Behind Enemy Lines: How Mike Gundy's firing affects showdown vs. Baylor
While Baylor is coming off a loss and finishes their pivotal opening four-game stretch at 2-2, things could be much worse. Tuesday, Oklahoma State fired Mike Gundy, its winningest head coach in program history, after going winless in conference last season, and starting this year with a blowout loss at Oregon and falling to in-state rival Tulsa. With the Cowboys set to come into McLane Stadium as Baylor's next opponent, we're keeping the series going, this week going Behind Enemy Lines with Ivan White, lead beat reporter for Oklahoma State on SI, talking all things Oklahoma State and the state of the program.
Q: What is the psyche of the program after Gundy’s firing, and how was it handled? Over 30 years between playing and coaching, do you think they gave Gundy the proper respect/reverence on the send out? How much do you think his pre-game comments about resource disparity before and after the blowout loss to Oregon may have affected the timeline of this?
White: The program is definitely in a state of shock after Gundy’s firing. Being around the program for so long, it almost seemed like he would be in Stillwater forever. All signs point to the team having found out through social media like everyone else, which has certainly caused some players to be upset. As most people have pointed out, these things don’t often have the storybook ending, so this era was always destined to end in an unflattering manner.
OSU’s budget has been a hot topic for Gundy for years, and his comments before the Oregon matchup just shone a bigger spotlight on it. After firing Gundy, OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg mentioned that the decision was the result of many moments over the years, and it’s hard to imagine that moment helped Gundy’s case.
Q: Simply put, what happened between the end of the 2021 season, when the Cowboys were a touchdown away from the CFP, and beyond? It seemed like that’s the exact moment things went downhill. What, whether that offseason or personnel-wise, caused such a steep and immediate fall-off?
White: After 2021, OSU hasn’t had much consistency on the defensive side. Jim Knowles is probably the best defensive coordinator of the Gundy era and orchestrated an elite defense that year. OSU is on its third DC in four years since his departure, making any consistency on that end nearly impossible. Meanwhile, the offense has also had some major issues in that time frame, with Spencer Sanders’ injury-riddled 2022 marking the end of any big hopes that year. In terms of an immediate falloff, OSU did a solid job of delaying what we now know was inevitable. Ollie Gordon’s 2023 breakout seems more like a bandaid now than the resurgence it appeared to be at the time. At the very least, OSU is getting a fresh start that turned out to be years in the making.
Q: Who do you and the fanbase see as ideal replacements for Gundy, and what kind of strengths/characteristics would they need to bring to the table? Any chance that interim head coach Doug Meacham gets a shot at being the permanent guy? Two names I’ve seen consistently floated around the job are OU OC Ben Arbuckle and Texas State head coach GJ Kinne.
White: Former OSU quarterback and Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson seems to be the favorite among the fanbase, but it’s hard to say how he would fare as a college head coach. The fanbase likely wants someone young who is establishing himself and could grow with the program for the foreseeable future, which is where names like Arbuckle and Kinne come into play. While a flashy name would do the trick, anyone who can keep the energy around the program high would be fine. Doug Meacham’s hopes of earning the gig permanently are slim to none, but the final nine games of this season will be his audition. As an OSU alum who already spent years coaching Stillwater earlier in Gundy’s tenure, Meacham checks some boxes, and he could have a chance at getting the job with a solid finish to the season. However, considering strength coach Rob Glass is taking over the administrative side of the head coaching duties, OSU might not see Meacham as a legitimate solution moving forward
Q: Last two years non-withstanding, what do you think reasonable program expectations should be for Oklahoma State? The Cowboys were a model of consistency through the 2010s and early 2020s before these last two years, and the departures of Texas and OU have made the Big 12 the most wide-open power conference in college football. Do you think Oklahoma State can quickly regain perennial contender status?
White: The expectation at OSU is to compete for conference championships and a spot in the College Football Playoff. With OSU’s success under Gundy, those are reasonable expectations, especially in this version of the Big 12. With where the program is now, getting back to that status will be incredibly difficult. In the short term, OSU needs incremental improvement and will likely expect to be in a bowl game again next season under its new coach, whoever that may be. OSU doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to get back to contender status, but it is of the utmost importance to get back to a point of being a perennial contender, even if that vision doesn’t fully show up on the field until the early 2030s.
Q: What does progress look like for the Cowboys against Baylor, and for the season? Having gone winless last year in conference and losing your starting quarterback in the season opener, how many wins, if any, do you see on the schedule for the Cowboys going forward?
White: In his first media availability as head coach, Meacham expressed the desire for the team to simply have fun moving forward. So, the progress might not necessarily show up on the scoreboard, but playing loose and free would be a step in the right direction on Saturday. Zane Flores has improved since being thrust into the starting role but has a long way to go, so finding ways to make him comfortable will be huge. Given what we’ve seen through the first three games, it’s hard to pinpoint any OSU wins for the rest of the season. But there’s still a chance that the Cowboys can improve on a week-to-week basis and find some winnable games on the schedule in October and November. With a lengthy injury report going into this game against Baylor and the transfer portal now open for 30 days after Gundy’s firing, it’s hard to say who will even be on the field moving forward.
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Josh began covering Baylor athletics in July 2025. Before this, he previously wrote for Syracuse men's basketball and football at SI from 2022-24. As a former Division I defensive lineman at Prairie View, Josh is passionate about storytelling from a former athlete's perspective. When he's not covering Baylor, he enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts and music, and loves cooking a good meal.