Tramel: Why Mike Gundy and his Oklahoma State football players are enjoying better days
Berry TramelOklahoman
STILLWATER — Mike Gundy stood in the Sherman E. Smith Training Center, having just started a press conference, when a song rang out.
One of those I-know-that-tune-but-it-doesn't-fit-here moments.
“Happy birthday, to you...”
Around the corner came a group of Cowboy football players — Spencer Sanders, Malcolm Rodriguez, Brennan Presley, a few others — collectively carrying a cake. It was Gundy’s 54th birthday.
The celebration was short. Gundy shooed them away with a smile and an order that they each get a piece and a final salutation.
“Love you guys.”
June 2020 seemed far away.
Much has happened in the 14 months since Chuba Hubbard’s tweet set off a firestorm that included an in-house investigation into Gundy’s relationship with his players.
Gundy’s job was in jeopardy for a few weeks. In the end, OSU kept him on. Gundy took a paycut and promised to do better.
Promise kept, from all accounts.
OSU’s investigation revealed that players felt a disconnect with Gundy, not so much on a political level — the advent of Hubbard’s discontent — but on a personal level.
“We’ve turned the corner,” Gundy said. “I’m very excited about putting that behind me and us. But also willing to accept and listen to people and coaches or players who want to be critical with things that can be better.”
Gundy admits he didn’t always listen.
OSU football has been rolling for most of a decade, but time always is of the essence. There was always something to do. And Gundy didn’t believe that hearing gripes or concerns was a good use of his time.
“I didn’t want to hear about all that,” Gundy said. “Now I understand how it can make you stronger.”
In June 2020, Gundy was not aware that a portion of his football team was unhappy with him.
Hubbard, an all-American tailback, posted on social media his disgust with Gundy promoting a right-wing television organization during the height of a social justice movement. Some players endorsed Hubbard’s declaration. Some stayed quiet.
“Sometimes, you’re going along, things are busy, got a bunch of different things pulling at you in a bunch of different directions,” said OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg. “You may not be aware.”
The 2020 Cowboys pulled together and worked things out. Gundy and Hubbard made nice, OSU traversed the pandemic football season and ended up in a good spot, 8-3 and ranked 20th in the Associated Press poll.
Now OSU embarks on Gundy’s 17th season as head coach with great optimism.
But the road was not easy.
“That issue with what was going on, and all the other stuff, was extremely difficult on me personally,” Gundy said. “There’s not many things that affect me. I have a good barometer where we are and where I am.
“But that time was really difficult for me, in particular because of my family, who were just put in a very difficult situation. That broke my heart.”
Gundy said some of the allegations weren’t true. He also said, quite accurately, that the anger of summer 2020 was widespread nationally, and social media only exacerbates the problem.
But Gundy acknowledged that he needed to change.
“We continue to talk about it as a staff,” Gundy said. “I do listen more to the team. They’ve always been able to come into my office, tell me things. Most of the time, I agree with them, put things in place.
“Coaching, teaching and parenting is not about being their friend and making them happy. It’s about having values and discipline and structure in ways to make them better.”
Sanders, about to begin his third season as the Cowboy starting quarterback, said he mostly stayed out of the Gundy/Hubbard tiff.
“I don’t know too much … what was going on there,” Sanders said. “I know there was a problem.
“With whatever situation they had going on, I’m pretty sure he might have made some adjustments, or Chuba made some adjustments. I’m pretty sure they compromised. If we’re slacking, he’ll get on our tail. I wouldn’t say nothing too much has really changed.”
From the outside, there wasn’t much TO change. As new OSU president Kayse Shrum said, Gundy has produced 15 consecutive winning seasons, his program has followed the rules and his players represent the university quite well. There is much to like about Cowboy football.
Including the endorsement of the players themselves, who seem to enjoy the program. Hubbard himself gave OSU football its highest commendation, when he chose to forego the National Football League draft to stay a Cowboy for the 2020 season.
“He did a great job of handling that situation,” Weiberg said of Gundy. “We all learned from things like that.
"Our players, they enjoy being part of our program. That’s a credit to the culture he’s built there. I think all that did was create an awareness that players wanted … engagement with him. I think that’s a compliment to him. He’s got great kids in the program, and they want that relationship with him.”
It’s August. The season opener is little more than two weeks away. Busy time. Lots going on. But Gundy knows he must stay more in tune with his players.
“We have discussions as a staff, and I have people critique me on things,” Gundy said. “We’ve made a few things better, and some discussions we’ve had in different areas. But they’ve all been pretty minimal.
“We had to be really careful, thinking what we had done for 16 years wasn’t the right direction to go for the majority.”
The birthday cake was a nice sign. Oh, anyone can sing “Happy Birthday,” and anyone can carry a cake baked by other hands. But players reaching out to a coach, who 14 months earlier was in hot water with his team, was a symbolic gesture of better days.
“We all go through trying times,” Gundy said of June 2020. “I’ve been very very lucky in my life. I hope that’s the worst thing we ever have to endure in the coaching profession.”
