The expensive blitz to save an embattled coach, plus playoffs all over

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Good morning! Full-fledged playoffs in multiple sports today. Go time.

Boom: Oklahoma’s offseason blitz to save its coach

To understand the evolving economy of big-time college football in 2025, look to Norman, Okla.

Brent Venables is 22-17 in three years at Oklahoma, with two 6-7 years sandwiched around a 10-win 2023 that inspired brief optimism. There have been very few coaches who have entered a season in a more clear-cut “do better or get fired” spot than the Sooners’ head man, who banks over $8.5 million per season.

Hot-seated coaches aren’t new, but the size of the cavalry arriving to help Venables is. Oklahoma’s offseason is the story of a college football program rallying (see: spending) around an embattled coach with more tools at his disposal than have ever been available to anyone in his position:

First, the old classics: OU has new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Most notably, Venables turned over the offense to Ben Arbuckle, a 29-year-old who’s launched fireworks the past few years with several QBs, including potential No. 1 NFL pick Cam Ward when they were together at Washington State in 2023.
The new, expensive transfer portal QB. John Mateer, who played for Arbuckle at Wazzu last year, was the second-ranked portal QB of the offseason, behind Miami’s Carson Beck, until Nico Iamaleava hopped to UCLA last week. The going rate for a QB of Mateer’s caliber is a couple million bucks a year. 💰
A new general manager to run the roster. This position didn’t exist a few years ago, but roster management is a bear now. Longtime Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy now helps to construct Venables’ team.
A spring portal coup. Mateer arrived in the winter, but OU had a splashy week in the spring portal. The headliner is Cal tailback Jaydn Ott, who was poised to be one of the best backs in America last year before injuries wrecked his season. OU also added a well-regarded Stanford offensive lineman and likely isn’t done.

These are much bigger names than the typical high-end transfers during the spring. The April portal is quieter than the winter one, as most teams have their rosters and budgets close to set by this point. There might be a bit more portal aggression right now, because teams are eager to firm up their rosters before the impending House settlement imposes walk-on cuts and, at least in theory, makes third-party NIL deals harder to clear. Lots is uncertain at the moment, but Venables’ need to win a lot more games is not.

News to Know

Heat, Grizzlies earn final NBA playoff spots

Ja Morant had been a game-time decision up until 30 minutes before tipoff last night. He had received multiple pain-killing injections for a sprained right ankle suffered in Tuesday’s loss to the Warriors. But this is the playoffs … sort of. We won’t explain the Play-In. Suffice to say…

Morant dropped 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in the first half. The Grizzlies led by as much as 25 in the second quarter, ultimately hanging on for a 120-106 win.

And so much for the ankle injury

Earlier in the evening, the Heat beat the Hawks to become the first No. 10 seed to advance out of the Play-In Tournament. Trae Young forced overtime with a clutch bucket, but Atlanta was no match for Miami in the final five minutes.

The real games start today. John Hollinger has you covered with a comprehensive preview of the entire playoffs (free for Pulse readers!).

More news:

What to Watch

📺 NBA: Pistons at Knicks, Game 1 | 6 p.m. ET on ESPN

The third-seeded Knicks have the best shot at disrupting a Cavaliers-Celtics collision course in the East. The Pistons, a season removed from losing 68 games, haven’t won a series in 17 years. Read this back-and-forth between The Athletic’s beat writers for these clubs.

📺 MLB: Padres at Astros | 7 p.m. ET on FS1

The Friars are winning in droves despite a handful of early-season injuries (including to center fielder Jackson Merrill), and what looked like a fringe playoff team now looks like a pennant threat. (Much more on San Diego in tomorrow’s Pulse.) The Astros have been so-so out of the gate.

📺 NHL: Avalanche at Stars, Game 1 | 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT

This should be a great series. Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog could return after missing three years. Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen could play for the first time since January. Dallas star Mikko Rantanen was “Colorado star Mikko Rantanen” until a few months ago.

Pulse Picks

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(Top photo: Justin Ford / Getty Images)