Honestly, it still feels weird to see an Oklahoma State sideline without that mullet. For twenty years, Mike Gundy wasn't just the coach; he was the brand. He was the "I'm a man, I'm 40" guy. He was the guy who took a program that used to be a Big 12 doormat and turned it into a consistent ten-win machine.
But then, 2025 happened.
It wasn't just a bad season. It was a total collapse. After starting 1-2, including a loss to Tulsa that felt like a punch to the gut for the Stillwater faithful, the university finally pulled the plug. On September 23, 2025, the Mike Gundy Oklahoma State era officially ended. It was a messy, $15 million breakup that left a lot of people wondering: how did one of the most stable relationships in college football fall apart so fast?
The House That Gundy (and Boone) Built
You can't talk about Gundy without talking about T. Boone Pickens. The billionaire's money built the facilities, but Gundy provided the wins. Before Gundy took over in 2005, the Cowboys were basically an afterthought. They had 13 first-round NFL picks in the first 100 years of the program. Under Gundy? They produced eight in just two decades.
We're talking about guys like Dez Bryant, Justin Blackmon, and Brandon Weeden. Gundy had this uncanny ability to find three-star recruits and turn them into NFL starters.
The 2011 High-Water Mark
If you were around in 2011, you know. That team was special. They won the Big 12 title, crushed Andrew Luck’s Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, and were a hair’s breadth away from playing for a national title.
- 170 Wins: The most in school history by a mile.
- 8 Double-Digit Win Seasons: More than any other coach combined at OSU.
- 18 Straight Bowl Games: A streak that became the bedrock of the program's identity.
For a long time, Gundy was the "transfer whisperer" and the "quarterback guru." He adapted to the spread offense before it was cool. He survived Bedlam losses that would have fired any other coach because he won everywhere else. But the game changed, and eventually, the game caught up.
Why the Mullet Magic Ran Out
So, what actually went wrong?
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People like to point to the 2024 season as the beginning of the end. Going 0-9 in the Big 12 is a death sentence, even for a legend. Gundy tried to fix it. He took a $1 million pay cut, restructured his contract, and even agreed to a "succession plan" where he’d help find the next guy.
But the 2025 roster was a mess. They had 65 new players. 41 of them were transfers. In the era of NIL and the transfer portal, the "Cowboy Culture" that Gundy spent two decades building seemed to evaporate overnight. The connection wasn't there. When they lost 69-3 to Oregon and then folded against Tulsa, the administration decided they couldn't wait for the "smooth off-ramp" anymore.
The $15 Million Buyout
His contract was a beast. Because of the way it was structured, the university had to shell out a flat $15 million just to get him to walk away. It was a steep price, but the fan base was done. The energy in Boone Pickens Stadium had shifted from "In Gundy We Trust" to "When is the press conference?"
Life After Gundy: The Eric Morris Era
Oklahoma State didn't stay vacant for long. They brought in Eric Morris to lead the 2026 season. It’s a complete 180. Morris is younger, brings a different energy, and is tasked with cleaning up a 1-11 mess from last year.
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As for Gundy? He’s not exactly hiding. Just this month, he popped up on ESPN’s "Coaches Film Room" for the National Championship between Miami and Indiana. He’s still got the dry humor. He still knows more about a zone-read than almost anyone on the planet. But seeing him talk about the game as an analyst rather than a coach is a stark reminder of how fast the college football landscape moves.
What This Means for You (The Fan)
If you're an OSU fan or just a college football junkie, there are a few real-world takeaways from the Mike Gundy saga.
- Don't ignore the "succession" red flags. When a coach starts talking about "identifying a successor" in their contract, the end is usually closer than you think.
- NIL is the Great Equalizer (or Destroyer). Gundy’s old-school "culture first" approach struggled to keep up with the mercenary nature of the modern portal. Watch how your own team handles the 2026 transfer window—it’s the new scoreboard.
- Legacy remains, even if the ending is ugly. 170 wins don't disappear because of one 1-11 season. Gundy is a Hall of Famer, period.
If you’re looking to follow the "new" Cowboys, keep an eye on how Eric Morris handles the 2026 recruiting class. The "Gundy Way" was about development over years; the "Morris Way" will have to be about winning right now. The mullet might be gone, but the pressure in Stillwater has never been higher.
Check the current 2026 Big 12 standings to see if Morris's offensive rebuild is actually sticking, or if the Cowboys are in for a long rebuild.