Mike Gundy is in his 21st season as the head coach at Oklahoma State, and he has no interest in making it his final one.
Following the Cowboys’ 1-2 start to the season featuring a 66-point loss to Oregon and a 19-12 home defeat to Tulsa, Gundy has faced questions about his future, questions that he called “fair” in a press conference Monday.
Gundy was asked to confirm he had no interest in 2025 being his final year in Stillwater, and the coach replied, “100 percent.”
“I haven’t had a player come to me and ask me any of that,” Gundy went on to say. “I’m under contract here for about 3 1/2 years.
“When I was hired here to take that 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 this,’ or if somebody else says, ‘We don’t want you to do it.'”
The time for the latter could be approaching fast, as Oklahoma State finished last year on a nine-game losing streak and has now dropped 11 straight games against FBS opponents. However, Gundy is owed $15 million if Oklahoma State fires him without cause before the end of this season.
Gundy did not initially utilize the transfer portal to build his rosters, but this year the Cowboys have more than 60 new faces, many coming from other programs.
That has yet to produce convincing wins, but Gundy called the team’s issues “fixable” Monday.
“It’s not all the players,” Gundy said. “Coaches have to do a better job. Now that we’ve played a few games, we know these guys a little bit better, so what’s the best situation that we can put for the players who are going to be on the field? I think it’s a two-way street.”
Coincidentally, Gundy spoke on the 18th anniversary of his “I’m a man, I’m 40” rant, one of the most famous tirades in modern sports history.
Gundy coached the Cowboys to 18 straight bowl appearances before the streak was broken last year. He has gone 170-90 all-time, including 12-6 in bowls.
