For the first time in two decades, Oklahoma State is in search of a new football coach.
Oklahoma State fired Mike Gundy, effective immediately, according to Robert Allen.
In his 21st season, Gundy accumulated a 170-90 record with the Cowboys. That’s the most wins in program history, and it isn’t particularly close. Pat Jones, Gundy’s coach, is second on Oklahoma State’s all-time wins list at 62-60.
Eleven of Gundy’s teams spent at least one week in the top 10 of the AP poll, climbing as high as No. 2 in the rankings in 2011. Gundy-led teams have had a pair of top 10 finishes in the AP Poll, finishing third in 2011 and seventh in 2021.
Six of Gundy’s teams finished in the top 10 nationally for scoring offense. The aforementioned 2011 team finished the season averaging 48.7 points a game, which ranked second in the nation. OSU’s 2017 squad finished second nationally in total offense, averaging 568.9 yards a game. Led by quarterback Mason Rudolph, that 2017 team finished first nationally in passing offense, averaging 389.2 pass yards a game.
OSU’s best defense under Gundy came in 2021 when coordinator Jim Knowles’ group allowed just 18.1 points and 297.9 yards a game, which ranked ninth and fifth in the country, respectively.
Gundy teams loved a big win. He had 11 wins against AP top-10 opponents, with the most recent being the Cowboys’ 27-24 win against No. 10 Oklahoma in 2023. Gundy has beaten the No. 3 team in the AP Poll twice, besting Missouri 28-23 in 2008 and Baylor 49-17 in 2013.
From 2006 to 2023, OSU teams finished with a winning record. Eight of those squads had at least 10 wins. There have only been three other teams in OSU’s history finish with double-digit wins, and Gundy was the quarterback for two of those squads.
Speaking of his playing days, Gundy still ranks fourth on OSU’s all-time passing list with 8,473 yards, and the three players ahead of Gundy (Mason Rudolph, Spencer Sanders and Brandon Weeden) were all coached by Gundy. Gundy ranks fifth on OSU’s passing touchdowns list with 57.