Mike Gundy made it clear on Monday that Oklahoma State's dramatic downturn would not on its own push him out of the job he's held for 21 seasons now.
"I'm under contract here for about three and a half years. When I was hired here to take this job, ever since that day I've put my heart and soul into this and I will continue to do that until at some point if I say I don't want to do it, or if somebody else says, 'We don't want you to do it.'"
On Tuesday, someone else said they didn't want him to do it.
Oklahoma State fired Gundy on Tuesday, ending a 20-plus season run as its head coach, 25 continuous seasons of employment at the university, and 35 total years of association with Cowboys football. Even the endless blank pages of the Internet would struggle to capture Gundy's impact on Oklahoma State football and Oklahoma State University, so let's just dive right in.
What was the high point? Oh, man. One struggles to find the last great OSU football moment Gundy wasn't involved in. You could say Les Miles's back-to-back upsets of peak Bob Stoops-era Oklahoma in 2001-02, but Gundy was the offensive coordinator on those teams. You'd probably have to go back to 1984, when Pat Jones went 10-2 and finished No. 7 in the AP with Jimmy Johnson's players. Jones then went 20-4 with back-to-back No. 11 finishes from 1987-88, but Gundy played QB on those teams (having guys like Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders as his running backs might've helped). Jones never had another winning season after Gundy (and Sanders) left.
All that to say, the high point of the Gundy era was... the Gundy era. All of it. Well, most of it.
That written, pinpointing a specific peak is easy. On Dec. 3, 2011, OSU was ranked No. 3 and hosted No. 10 Oklahoma for the biggest Bedlam ever. A Cowboy victory would hand the program its first outright conference title since winning the Missouri Valley way back in 1948. It would also end an 8-game Bedlam losing streak and keep the Cowboys in the race for a spot in the BCS National Championship. It was the biggest game in school history, at least since the invention of the color television.
Final score: Cowboys 44, Sooners 10.
That win wasn't enough to get the Cowboys into the national title game, but that was the system's problem, not theirs. (A 4-team playoff was formally created on June 20, 2012.) OSU had to settle for beating No. 4 Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, and a year-end No. 3 ranking, the highest in program history.
In all, Gundy won 170 games, played in two Big 12 championship games, booked 10 AP Top 25 finishes, and took OSU to 18 straight bowl games.
What was the low point? Take your pick. It was either the 69-3 loss to No. 6 Oregon on Sept. 6, or Friday's 19-12 home loss to Tulsa. The former showed how far Oklahoma State's ceiling is from where it used to be, and the latter showed how low the floor has become. In reality, the answer is both.
For all the winning he did, Gundy leaves Oklahoma State having lost his last 11 games against the FBS.
What did Gundy get right? Other than "everything," Gundy displayed a keen eye for offensive talent, among players and coaches. In an era where the Big 12 was redefining offensive football as we know it, Oklahoma State punched above its weight class, specifically when it came to finding and developing skill players. The Cowboys regularly churned out NFL players, including first-rounders like Russell Okung, Dez Bryant, Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon. Bryant is the best receiver in OSU history, and Blackmon is one of only two wideouts to win back-to-back Biletnikoff awards. Gundy was the best quarterback in OSU history until he recruited and developed his own replacement.
Furthermore, among the names to serve as offensive coordinator under Gundy: Larry Fedora, Dana Holgorsen, Todd Monken, Mike Yurcich. Former Cowboys quarterback Zac Robinson is also one of the hottest names in the NFL coordinator market.
What did Oklahoma State get right? They allowed/asked/demanded Gundy and T. Boone Pickens to do their respective things. It wasn't always easy -- Gundy nearly took the Arkansas and Tennessee jobs at different points in his tenure -- but Oklahoma State rightly recognized Gundy was the only man who had the ability to do what he did for Oklahoma State and, crucially, remain at Oklahoma State for as long as he did, then gave him the necessary investment and autonomy to do what he saw fit. At least, until he wasn't.
Where did Gundy go wrong? As the game changed, Gundy flat refused to change with it. "This portal class from January is the first we've bought," Gundy admitted in June of this year. Too little, too late, as they say.
Furthermore, Gundy started missing more than hitting in the talent acquisition game when it came to both helmets and headsets. Only one Cowboy offensive player has been selected in the last four NFL drafts -- running back Ollie Gordon, taken 179th this past spring. Gundy lost OC Sean Gleeson to Rutgers, then was forced to hire longtime assistant Kasey Dunn as his next coordinator. These two facts are spokes on the same wheel.
Where did Oklahoma State go wrong? Pickens died at age 91 in 2019, so we can only wonder how the oil billionaire would've felt about an era where an oil billionaire can take a direct role in shaping his alma mater's roster. Regardless, Oklahoma State allowed Gundy to accumulate so much power that he could refuse to engage in a fundamental aspect of his job -- arguably, the fundamental aspect of his job -- for years on end and there was no voice, either inside or outside the building, that could demand otherwise until it was truly too late.
Where does Gundy likely go next? "There's never, ever become a time that I haven't wanted to come to work and pour my heart and soul into what I do, for the players. That has never come about... I get text messages all the time, 'What are you doing? Why are you doing this?' It is still fun for me."
Gundy said that on Monday. He's a 58-year-old man (you may have heard something about this) with plenty of vigor for the job. Personally, I think Gundy would absolutely love the prospect of closing his blinds to the rat race and taking a Division II job if his ego would allow him to do it, but we'll see.
Where does Oklahoma State likely go next? Before they hire a head coach, Oklahoma State must first build an infrastructure that will allow the next head coach to succeed. After placing too much power in the hands of one person, Oklahoma State will not do that again. OSU needs to hire a head coach and a GM. Which person is the chicken or the egg likely depends on the particular chicken or egg, but Oklahoma State needs an offensive-minded head coach with a keen talent-evaluating executive at his side. It's quite possible the next head coach is a former Gundy head coach and/or player, meaning Gundy's impact on Cowboy football and Oklahoma State University will continue well beyond the 40-year mark.