What's next for Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy

Mike Gundy has defined modern-era Oklahoma State football. Now, the Cowboys have definitely sunk to a new level of irrelevance. 

What's next for Gundy and OSU?

Though he's won 170 games at his alma mater, Gundy hardly has navigated smooth waters this decade. He's already operating on a new contract structure that was negotiated on the heels of the program's recent disaster-class campaigns.

With Friday night's stunning 19-12 loss to visiting Tulsa and its rising star, first-year head coach Tre Lamb, Oklahoma State now has lost 11-straight games to Football Bowls Subdivision competition and 12 of its past 15 dating to the end of the 2023 campaign.

Once unthinkable, Gundy was asked about how he viewed his job status/security in the aftermath of the Golden Hurricane upset.

“Those aren’t decisions that I make," Gundy said Friday night after the loss, which marked Tulsa's first win in the semi-frequent series since 1998 and its first defeat of Gundy in its eighth attempt. "My decision is to do exactly what I mentioned earlier is get these guys, keep moving forward and go on down the road, and that’s what we do.”

Moreover, the Cowboys too often have been noncompetitive in that steak. Six losses in their season-ending nine-game skid a year ago were double-digit defeats; they trailed Tulsa - a team they defeated last year 45-10 -- 19-3 deep into the fourth quarter inside their once-vaunted Boone Pickens Stadium.

Gundy earlier this month made the wrong kind of headlines when he called out Oregon for spending lavishly on its roster and being nike founder Phil Knight's pet program. Oklahoma State, mind you, is a Nike-outfitted program.

After agreeing to a million-dollar paycut in his revamped deal, Gundy also saw his buyout terms lessened. Oklahoma State can part with its once-favorite son right now for a flat fee of $15 million. That number doesn't go down at season's end nor at next season's end. It doesn't reduce until the fourth year of this new deal, when the buyout is lessened to $10 million.

In other words, if Oklahoma State's leadership -- and booster-backed decision-makers -- determine officially that Gundy's run is done, there is no financial incentive for penny-pinching to kick the decision down the calendar.

Too, the Cowboys aren't done losing. They have road contests remaining at Arizona, Texas Tech, Kansas as well as, among others, home dates with Kansas State and Iowa State to conclude the season.

Gundy's reworked pact, to which he verbally agreed last December and then inked in January of this year, also added new language that required Gundy to "in good faith" help Oklahoma State in its search for its successor -- should OSU leadership determine it wants Gundy's input:

"Employee agrees that Employee’s duties and services to the University include participating in good faith in University’s succession planning for the next University Head Football Coach, as directed by the Director. Employee’s succession planning responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, Employee’s collaboration with the University in identifying, evaluating and developing a successor for Employee's position, as well as facilitating a smooth transition to such successor."

"Employee acknowledges Employee’s position as Head Football Coach places Employee in a position that has a significant impact on University and its growth and fundraising efforts, especially on donors who have the capacity to make significant positive contributions to the University. Employee agrees to engage in all fundraising and donor engagement and stewardship activities for donors who have the capacity to make significant positive contributions to the University in a professional manner at reasonable times as requested by the Director, whether those activities involve the University President, the Director, development staff or others assisting in fundraising for the benefit of the University. Director understands that Employee’s primary responsibility is football duties as the Head Football Coach. Employee understands that fundraising is an important obligation of every head coach in FBS football."