Didn’t see this posted. If I missed a separate thread then my bad:
tulsaworld.com
This is a transcript of last week’s Bill Haisten Podcast, during which the Tulsa World sports columnist discussed the state of the slumping Oklahoma State program. Regardless of the final outcome of the 2023 season, Haisten explained, Mike Gundy will return in 2024 for what would be his 20th season as the Cowboy head coach.
Haisten says there would be a change only if the 56-year-old Gundy chooses to retire, and reminded listeners that Bob Stoops was 56 when he retired at OU.
This week, I want to talk a little about the condition of the Oklahoma State football program. The Cowboys are off this week, but they’re coming off of a 26-point home loss to South Alabama of the Sun Belt Conference, along with last week’s 34-27 loss at Iowa State in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Against Northern Iowa and Iowa, and in a loss to the Ohio Bobcats of the Mid-American Conference, Iowa State’s offense was putrid. Against Oklahoma State, the Cyclones passed for 348 yards.
Against Northern Iowa, the Cyclones passed for 113 yards. Against Oklahoma State, which committed several glaring mistakes on coverages, Iowa State passed for 348 yards and won the game.
The OSU Cowboys are off this week, and yet there’s been a great deal of talk about Mike Gundy, about Mike Gundy’s buyout figure of more than $25 million, about the OSU situation at quarterback, about the defense, and about what seems to be the likelihood that OSU’s streak of 17 consecutive winning seasons won’t be extended to 18.
For two reasons, the timing of a poor season couldn’t be worse.
Reason No. 1: For the first time in OSU history, football season tickets were sold out before the season began. The 2013 season tickets were all sold, but not until several weeks into the season. In spite of the departures of so many talented players in the transfer portal, and in spite of not knowing what Oklahoma State might look like at quarterback, the OSU fans were fired up for this football season.
A big part of that, of course, is that the Bedlam series – as an annual rivalry game – comes to an end after this year’s Nov. 4 contest at Boone Pickens Stadium. I haven’t looked this week at secondary ticket-sales websites, but I bet there are a lot more Bedlam tickets available now than was the case before the South Alabama and Iowa State games.
By the way, the South Alabama loss became even more sickening for OSU fans when South Alabama lost at home last week to Central Michigan.
Reason No. 2 why a bad football season is horribly timed: Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg is leading a campaign to raise $325 million for new facilities. It’s a well-known fact that donor wallets open more readily when football is going well.
After the 2001 and 2002 Cowboy Bedlam victories, T. Boone Pickens decided to get involved at OSU. His generosity changed that school. At OU, during the 2000 national championship season, Joe Castiglione launched a fund-raising campaign that set a university record for athletics donations and resulted in a significant renovation of Memorial Stadium.
In July, I wrote about the underachievement of signature OSU sports like wrestling, men’s golf, men’s basketball and baseball. I wrote that during such an ambitious fund-raising campaign, pressure on OSU football would intensify.
Before this streak of 17 consecutive bowl appearances, Oklahoma State never before had a streak of more than three consecutive bowl appearances. Whether it was a 12-win season (as OSU had in 2011 and again in 2021) or a seven-win season, Mike Gundy was able to stack 17 consecutive winning results.
If Mike Gundy can get a seven-win final result from the 2023 Cowboys, I will consider this season to have been his greatest coaching performance.
I still consider the nine-win season of 2009 to have been his best coaching job. Kendall Hunter was injured and missed most of that season, Dez Bryant was suspended, linebacker Orie Lemon tore his ACL during the preseason, Zac Robinson had a variety of physical issues, and yet those Cowboys found a way to get to nine wins.
When I watch the 2023 Cowboys, I see a team that appears to be the least talented team of the Mike Gundy era. Even less talented than his first team – the 2005 team that would finish 4-7 but had a lot of young, talented guys who would develop into difference-makers in 2006 and beyond.
As for all of this talk about Mike Gundy’s job status and buyout, I would say this: Even if OSU gets hammered 50-0 in each of the eight remaining regular-season games, Mike will back next year for his 20th season as the Cowboy head coach.
If he wants to be, that is.
I’ve used versions of this stat for several years, and it’s appropriate now to revise and use it again. As the Cowboy quarterback in 1986-89, an assistant coach in 1990-95, OSU’s offensive coordinator in 2001-04 and the head coach since 2005, Mike has been a participant in 397 Oklahoma State football games.
Mike has been a participant in 31.7% of all games played in the 123-year history of OSU football. When the Cowboys visit West Virginia on Oct. 21, there is another milestone: Mike’s 400th Oklahoma State football game.
The point is, Oklahoma State isn’t going to fire a coach with which it has a 33-season relationship. Not after one bad season. OSU is 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12. A lot of football remains to be played, but this team seems doomed to a bad season.
Based on what I’ve seen to this point, I would consider a seven-win record to be miraculous.
Mike makes slightly more than $7.6 million this year, which to me feels crazy for a school that has about 52,000 seats in its stadium. He’s the Big 12’s highest-paid coach – paid more than Brent Venables at OU, more than Steve Sarkisian at Texas, and more than Kansas State’s Chris Klieman – who last year drove the Wildcats to the Big 12 title and beat OSU 48-0.
Mike Gundy has a five-year rollover built into this contract. For as long as the rollover is in effect, Mike has a five-year contract. If OSU decides this year that it wants to adjust the rollover, it has to notify Mike before Jan. 1.
This is a moot point, but if Oklahoma State were to fire Mike Gundy after this season, he would receive a buyout total of $25.8 million – or 75% of the money he would be owed over the remainder of his contract.
Again, Oklahoma State would not fire Mike even if the 2023 season goes from bad to unthinkably bad. He would be given the chance to rebuild and take a shot at a special bounce-back season in 2024.
There is this thought, though: Mike now is 56. Bob Stoops was 56 when he retired at OU.
Because of the transfer portal and NIL factors, college football and basketball coaching is more difficult than ever before. I suppose it’s possible that Mike might decide that he’s had enough, and that he and Chad Weiberg would sit down after the season and negotiate a settlement on money, and Mike would retire.
I don’t think that will happen, either. I don’t think Mike would want to go out that way.
However, I’ve said it a hundred times and I’ll say it again: Mike Gundy has made a lot of money at Oklahoma State, and he’s been playing or coaching football every year since he was a young boy. It seems to me that it would be very difficult to sustain a high level of competitive fire after you’re already secure on money, and after you’ve been in the same job for such a long time.
Another stat I’ve used several times this year: Mike now has been the head coach at OSU for longer than Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops coached at OU.
One thing I’ve learned about sports: you never say never.
In 2017, Brad Underwood had a nice first season as the Oklahoma State basketball coach. One day after he and the Cowboys were beaten 92-91 by Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, he accepted an offer to coach at Illinois. No one saw that coming.
In 2016, OU fans had no clue that they were watching Bob Stoops’ final season with the Sooners. Carol Stoops might have known. Joe Castiglione might have had a bit of a suspicion, but when Bob retired during the summer of 2017, it was shocking.
Bill Haisten: Regardless of 2023 outcome, Mike Gundy returns in 2024 – if he chooses to
If Mike Gundy can get a seven-win final result from the 2023 Cowboys, would this season have been his greatest coaching performance?
This is a transcript of last week’s Bill Haisten Podcast, during which the Tulsa World sports columnist discussed the state of the slumping Oklahoma State program. Regardless of the final outcome of the 2023 season, Haisten explained, Mike Gundy will return in 2024 for what would be his 20th season as the Cowboy head coach.
Haisten says there would be a change only if the 56-year-old Gundy chooses to retire, and reminded listeners that Bob Stoops was 56 when he retired at OU.
This week, I want to talk a little about the condition of the Oklahoma State football program. The Cowboys are off this week, but they’re coming off of a 26-point home loss to South Alabama of the Sun Belt Conference, along with last week’s 34-27 loss at Iowa State in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Against Northern Iowa and Iowa, and in a loss to the Ohio Bobcats of the Mid-American Conference, Iowa State’s offense was putrid. Against Oklahoma State, the Cyclones passed for 348 yards.
Against Northern Iowa, the Cyclones passed for 113 yards. Against Oklahoma State, which committed several glaring mistakes on coverages, Iowa State passed for 348 yards and won the game.
The OSU Cowboys are off this week, and yet there’s been a great deal of talk about Mike Gundy, about Mike Gundy’s buyout figure of more than $25 million, about the OSU situation at quarterback, about the defense, and about what seems to be the likelihood that OSU’s streak of 17 consecutive winning seasons won’t be extended to 18.
For two reasons, the timing of a poor season couldn’t be worse.
Reason No. 1: For the first time in OSU history, football season tickets were sold out before the season began. The 2013 season tickets were all sold, but not until several weeks into the season. In spite of the departures of so many talented players in the transfer portal, and in spite of not knowing what Oklahoma State might look like at quarterback, the OSU fans were fired up for this football season.
A big part of that, of course, is that the Bedlam series – as an annual rivalry game – comes to an end after this year’s Nov. 4 contest at Boone Pickens Stadium. I haven’t looked this week at secondary ticket-sales websites, but I bet there are a lot more Bedlam tickets available now than was the case before the South Alabama and Iowa State games.
By the way, the South Alabama loss became even more sickening for OSU fans when South Alabama lost at home last week to Central Michigan.
Reason No. 2 why a bad football season is horribly timed: Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg is leading a campaign to raise $325 million for new facilities. It’s a well-known fact that donor wallets open more readily when football is going well.
After the 2001 and 2002 Cowboy Bedlam victories, T. Boone Pickens decided to get involved at OSU. His generosity changed that school. At OU, during the 2000 national championship season, Joe Castiglione launched a fund-raising campaign that set a university record for athletics donations and resulted in a significant renovation of Memorial Stadium.
In July, I wrote about the underachievement of signature OSU sports like wrestling, men’s golf, men’s basketball and baseball. I wrote that during such an ambitious fund-raising campaign, pressure on OSU football would intensify.
Before this streak of 17 consecutive bowl appearances, Oklahoma State never before had a streak of more than three consecutive bowl appearances. Whether it was a 12-win season (as OSU had in 2011 and again in 2021) or a seven-win season, Mike Gundy was able to stack 17 consecutive winning results.
If Mike Gundy can get a seven-win final result from the 2023 Cowboys, I will consider this season to have been his greatest coaching performance.
I still consider the nine-win season of 2009 to have been his best coaching job. Kendall Hunter was injured and missed most of that season, Dez Bryant was suspended, linebacker Orie Lemon tore his ACL during the preseason, Zac Robinson had a variety of physical issues, and yet those Cowboys found a way to get to nine wins.
When I watch the 2023 Cowboys, I see a team that appears to be the least talented team of the Mike Gundy era. Even less talented than his first team – the 2005 team that would finish 4-7 but had a lot of young, talented guys who would develop into difference-makers in 2006 and beyond.
As for all of this talk about Mike Gundy’s job status and buyout, I would say this: Even if OSU gets hammered 50-0 in each of the eight remaining regular-season games, Mike will back next year for his 20th season as the Cowboy head coach.
If he wants to be, that is.
I’ve used versions of this stat for several years, and it’s appropriate now to revise and use it again. As the Cowboy quarterback in 1986-89, an assistant coach in 1990-95, OSU’s offensive coordinator in 2001-04 and the head coach since 2005, Mike has been a participant in 397 Oklahoma State football games.
Mike has been a participant in 31.7% of all games played in the 123-year history of OSU football. When the Cowboys visit West Virginia on Oct. 21, there is another milestone: Mike’s 400th Oklahoma State football game.
The point is, Oklahoma State isn’t going to fire a coach with which it has a 33-season relationship. Not after one bad season. OSU is 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12. A lot of football remains to be played, but this team seems doomed to a bad season.
Based on what I’ve seen to this point, I would consider a seven-win record to be miraculous.
Mike makes slightly more than $7.6 million this year, which to me feels crazy for a school that has about 52,000 seats in its stadium. He’s the Big 12’s highest-paid coach – paid more than Brent Venables at OU, more than Steve Sarkisian at Texas, and more than Kansas State’s Chris Klieman – who last year drove the Wildcats to the Big 12 title and beat OSU 48-0.
Mike Gundy has a five-year rollover built into this contract. For as long as the rollover is in effect, Mike has a five-year contract. If OSU decides this year that it wants to adjust the rollover, it has to notify Mike before Jan. 1.
This is a moot point, but if Oklahoma State were to fire Mike Gundy after this season, he would receive a buyout total of $25.8 million – or 75% of the money he would be owed over the remainder of his contract.
Again, Oklahoma State would not fire Mike even if the 2023 season goes from bad to unthinkably bad. He would be given the chance to rebuild and take a shot at a special bounce-back season in 2024.
There is this thought, though: Mike now is 56. Bob Stoops was 56 when he retired at OU.
Because of the transfer portal and NIL factors, college football and basketball coaching is more difficult than ever before. I suppose it’s possible that Mike might decide that he’s had enough, and that he and Chad Weiberg would sit down after the season and negotiate a settlement on money, and Mike would retire.
I don’t think that will happen, either. I don’t think Mike would want to go out that way.
However, I’ve said it a hundred times and I’ll say it again: Mike Gundy has made a lot of money at Oklahoma State, and he’s been playing or coaching football every year since he was a young boy. It seems to me that it would be very difficult to sustain a high level of competitive fire after you’re already secure on money, and after you’ve been in the same job for such a long time.
Another stat I’ve used several times this year: Mike now has been the head coach at OSU for longer than Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops coached at OU.
One thing I’ve learned about sports: you never say never.
In 2017, Brad Underwood had a nice first season as the Oklahoma State basketball coach. One day after he and the Cowboys were beaten 92-91 by Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, he accepted an offer to coach at Illinois. No one saw that coming.
In 2016, OU fans had no clue that they were watching Bob Stoops’ final season with the Sooners. Carol Stoops might have known. Joe Castiglione might have had a bit of a suspicion, but when Bob retired during the summer of 2017, it was shocking.
