Just curious how everyone is feeling about Gundy and the direction of the football program. I think after last season’s success and all of Gundy’s “we have a logo too” campaign, fans were pretty excited about the direction of OSU football. However, the three seasons prior to last season we went 8-3, 8-5, and 7-6. And at that time there seemed to be some real questions about the program and if we had plateaued or stagnated. Last season, with an unusually veteran, experienced defense, we made a great run that quieted some of the concerns. Yet, here we are with an underwhelming season where we will end up with 8 or 9 wins, another bedlam loss against a very bad OU team and not in contention for a conference championship. We obviously lack depth, have had a bad o line for years now and recruiting does not seem to be putting us in position to take another step forward. Fortunately for Gundy he won’t have to play OU anymore in a couple years because there weren’t going to be championships until he could figure out how to beat them…1 championship in 18 years though we could have had several if he could win that game.
So, Gundy told us that we all need to relax and that the future of OSU football is better than ever. What do you all think? Are we actually in great shape, prepped to take another step forward and should not be concerned? Or did last season just hide some bigger issues in the program that are there and holding us back enough to cause real questions about the direction we are heading?
Regardless of what Gundy does we will never truly reach that next level until we start taking NIL seriously. In its current form it’s stupid, but it is what it is. Keep up or get left behind.
We’ll never be able to compete on a national level until we start using NIL to our advantage, BUT we should be able to compete for a Big 12 title if Gundy actually has the guts to do something about the OL and OC positions. I think we have enough young talent (if they don’t leave that is/if he jumps into the portal) that we should be okay for the short term future. Gundy will never do it himself but we HAVE to start taking recruiting more seriously, maybe from a designated staff position like he was talking about in his presser this week. We don’t have to land 3 5-stars and 8 4-stars every cycle but just a couple would greatly improve our odds. As I see it we have the ‘23, ‘24, and ‘25 seasons to use as a get right timeline. The expanded playoffs start in ‘26 and if we’re not part of that as a conference champ or at-large then I will be highly disappointed. Realistically we should be in the running for that every year, and if we struggle to make it or even be in contention, then I think it would be time to reevaluate things, but that’s all the way out to ~2028.
Chad and Mike need to sit down at the end of the season and have a long conversation about the succession plan, regardless of which bowl we go to or whether or not we win it. I love the 2021 season, but I hate it as well. I have been done with Gundy since 2017, but 21 sucked me back in, and I’m mad at myself for it. To be so achingly close to a 2nd Big 12 title and a shot at the CFP only to come up inches short….it was devastating. I believed it would fuel this team and staff to reach that next level, but I was sadly mistaken. Shame on me. Gundy’s performance vs KU, KSU, and especially Bedlam is sickening. Made worse by press conferences where we hear the same one-liners and jokes. His schtick gets worse with each loss. Every team has injuries. Every team has depth issues. Every team has budget constraints. Every team has coaching turnover. Every game requires planning and adjusting. Every single team is fighting the exact same issues. He’s being made too much for some of this stuff to continue to be issues year after year. Even with OU and Texas leaving, I can’t see Oklahoma State going any further under Mike Gundy. I just wish there were more people who could see this who have the financial clout to do something about it.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Gundy is the best coach in program history and a top ten coach in CFB. To fire him is madness. Weiberg should absolutely sit down with him and have a long discussion about the direction of the program and what happened this year, so that they can better work together on improving it, but Gundy is our coach untill he decides he doesn’t want the job anymore.
At what point do you tell Mike that his run is done if you’re Chad? Do you wait for three more years of 7-5 or 8-4? Or 6-6? One of the few differences between you and I is our level of patience with Gundy. That’s probably because I have 20 fewer years on this earth to see us win championships than you do.
It’s in my post above, but if I were Chad I’d give until at least the playoff expansion. That would be 2 years without OU and Texas, if we aren’t on a good trajectory/haven’t even competed for a conference title then I would think it would be time to reevaluate the programs direction. But this all hinges on if their goal is to be a national brand. If they’re fine with 9-3 or 8-4 seasons and occasionally getting to the B12 title game, then I’d say stay with the status quo.
Bill Snyder pulled off the greatest coaching job in the history of mankind. Stadium is named after the man. And he was quietly encouraged behind closed doors to retire. It’s not unheard of. I’m not saying to fire Gundy this morning, but how many more times do we want to have that feeling of “this season could’ve been more”?
