Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy used a standoff to coach another year at his alma-mater, but did he buy enough time to save his job beyond 2025?
Gundy enters the 2025 college football season on the hot seat after the Cowboys went 3-9 last season and failed to win a conference game in the new-look Big 12 without Oklahoma and Texas. After that disappointment, it looked like Gundy's run at OSU would end after 20 seasons, but he fought for more time and compromised, with the university now having the upper hand with a $15 million buyout as Gundy's back is against the wall.
Cowboys recently reduced Gundy's buyout
After last season, the Oklahoma A&M Colleges Board of Regents, which oversees Oklahoma State, met to discuss Gundy's future leading the football program. After some drama and Gundy refusing to go down without swinging at his alma-mater, the board approved a new contract for Gundy that reduced his salary and buyout.
Gundy's salary was reduced by $1 million to $6.75 million for 2025. His buyout was also dropped to $15 million for the next three years and to $10 million during the final year of his new four-year contract. That $1 million that OSU saved on Gundy's salary was put toward athlete revenue share.
Iowa's Kirk Ferentz is the only coach in FBS who has coached at the same school longer than Gundy, who has only ever led the Cowboys. Gundy played quarterback for the Cowboys in 1986-89 before starting his coaching career as a wide receivers coach with OSU in 1990. He moved to quarterbacks the next year and held the position until 1996, when he left for Baylor.
After a five-year hiatus away from his alma-mater at Baylor and Maryland, Gundy was hired as OSU's associate head coach and offensive coordinator in 2001. In 2005, he was promoted to head coach to replace Les Miles and has been leading the Pokes ever since.