The Mike Gundy era at Oklahoma State has officially come to an end following a rocky start to the season that included a humiliating home loss to Tulsa. The funny part is, that loss is only abnormal because of the man himself.
The thing that must be understood is that Mike Gundy created the modern version and perception of Oklahoma State. Before his tenure, the Cowboys were among the bottom feeders of the Power 5. A loss to Tulsa would not have been considered ideal, but it had happened 6 times from 1982-1998. Tulsa, in terms of record in the respective matchups, is much closer to Oklahoma State than Oklahoma State is to Oklahoma. The pokes were much more comparable to schools like Rutgers or Vanderbilt than they were to the class of the Big 12. The school had a winning percentage of .435 all time, and were just another punching bag for the big name schools in the region.
Speaking of big name schools in the region, prior to Mike Gundy, Oklahoma was the only school in the state that garnered any sort of recognition outside of the state. In the rivalry game known as “Bedlam”, OSU had won a mere 16 out of over 100 games played. Gundy has not fared all too well himself in the series, but his 4 wins puts him in good company among Oklahoma State coaches, especially in the modern era.
In the realm of national recognition, Gundy has propelled the Cowboys to unprecedented heights. He is responsible for their highest ever ranking, as well as 176 of their 293 weeks in the AP Poll. Prior to his ascension to the role of head coach, Oklahoma State had been completely absent from the AP poll in 15 of the last 18 years. Also, two different times Mike Gundy had Oklahoma State on the cusp of competing for a national championship. No active coach has had that great of an impact on his school.
This information causes one to ask the University that just cut ties with him some tough questions: what is your program without Mike Gundy? What is the national perception of your program without Mike Gundy? What is the recruiting footprint and profile of your program without Mike Gundy? What caliber of coach would even be interested in your job without Mike Gundy making it what it is? I’m not arguing against this move. It’s been necessary for a couple of years and it was only a matter of time before this happened. But what does post-Gundy Oklahoma State have to offer? That we will soon learn.
College Football Digest 