Could Oklahoma State Follow Lead of UCLA, Virginia Tech?
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Oklahoma State has had a tough season thus far, and it might need to consider following the steps of other Power Four programs.
On Sunday, the college football landscape changed quite a bit. Both Virginia Tech and UCLA fired their head coaches following some underwhelming starts to the 2025 season.
While OSU already has a win on the board, a poor performance against Tulsa might be enough to put Mike Gundy in similar conversations. Last season, the Cowboys went 3-9, with Gundy narrowly avoiding losing his job.
With a couple of Power Four squads already making changes this season, it could open the door for OSU to feel a bit more willing to make a significant midseason move if the situation presents itself.
Why fire Gundy now?
As of now, it appears that if Gundy is going to be fired in Stillwater, it would come at the end of the season, with the program giving him the ability to step down and make it appear he ended things on his terms. Considering that is already floating around, there is another solution.
Although it might rub Cowboy fans the wrong way, firing Gundy during the season is a legitimate option. He was already on thin ice after last season, and with the Oregon loss already making things appear lost in 2025, there is a sense that this could easily be his final season.
Firing Gundy obviously won’t happen right this second, but a loss against Tulsa for the first time this century to drop to 1-2 could certainly do the trick. If the Pokes fall to the Golden Hurricane, it would seem nearly impossible for Gundy to stick around in 2026 and beyond, so why wait?
The answer here would be that nothing would really change without Gundy in this season, and that’s true. However, it could give the program a head start on its coaching search and allow the rest of this season to get a better idea of whether the next head coach could even be someone on the current staff.
It could also be a player-friendly move to let Gundy go in the early stages of the season. Regardless of when OSU might make a change, the transfer portal would open immediately for the Cowboys on the roster, and with only two games played, and potentially a third if he got let go after the Tulsa matchup, any eligible players could still redshirt this season.
Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.