a 13 and 0 team that beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl. He won 190 games, ten Big 12 titles and reached four BCS championship games, and he is the only coach to win a national title and all four BCS bowls. He passed Switzer as the program’s winningest coach in November 2013 and retired in June 2017 without a losing season.
Lincoln Riley, 2017 to 2021
Riley was promoted from offensive coordinator at 33 and won the Big 12 in each of his first four seasons, coaching consecutive Heisman winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and a runner up in Jalen Hurts. His 55 and 10 record is the best winning percentage in program history. He left for USC in November 2021, days after the regular season ended, and the departure remains the least popular in the program’s history.
Brent Venables
Venables, the former defensive coordinator under Stoops and later at Clemson, went 6 and 7 in his first season, the program’s first losing year since 1998, then 10 and 3, then 6 and 7 again in Oklahoma’s first SEC season. The 2025 team went 10 and 3 with a top ten defence, reached the playoff as an at large and lost the first round game 34 to 24 at Alabama. He enters 2026 at 32 and 20 with Ben Arbuckle in his second year running the offence. Our 2026 schedule page has the full slate.
The Bottom Line
Oklahoma has had 23 head coaches and four of them won 100 games: Bob Stoops with 190, Barry Switzer 157, Bud Wilkinson 145 and Bennie Owen 122. Wilkinson and Switzer won three national titles each and Stoops one. Lincoln Riley has the best winning percentage and Brent Venables is in his fifth season. Our most wins by a coach page has where they rank nationally.