Originally published at: Oklahoma State Announces New General Manager, Chief of Staff Under Morris
STILLWATER — New coach Eric Morris’ staff is starting to take shape, officially. On Thursday night, Oklahoma State announced Raj Murti and Rolando Surita as the program’s new general manager and chief of staff, respectively. Both men previously held the same role at North Texas. Murti, a 24-year-old entering his eighth season working in college football, oversaw all aspects of the UNT roster, including recruiting and personnel departments. In the past, he spoke a little bit about his day-to-day and other responsibilities that could give insight into how he might attack working for the Cowboys. This will be Murti’s second season working with Morris. Surita, meanwhile, enters his ninth consecutive season under the Cowboys’ new head coach.
This is what I was hoping for months ago: bring Morris and his entire system, staff and every player that will follow.
Did HCMG even have a “General Manager” or “Chief of Staff”? Is that how far behind the times he was? Is that normal for schools to have?
Kenyatta Wright was the “general manager”? But what does the chief of staff actually do?
“Murti, a 24-year-old entering his eighth season working in college football…” — So Murti was working for a college football program when he was 16??? 
Why do I think that math is off?
That’s a university problem, not a Gundy problem.
I disagree. So glad that guy is gone.
I believe one of the articles I read about him said he graduated high school early with a lot of college credits. It only took him like 2 years to get his degree and that is why he’s so far ahead.
Not true. You think Gundy wanted a GM or front office? No. You think if one was available, that he wouldve embraced and utilized it? No. If Gundy did, he wouldve gotten it. The same with Morris wants it, so he got it. The constant insinuation that Gundy was somehow the victim of the circumstances in which he created is nonsense
Kenyatta Wright was not what this GM will be. Wright was an alum who was a football guy, that was more like an “ambassador” on steroids. OU had the same thing initially with Curtis Lofton. Both places thought a guy like that could handle the position. They both realized this entails something/someone bigger than what a lover of the program can handle.
Irrelevant, really. Professional teams hire GMs. They don’t do it with the consent or input of the head coach. If the head coach fought against it, they should reprimand or fire him. This is on the AD and is not just bigger than the HC, it’s bigger than football, as there should be an office handling these funds for all sports. It’s not the head coach’s job to organize the school’s funding structure. A GM should be someone he is collaborating with, not someone who answers to the HC.
The original comment that you responded to was referencing Gundy being behind the times. You said it was a University problem and not a Gundy problem. So my response was absolutely relevant. “Professional teams hire GMs”. This isnt a professional team. There are a ton of differences between the college and pro’s from Unionization, Free Agency, Salary Caps, Billion dollar programs, including strict negotiating rules…but you clearly have no clue on what is/isnt “illegal” in college or Pro, so thats understandable. College Football coaches used to run the university’s. Gundy was one of those guys. If he wanted it, he wouldve gotten it. You are giving an opinion of what some Universitys ran like. Or what most do as of now. That was not the case when Gundy was here. For you to somehow act like thats not true, is you simply being stubborn. I am fully aware of how the GM sits in the hierarchy of a modern college football program. Gundy wasnt running his football program like a modern version. Thats in large part why he is no longer coaching. Oklahoma St University wouldve had a GM under Gundy if he had wanted it.
Yeah, probably. A coach has the pull to push for a lot of things, but that is not his job.
Even the way you phrased shows it was not his job. It’s something he would have had to demand and be given by the person whose actual job it was and who would have had the power to implement it. Were there forward-thinking coaches who lobbied for GM roles when NIL got rolled out? I’m sure there were. That’s a plus for their initiative, but it is not a knock on any other coach that didn’t. It is the AD who should have been on top of that. They are the ones who be setting policies and structures based on the changing landscape because, again, this shouldn’t just be for the football program.
The original comment that you responded to was referencing Gundy being behind the times. You said it was a University problem and not a Gundy problem. So my response was absolutely relevant. “Professional teams hire GMs”. This isnt a professional team. There are a ton of differences between the college and pro’s from Unionization, Free Agency, Salary Caps, Billion dollar programs, including strict negotiating rules…but you clearly have no clue on what is/isnt “illegal” in college or Pro, so thats understandable. College Football coaches used to run the university’s. Gundy was one of those guys. If he wanted it, he wouldve gotten it. You are giving an opinion of what some Universitys ran like. Or what most do as of now. That was not the case when Gundy was here. For you to somehow act like thats not true, is you simply being stubborn. I am fully aware of how the GM sits in the hierarchy of a modern college football program. Gundy wasnt running his football program like a modern version. Thats in large part why he is no longer coaching. Oklahoma St University wouldve had a GM under Gundy if he had wanted it.
I agree with you 100% that its not a knock on any coach that didnt have the foresight to add a GM role. But there are people on this site who blame Gundy for everything and there are also people who blame him for nothing. If Gundy wouldve wanted a GM, he wouldve gotten it. You cannot blame the AD for that move (or lack of that move) any more or less than you can blame Gundy.
I do, though. That is his job. If the fry cook comes up with a faster way to make fries and the manager implements it, good on the fry cook, but efficiency is the manager’s job. The franchise owner’s job. The company’s job. Recruiting is the coach’s job and budgeting donor money is a consideration surrounding that, but it’s not his job.
@heychamp Again, stop with the real world analogies that dont correlate to the situation. I can come up with some that fit my side as well.
All dynamics within coaching circles are different. Brent Venables isnt calling the offense, but hes responsible for it. Joe Castiglione isnt offering recruits or making asst coaching hires. But hes responsible for them. Mike Gundy was running the football program. If he walked in to Weiberg and said “I want a GM”. He wouldve gotten it. To think otherwise is having your head in the sand or not knowing who Mike Gundy was. Mike didnt say that, which is IMO because he didnt think he needed it. Thats not a criticism as most coaches at that time didnt think they needed it. I dont blame the AD either. Any one who is remotely familiar with the structure in Stillwater under Gundy knows how it wouldve gone if Weiberg (or anyone) came to Gundy and said “hey, were gonna hire a GM who is going to make all the decisions outside the lines”. Lead balloon. Fart in Church. The college football world has been a very, very fluid situation. You wanna solely blame the AD who had been on the job for 3 years…and none at all for the HC who had been there for 20yrs, so be it. OU is getting much love for their GM and its structure, but he has been on the job for less than a year. No one was on the cutting edge of this thing. How you can blame one and not the other is you AGAIN looking thru Gundy goggles.
I can understand that, but where he’d get the connection to start that young? 
Do you naively think Chad Weiberg wields that kind of power to fire a guy like Gundy? He needed others to sign off on something like that, boosters/donors, Prez of the Uni. When the 2024 season happened is when Gundy lost a ton of leverage and voila, but still needed that backing to get Mike fired this season.
I agree, Mike is Old School and that’s largely why he’s no longer HCMG. Pretty sure the writing was on the wall for a lot of the power types around the uni and football program.