Cowboy Coaching Christmas/Bowl Situation

Mike Gundy could be asking Santa for as many as three new coaches, one for sure

STILLWATER -- The Oklahoma State Cowboys contingent of local players, coaches, support staff and families left Stillwater this morning and landed safely at Houston Intercontinental Airport at 11:30 a.m. Just in case you were wondering, assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Kasey Dunn, defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements, and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Sean Gleeson were all on the flight and all got on the buses with their families to head to the Cowboys hotel at the Galleria in Houston. 

The reason for roll taking is obvious as Friday it was learned first from the Fox television affiliate in Las Vegas and confirmed by Pokes Report/Sports Illustrated that Dunn was leaving to join his friend and former Oklahoma State running backs coach, and most recently Oregon offensive coordinator, Marcus Arroyo at UNLV as the Rebels offensive coordinator. 

Dunn told us that he was going and the he would be the play calling offensive coordinator for the Rebels and Arroyo. Dunn also told us that it was a good time for he and his wife as both of their daughters were happy in school at Oklahoma State and they could stay there and get their education. 

He was also pleased that Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy said he could stay and coach the Academy Sports and Outdoors Texas Bowl with the team. 

Now the word is that Arroyo is also discussing his defensive coordinator job with Cowboys co-defensive line coach Joe Bob Clements. Clements has been with Oklahoma State for seven seasons coming from Kansas State. 

There are also multiple reports in the media including out of New Jersey and in Austin, Texas that offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson is being courted as the next offensive coordinator for returning head coach Greg Schiano at Rutgers and for Tom Herman, who has rehauled his coaching staff at the University of Texas. 

Gleeson is in his first-year as the offensive coordinator for Gundy at Oklahoma State. He has done a solid job in a season where he could depend on the nation's leading rusher in Chuba Hubbard, but needed to smooth out some of the lesson learning for red-shirt freshman and talented quarterback Spencer Sanders. He also had to endure the loss of All-American wide receiver Tylan Wallace and then later Sanders to injuries. 

Gundy surely expects Gleeson to be around multiple seasons before a possible move on much like previous offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, who is now at Ohio State. However, a move to Rutgers where the salary would be competitive as Rutgers paid their offensive coordinator $625,000 last season might be attractive as Gleeson is from that area and has lived their much of his life. 

Moving to Texas with Herman might be good financially, but based on past performance might be short lived as Herman may be on a short time frame to show dramatic improvement in his up and down regime so far. The 7-5 record this season cost a lot of staffers, including both coordinators their jobs. 

Clements has also been a key cog for Gundy, but we know was frustrated some when Gundy went outside to hire Jim Knowles as the replacement for Glenn Spencer as the defensive coordinator. 

Pokes Report has learned that UNLV, who is paying Arroyo a big bump up to $1.5 million as head coach has a budget of $2.2-million for assistant coaches. You would expect that Dunn is at least going to make the $600,000 he was making in Stillwater this season. Clements is making $420,000 this season. If he is offered that or up to $500,00 then there goes half the budget for assistants on the two coordinator positions. It would be doable. 

Whether it is Dunn or Dunn and Clements to Vegas, or all three departing after the Texas Bowl, the NCAA transfer portal changes a lot and would put some pressure to get the staff shored up earlier rather than waiting in order to have coaches ready to address key returning players immediately when they come back for the spring semester. 

The recruiting part of it is not as critical as the class has a quarterback and it appears an incoming talented quarterback for 2021 in Gunnar Gundy with his decision to walk-on then. Greg Richmond and the rest of the defensive staff can address the need to recruit defensive linemen. The wide receivers in the class are also already signed and headlined by Bixby's explosive Brennan Presley. 

Mike Gundy will need to fill in his staff more rapidly in our opinion. Soothing the current quarterbacks and skill talent and having a receivers coach to work with the possible returning Tylan Wallace and all of the other talented pass catchers that Dunn brought in is very important. 

We will keep you updated, but for now, Dunn and the other two coaches being courted are all on the ground in Houston preparing for Texas A&M next Friday in NRG Stadium.