Justin Williams
By Justin Williams
The Athletic
(Third in a series)
There will be scant traces of last season Saturday when Oklahoma State
football travels to face No. 6 Oregon. Aside from head coach Mike
Gundy and the Cowboys’ customary orange-and-black uniforms, the roster
and coaching staff have been largely overhauled, stripped to the studs
and refurbished. But the turmoil of the 2024 season still lingers.
Oklahoma State ended last year with a 52-0 loss to Colorado on Nov.
29. It was the worst defeat and worst season of Gundy’s 20-year head
coaching career. The team finished 3-9 overall, winless in conference
play and dead last in the Big 12 standings. It snapped the program’s
run of 18 consecutive seasons with a bowl game and was Gundy’s first
losing season since 2005, his first at the helm in Stillwater.
Gundy is synonymous with Oklahoma State football. It’s been nearly 18
years since his famous, red-faced “I’m a man! I’m 40!” rant, still
iconic enough to be spoofed in a recent commercial. Combined with his
two prior stints as an assistant and a four-year playing career with
the Cowboys, the Oklahoma native has spent 35 of his 58 years on this
earth with the program. He’s the winningest coach in school history by
more than 100 games.
But a week after the loss to Colorado, Gundy’s job status was suddenly
under fire. A season that smoldered through a nine-game losing streak
and tone-deaf comments fully burst into flames, with Gundy staring
down an ultimatum: accept a restructured contract, or risk being
fired.
“We’re in a society, particularly in our game, where people want
results every year, all the time. Stability is very minimal,” Gundy
said in an interview with The Athletic this offseason. “I don’t think
fairness in athletics or coaching is part of the topic anymore. That’s
just the way life is.”
This wasn’t the first showdown between Gundy and Oklahoma State. In a
college sports industry rife with “coach speak,” Gundy burnished his
reputation as a double-barreled straight shooter. It occasionally
lands him on thin ice — including last season, when he described
disgruntled Cowboys supporters as “the same ones that can’t pay their
own bills” — but his track record of success also earned its share of
interest from other schools like Arkansas and Tennessee. Yet for 20
years, Gundy and the Pokes always found a way to stick together.
This time was no different. On Dec. 7 of last year, one day after the
latest standoff went public, the university announced that it had
agreed to a new contract with Gundy. Details, according to a copy of
the contract obtained by The Athletic, include a $1 million reduction
in salary to be reinvested in the athletic department, restructured
buyout terms, a provision that insists on more engagement with
fundraising and donor initiatives, and nixing the perpetual five-year
clause he signed in 2021. The new deal, which pays him $6.75 million
this season, runs through 2028.
All notable concessions for Gundy, but ones that kept him as head
coach of his alma mater for a 21st season.
Nine months later, explanations vary on why and how the partnership
nearly unraveled for good. One source familiar with the dynamic,
granted anonymity in exchange for their candor, suggested that certain
donors and board of regents members “had stingers out for Gundy.”
Other sources said that in the high-stakes, big-money world of
power-conference football, a coach can’t afford to have a season like
Gundy did in 2024. Especially after disparaging his own fan base.
“I think everybody was just frustrated, including coach Gundy, and he
made some comments that weren’t well received in the public,” said
Chad Weiberg, Oklahoma State’s athletic director.
The Cowboys opened the season last week with a rebuilt roster and a
rejuvenated Gundy, winning 27-7 over UT Martin, an outmatched FCS
opponent. The first true test comes Saturday against the Ducks, with a
still-wavering fan base and a head coach still on the hot seat.
After all this time, Gundy and Oklahoma State can’t seem to quit each
other. But for how much longer?
“That’s who I am is Oklahoma State,” said Gundy this offseason. “I
understand it. I know what the issues can be. I know how to fight back
against them. I know what it takes to be successful and win here. We
do it different ways at Oklahoma State, and I take a lot of pride in
that.”
“Nobody knows as much about Oklahoma State football as me — period,”
he added. “That I can guarantee you. There ain’t a lot of guarantees,
but I can tell you that.”
________________________________
It wasn’t a defiant, fire-breathing soundbite. The comments were calm,
almost offhand.
“In most cases, the people that are negative and voicing their opinion
are the same ones that can’t pay their own bills. They’re not taking
care of themselves. They’re not taking care of their own family.
They’re not taking care of their own job.”
Gundy uttered it days after a November 2024 home loss to Arizona
State, during his weekly media session, adding: “But then, in the end,
when they go to bed at night, they’re the same failure that they were
before they said anything negative about anybody else.”
It went over as well as you’d expect. Gundy and then-university
president Dr. Kayse Shrum issued apologies, and Ed Raschen, president
of Oklahoma State’s name, image and likeness collective, told the
Tulsa World: “It was the most (counterproductive) thing that could
have ever been said at a press conference.”
The Pokes’ 2024 campaign was a disaster on many fronts: Below-average
quarterback play, a defensive scheme that was completely abandoned
mid-season and a roster ravaged by injuries. Gundy’s comments only
exacerbated matters and played a prominent role in the end-of-season
drama, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
He’d been down this road before. In the summer of 2020, as COVID-19
threatened to cancel the upcoming college football season, Gundy set
off a firestorm with comments about the pandemic and a now infamous
photo of him wearing an OAN (One America News) Network shirt, a
far-right, conspiratorial news outlet that mocked the Black Lives
Matter movement. Active and former players spoke out, led by
All-American running back Chuba Hubbard, resulting in a two-week
internal investigation by the university. Gundy kept his job but
accepted a reduced salary and was tasked with strengthening his
relationship with his players.
Mike Gundy is 170-88 in his 21st season at Oklahoma State.Nathan J.
Fish / The Oklahoman / USA Today via Imagn Images
This latest controversy reached a similar outcome.
On Friday, Dec. 6, the Oklahoma A&M Colleges Board of Regents — which
oversees Oklahoma State University — held a special meeting; later
that day, the university approached Gundy with a restructured
contract. Sources briefed on the meeting confirmed to The Athletic
that there were discussions about firing Gundy for cause if he did not
accept, which potentially would have cited the disparaging quotes and
a clause in his existing contract regarding conduct “that reflects
unfavorably” on Oklahoma State.
It made for a fraught 36 hours in Stillwater and beyond, as message
boards, social media and local news telecasts buzzed with speculation,
and a fan base debated whether to retain or move on from its head
football coach of two decades. One TV station in Tulsa reported that
Gundy had a 5 p.m. deadline on that Friday to accept an amended
contract offer.
“I’d say it was 50-50 (among fans) on whether he should get fired,”
said Marcus Lemon, an Oklahoma State alum and decades-long supporter
who is on the board of the Pokes with a Purpose NIL collective. Lemon
was on the side of wanting Gundy back. “I thought he deserved a chance
to right his own ship. I still have a lot of confidence in the guy.”
The alleged 5 p.m. deadline came and went.
“To not know if he was going to be here was an uncomfortable feeling,”
said Cam Smith, a fifth-year senior cornerback for the Cowboys.
But by Saturday morning, The Athletic confirmed Gundy would return to
Oklahoma State in 2025, and an official university announcement came a
few hours later.
Even Gundy, who stayed silent for that restless day and a half and
then for weeks after, acknowledges he was surprised at how quickly the
situation escalated. And that he wasn’t ready to move on, either.
“I was just sitting and listening and taking it all in. If they want
an answer from me, I give them an answer,” Gundy told The Athletic.
“If (the school) would have decided to make a change, well then I’m
going to go coach somewhere. But that wasn’t my choice.”
It’s still murky who, exactly, was pushing to fire Gundy. Multiple
sources familiar with the circumstances said the combination of
disparaging comments and on-field struggles had finally alienated
enough high-level donors, reminiscent of Gundy’s past feuds with the
late mega-booster T. Boone Pickens. On top of increasing financial
pressures of NIL and revenue sharing on college athletics, it was
enough for the board to intervene.
“Coach Gundy completely understood that and was a willing participant
in doing his part to show that he wanted to fix things and move
forward,” said Weiberg, who advocated to retain Gundy. “When you have
a bad year, the focus is on that year. And I get it. We’re asking more
of our fans and donors than we ever have before, and when you’re doing
that, when you ask a lot, there’s a high expectation.”
Sources familiar with the program told The Athletic that president
Shrum advocated for Gundy as well. But two months later, in early
February 2025, Shrum abruptly resigned, less than four years into her
presidency. A subsequent audit of state funding found “significant
issues” with how Oklahoma State University managed and allocated funds
during Shrum’s tenure; Shrum later denied any knowledge of wrongdoing.
On Aug. 18, when asked to comment on Gundy’s restructured contract for
this article, she declined.
The university’s board of regents hired an outside PR firm to provide
“crisis communications support” in the wake of Shrum’s resignation.
After The Athletic reached out to various board members seeking
details on Gundy’s restructured agreement, the outside firm provided
the following statement on behalf of board chair Rick Walker:
“Restructuring Coach Gundy’s contract reflects the realities of
today’s competitive environment shaped by realignment, NIL, and
revenue-sharing. The Board remains unified in its commitment to sound
financial stewardship and excellence across all programs, confident
that OSU is well-positioned for continued success.”
________________________________
Beneath his signature mullet and rugged, rancher motif, Gundy has
displayed a cat-like propensity to bounce back from adversity.
He quickly recovered from the 2020 controversy, leading Oklahoma State
to 8-3 in 2020 and 12-2 in 2021, coming within an eyelash of the
four-team playoff. It earned Gundy a raise and the rolling five-year
extension that was widely viewed as a lifetime contract. And despite
the public friction with Hubbard, numerous current and former players
describe Gundy as a “player’s coach,” praising the culture and winning
standard he’s established in Stillwater.
“Great coach, great man off the field,” said former Cowboys receiver
Rashad Owens. “A lot of people have a lot of hatred for him, I don’t
know why. You just have to genuinely know the man. He builds a lot of
character in people, he brings out a lot of enthusiasm.”
As bad as the 2024 season was, Gundy never seemed to lose the locker
room. Iman Oates, a senior defensive tackle for the Pokes, said
Gundy’s personality “trickles down” to the staff and roster.
“The players he recruits have the same mentality as him,” said Oates.
“All our minds are set on the same thing: getting back to where we’re
supposed to be. Whatever it takes.”
Gundy was slow to embrace the onset of NIL and the transfer portal
before eventually coming around. He’s long been hesitant to shake up
his staff. Yet this offseason, he brought in a dozen new assistants,
including offensive and defensive coordinators, and added 65 players
through the portal and high school ranks, with 35 arriving on campus
this summer. The Pokes rolled out 18 new starters in the opening win
against UT Martin.
That’s the new reality in college football, one Gundy is fully
embracing. Finally. And while his 3-9 record last year is an outlier,
he’s also been known to rebound from his teams’ more disappointing
efforts; in 2013, 2015 and 2023, Oklahoma State followed unranked
seasons with double-digit wins and top-20 finishes in the polls.
It’s at least part of why he’s still donning the headset for the
Cowboys this fall. One source familiar with the program said there are
some “pretty big donors” who remain frustrated that Gundy wasn’t let
go, and a new head coach could have generated some offseason
excitement and goodwill with the fan base. But history suggests it’s
not easy to win at Oklahoma State, and those who have — Jimmy Johnson,
Les Miles — didn’t hang around long. Gundy is the exception on both
fronts: 170 career wins, eight seasons with double-digit victories,
and a conference title in 2011, the program’s only one since 1976.
Weiberg understands this dynamic as well as anyone. His roots run
acres deep in Stillwater, spending part of his childhood in town as
the son of a Pokes assistant basketball coach. He graduated from
Oklahoma State and worked in the athletic department through the late
’90s and early ’00s before returning in 2017. He’s also seen behind
the curtain with Gundy, and has no doubts that he remains the right
man for the job.
“He’s a Cowboy. This program means everything to him,” said Weiberg.
“We clearly did not meet that level of expectation last year, but that
level of expectation has been defined by him.”
Rallying back this season with a retooled roster and mob of doubters
would be a classic Gundy zag. It will also be a challenge, even in a
Big 12 that’s wide open since Texas and Oklahoma departed for the SEC.
First, the Cowboys confront a national championship contender on the
road at Oregon, and with backup Zane Flores expected at quarterback
for the Pokes while starter Hauss Hejny recovers from a foot injury.
If that’s not enough of a disadvantage, Gundy prompted headlines this
week for his back-and-forth with Oregon coach Dan Lanning on the
financial disparity between the two teams. Gundy said on his Monday
radio show that Oklahoma State spent “around $7 million” on its roster
the past three years, and claimed the Ducks “spent close to $40
(million) last year alone.”
Lanning responded: “If you want to be a top-10 team in college
football, you better be invested in winning. We spend to win.”
Resources could also be a factor if another Oklahoma State season goes
up in flames this year: Gundy’s renegotiated buyout is still $15
million through the end of 2027, but a repeat performance could be the
last of the head coach’s nine lives in Stillwater.
“The expectation is that we get better and start moving back in the
right direction,” said Weiberg. “Obviously you want to have a winning
season. I think that’s important to get back to.”
Winning is the remedy Gundy and Oklahoma State football are after yet
again — an indelible coach and the program he knows better than
anyone. But things aren’t always what they used to be.
“When I was growing up, Oklahoma State was getting pounded. Now they
think you can win every year, all the time, at a high level. You have
to feed it,” said Gundy. “The hardest thing to do is to establish
winning and keep it. "
#30