How the Past Few Years Led to Oklahoma State Firing Mike Gundy
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Mike Gundy’s time at Oklahoma State has ended, and there were a number of events that led up to his firing.
On Tuesday, OSU’s head coaching position opened for the first time in over two decades. The Cowboys opted to fire Gundy just three games into his 21st season, only a few days removed from the team’s first loss to Tulsa since 1998.
Although the timing of Gundy’s firing was a bit of a surprise, the act itself wasn’t all that shocking. Over the offseason, it appeared that Gundy’s status as the Cowboys’ head coach was in severe jeopardy before he restructured his contract.
Calling out fans toward the end of the 2024 season certainly rubbed much of OSU’s fanbase the wrong way. With fan support being so valuable in this era, those comments, coupled with the team’s 4-11 record since the start of last season, made this move simple from an off-field perspective.
Throughout the first decade and a half of his head coaching tenure, there were almost no calls for his firing at any point. While he had the occasional squabble with Boone Pickens or Mike Holder, those beefs were typically squashed in the best interest of the program.
However, Gundy’s job status as an established coach first truly came into question in the summer of 2020. After a social media post showing Gundy wearing a shirt with right-wing One America News Network’s logo, controversy was sparked in Stillwater.
Eventually, Gundy issued an apology that seemed to go over well with the team, specifically Chuba Hubbard, who called out his head coach on social media. While the 2020 season didn’t go as planned, Gundy’s job appeared to be safe.
While there wasn’t much off-field drama involving Gundy in the years in between those two events, the Cowboys’ success varied dramatically throughout that time frame.
OSU’s last great season with Gundy came in 2021, with the Cowboys going 11-1 in the regular season. However, finishing inches away from a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff berth marked the end of the Cowboys’ national title contention in the Gundy era.
With a 2022 season that derailed as quickly as 2024 and a 2023 season that was inspiring but ultimately fluky, the Cowboys simply didn’t meet the expectations for the program. Even this season, there were still plenty of folks banking on the same Gundy magic that had carried the program for two decades, but it’s apparent that magic ran out.
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.