Oklahoma expected to fire Ben Arbuckle: Sooners to part with OC as offense continues to sputter in 2026 season

The Sooners are moving on from their second-year offensive coordinator after an embarrassing loss to South Carolina left Oklahoma at No. 15 in the SEC in total offense Nov 2, 2026 at 1:15 pm ET • 3 min read Oklahoma is expected to fire offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle in his second season, sources confirmed to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz. The Sooners suffered a brutal 42-25 loss to South Carolina on Saturday at home, where Oklahoma was held to three first-half points on offense. Arbuckle, 31, was an innovative hire coming from Washington State, where he helped lead one of the most explosive offenses in college football. He was hired by Oklahoma in 2024 and brought along starting quarterback John Mateer, the No. 3 quarterback in the transfer portal that year. After an inconsistent first season marred by a hand injury to Mateer, Oklahoma's offense has tanked in Year 2. The Sooners rank No. 15 in the SEC in both total and scoring offense, despite getting multiple scores on defense and special teams. Arbuckle's firing continues a revolving door of offensive staff changes under coach Brent Venables, whose production has fallen off dramatically since Jeff Lebby left for Mississippi State. Venables fired Seth Littrell after seven games into his first season in 2024, and also fired multiple assistant coaches after the 2025 season. The Sooners are careening towards their third losing season in five years under Venables, and are at serious risk of missing their first bowl game since John Blake's final season in 1998. Oklahoma sits at 4-4 with No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 19 Missouri and No. 25 Florida coming in the weeks ahead. Mateer's woesThe transfer quarterback Mateer was billed as a potential game-changing addition after Oklahoma's quarterback issues in 2024. The Sooners limped through the season with five-star starter Jackson Arnold and true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., both of whom transferred out of the program. There were flashes early in Mateer's career, including throwing for 270 yards, rushing for 74 yards and scoring three total touchdowns against No. 15 Michigan in 2025. But since his hand surgery a year ago, Mateer has been miserable. Mateer finished with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season. He's at 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions this year, though his rushing has been limited to 1.7 yards per carry. In a 21-13 loss to Kentucky, Mateer threw one touchdown and three interceptions. Oklahoma believed it was only a quarterback away, but making a change has only led to more miserable results. Issues go deeperArbuckle struggled to remake the Oklahoma offense in his image, but the issues go far deeper than playcalling. The Sooners have been a horrendous offensive line operation for most of the past five years, and the consequences have only gotten worse The Sooners rank No. 131 in the country at 3.2 yards per carry, and have scored a nation-worst three rushing touchdowns. Oklahoma is rated the No. 105 run-blocking unit in the country per Pro Football Focus, behind UTEP. Oklahoma missed top offensive lineman Michael Fasusi for several games, but the unit has been disastrous regardless. After the season, Venables will have no choice but to evaluate longtime offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. No offensive coordinator will have success with the inconsistency up front. Where do they turn?Assuming Venables is back in 2027, Oklahoma's offensive coordinator search will be complicated. The new hire will be the Sooners' sixth new playcalling staff in six years, with the last two full-time hires each fired midseason after fewer than two years in the job. Coaching offense under Venables since Lebby left -- and former coach Lincoln Riley's players matriculated out of the program -- has been a dead-end job. After whiffing on a young up-and-comer, there will likely be pressure on Venables to hire an established coach. Venables continues to call the defense, and the offense has atrophied during the process. With a head coach only committed on one side of the ball, Oklahoma could take a page out of Texas's book and hire a "head coach of the offense" type role. The question is, how attractive is coaching for the short-tempered Venables while he's firmly on the hot seat? Could Oklahoma convince Mike Norvell to take the job, or will it be trying to attract a second-tier candidate?