Mike Gundy receives dire warning from ESPN on Oklahoma State Cowboys future originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Mike Gundy era at Oklahoma State University is holding on for dear life during the 2025 college football season. ESPN’s Reece Davis spoke about Gundy’s likely imminent firing as the Cowboys’ head coach tenderly, as one would about a passing.
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Davis referred to Gundy as a giant for the program who deserves to depart from Stillwater with grace.
“I hope they handle it with grace, and I hope Mike allows them to, if in fact a change is made as it seems. He is Oklahoma State football. They’ve had better players. They’ve had Barry Sanders, Terry Miller and Hartley Dikes, a number of other great players. But in terms of contributions as a player, near-unmatched success in his tenure as a head coach, a fraction and some bad luck from playing for a national championship. He’s defined Oklahoma State football,” Davis said on “College GameDay Podcast.”
Oklahoma State is an uneven 1-1 record through its first two games. While they handled business in a non-spread-covering fashion against the UT Martin Skyhawks in Week 1, the Cowboys lost in a stunning 69-3 blowout to the Oregon Ducks in Week 2.
Gundy’s squad had a bye last week and now takes on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Boone Pickens Stadium in a make-or-break game for his tenure. Oklahoma State is a convincing favorite, but the in-state dynamic could make this one more interesting.
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Gundy restructured his contract to contribute to NIL spending. If that doesn’t equate to talent that can win games on the field, or talent that can’t be inspired by the current brain trust, there’s not much left for the 58-year-old but a parting of ways.
It’s been two decades. Things aren’t moving in the right direction.
That cord is being cut soon. If Davis had it his way, there wouldn’t be many controversial headlines stemming from it. Certainly, Davis’s bosses at ESPN aren’t hoping for that.
