It’s actually hard to picture Stillwater without the mullet. For two decades, Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy wasn't just a coach; he was the program's absolute pulse, its identity, and—for better or worse—its primary spokesperson.
Then it all ended on a Tuesday in September 2025.
To understand why the most successful era in Cowboys history hit a brick wall, you have to look past the 170 wins. You have to look at how a guy who survived "I'm a man! I'm 40!" and 18 straight winning seasons finally ran out of road. Most people think Gundy was just a victim of a bad 2024 season. Honestly, it was a lot more complicated than that.
The Fall of the Cowboy Kingdom
By the time 2025 rolled around, the wheels weren't just wobbly—they were flying off the axle. The 2024 season was a disaster. Going 0–9 in the Big 12 is a tough pill to swallow for a fan base that grew up on double-digit win seasons. When the 2025 campaign started with a 66-point blowout loss to Oregon and a home loss to Tulsa, the writing wasn't just on the wall; it was neon.
Oklahoma State fired Gundy on September 23, 2025.
🔗 Read more: College Football Top 10: What Most People Get Wrong About the 2026 Rankings
It felt weird. He had been there as a player in the late 80s, handing off to Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas. He’d been an assistant. He’d been the head man since 2005. Basically, he was the only constant in a world of conference realignment and transfer portal chaos.
The Numbers That Built the Legend
You can't talk about Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy without getting into the sheer volume of his success. Before he arrived, OSU was a "basketball school" that occasionally played some decent football. Gundy flipped that script entirely.
- Total Record: 170–90. That is 108 more wins than any other coach in school history.
- Bowl Dominance: He finished with a 12–6 bowl record. That puts him in the same breath as guys like Urban Meyer and Dabo Swinney for postseason wins.
- The Peak: 2011. That 12–1 season, capped with a Fiesta Bowl win over Stanford, is still the gold standard in Stillwater.
- NFL Factory: 42 players drafted during his tenure, including six first-rounders.
He had this weird ability to take three-star recruits from small Texas towns and turn them into Biletnikoff winners or first-round tackles. Names like Justin Blackmon, Dez Bryant, and James Washington weren't just stars; they were products of a system that valued "the Cowboy way" over flashy recruiting rankings.
Why the Bedlam Rivalry Defined Him
If there’s one thing that drove the local fans crazy, it was the record against Oklahoma. Gundy went 4–15 in Bedlam. It’s the ultimate "yeah, but" of his career. Despite building the most stable program in the Big 12, he could never consistently clear the hurdle of the big brothers in Norman.
💡 You might also like: Cleveland Guardians vs Atlanta Braves Matches: Why This Interleague Rivalry Hits Different
Funny enough, he did get the last laugh. Winning the final Bedlam 27–24 in 2023 before the Sooners bolted for the SEC is a moment that’ll be talked about in Stillwater bars for fifty years.
The Contract, the Buyout, and the Business
College football is a business, and Gundy was a master at the contract game. For years, he had a "perpetual" rolling five-year deal. Every time another school looked his way, he got a raise. But by late 2024, the leverage had shifted.
The school forced a restructure. He took a $1 million pay cut and accepted a flat $15 million buyout. This was the university basically saying, "We love you, but we need an exit strategy." When he started the 2025 season 1–2, the university pulled that $15 million trigger.
Life After the Mullet
So, where is Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy now? He didn't stay away from the game for long. In early 2026, he joined ESPN’s "Coaches Film Room" for the College Football Playoff. Seeing him break down film alongside guys like Gene Chizik and Dave Clawson is a reminder of just how much football knowledge is stored under that visor.
📖 Related: Cincinnati vs Oklahoma State Basketball: What Most People Get Wrong About This Big 12 Grind
He’s currently a "free agent" in the coaching world, though most insiders think he’s enjoying the break. For a guy who spent 35+ years of his life in the orange and black, a Saturday without a headset might actually be a relief.
What's Next for Oklahoma State?
If you're looking for lessons from the Gundy era, here's the reality:
- Stability is a double-edged sword. It builds a floor, but sometimes it creates a ceiling that’s hard to break through without radical change.
- Adapt or die. The transition to the new Big 12 and the NIL era seemed to frustrate Gundy toward the end.
- Culture matters. Even in his worst seasons, his players rarely quit on him. That’s a testament to the "Cowboy Culture" he preached for 21 years.
If you're following the coaching search or keeping tabs on Gundy's next move, keep an eye on the transfer portal trends. The way OSU moves forward without its longest-serving architect will tell us if the program was built on a foundation or just on one man's personality.
Check the updated coaching carousel trackers if you want to see which schools are already reaching out to him for 2027—because a coach with 170 wins doesn't stay on the sideline forever if he doesn't want to.