Oklahoma reportedly fires offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

People are searching for Ben Arbuckle today because Oklahoma's offense has been near the bottom of the nation, and the reports link the move to that record. Oklahoma reportedly moved on from its offensive coordinator on Monday 2 November 2026, two days after a 42-25 home loss to South Carolina [1]. Yahoo Sports says the offense is ranked near the bottom of the nation [2].

What the reports say happened

The outlets agree that Arbuckle is out, but they do not use the same wording. FootballScoop's headline says Oklahoma fires him, while its text says the school is moving on from him, citing multiple reports [1]. Yahoo Sports, citing CBS Sports reporter Matt Zenitz, says he and Oklahoma are expected to part ways [2]. News 9 headlines the move as expected, and its text says Oklahoma is firing him, citing sources [4].

None of the three articles quotes an official statement from Oklahoma or its athletics department on the decision [1][2][4]. The cited coverage also does not include a comment from Brent Venables about the coordinator move [1].

Arbuckle's time at Oklahoma

Oklahoma hired Arbuckle from Washington State in December 2024. News 9 reported the hire on 2 December 2024 and noted that he had come to Washington State from Western Kentucky, where he was co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach [5]. News 9 describes the 2026 season as his second as coordinator and gives his age as 31 [4].

The reports put the record at 4-4 overall after the South Carolina loss [3][1]. FootballScoop also gives Oklahoma's SEC record as 2-3 [1]. The game itself went badly for the offense. FootballScoop reports that Oklahoma trailed 28-10 at halftime and was out-gained 307-71 over the game [1]. News 9 says the offense managed three first-half points [4].

The season-long numbers are the core of the coverage. Yahoo says Oklahoma averages 22.0 points and 336.9 yards per game [2]. Yahoo ranks the offense No. 111 among FBS teams in total offense [3]. News 9 places it 15th in the SEC in both total and scoring offense [4]. FootballScoop puts Oklahoma's scoring at 108th nationally, down from 79th last season. It ranks the Sooners 115th in yards per play at 5.18, 128th in rushing at 106.75 yards per game, and 98th in explosive plays, with fewer than four per game [1].

Quarterback John Mateer is part of the same picture. FootballScoop lists him at 27 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in 20 starts [1]. Yahoo also says Mateer has been inconsistent this season, in the same passage where it describes the decision, but it does not state that his play was the reason for the move [2].

Venables has made this kind of change before. He dismissed Seth Littrell seven games into 2024, and FootballScoop calls that the second mid-season offensive coordinator change he has made in three seasons [1]. FootballScoop gives Venables a 36-24 overall record at Oklahoma and 19-19 in conference play [1].

What the reports do not establish

No report gives an official reason. Yahoo's account says the team has struggled to move the ball, especially on offense, and that Venables then decided to move on from Arbuckle [2]. That is Yahoo's framing of the decision, not a statement from the school. News 9 describes the South Carolina game and the offense's first-half output in its coverage, without giving an official reason [4].

No replacement is named in the cited reports. Yahoo says Oklahoma will search for a new offensive coordinator and that assistant head coach Kevin Wilson will call plays for the rest of the season [2]. Yahoo describes the search as confirmed but does not name a source for that, and none of the articles gives a candidate or a timeline [2][4].

What to watch next

The first thing to check is whether Oklahoma confirms the move through its own athletics channels. The reports so far rely on unnamed sources and CBS Sports reporting, not on a school release [2][4]. The wording matters. FootballScoop's text says the school is moving on from him, Yahoo's CBS-sourced report says the two are expected to part ways, and News 9 says Oklahoma is firing him [1][2][4]. Only an official statement would settle which description is accurate.

The second is who runs the offense in the next games. Yahoo describes Wilson's play-calling role as lasting for the rest of the season [2], so a permanent coordinator hire will show whether Oklahoma changes its offensive approach for 2027. The third is the scoring and yardage numbers. Those are the figures FootballScoop used to measure the problem, with Mateer's 18 interceptions in 20 starts among them [1].