What went wrong for Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State? Why the Cowboys coach was fired after more than two decades

Jake Mozarsky

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What went wrong for Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State? Why the Cowboys coach was fired after more than two decades image

In December 2021, Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State were just inches away from glory. A go-ahead touchdown in the Big 12 Championship would have sent the No. 5 Cowboys to the College Football Playoff, but with just over one minute remaining, running back Dezmon Jackson was stopped on fourth down just short of the goal line.

Less than four years later, a career that seemed destined for the pinnacle of the sport came to a disappointing end. Gundy was fired by Oklahoma State after a brutal stretch that saw the team finish 3-9 in 2024 and start the 2025 season 1-2, including a 69-3 blowout loss to No. 6 Oregon and a 19-12 defeat to Tulsa, the program’s first loss to the Golden Hurricane since 1998.

Gundy, who played quarterback for Oklahoma State from 1986 to 1989, began his coaching career in Stillwater and, after a brief time away, returned to the Cowboys in 2001, eventually becoming the program's head coach in 2005.

Twenty years later, the Gundy-Oklahoma State era has come to an end. Here’s a look at how it went wrong for the tenured head coach over the past few seasons.

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Why was Mike Gundy fired?

Mike Gundy's long tenure at Oklahoma State has come to a close following the team's struggles over the past few seasons. Since reaching the Big 12 Championship game in 2021, the Cowboys have failed to return to Dallas.

The team's disappointing 3-9 overall record in 2024 -- including a winless 0-9 mark in the Big 12 -- only increased the pressure heading into this season. In 2024, Oklahoma State missed a bowl game for the first time since 2005, Gundy's first year as head coach.

Gundy's squad lost 11 consecutive games against FBS opponents, the longest active streak among all Power 4 programs. Before he was fired, he was the second-longest tenured coach in college football, behind Iowa's Kirk Ferentz.

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What went wrong for Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State?

Ever since going 12-2 in 2021, the Cowboys have been moving in the wrong direction. 2024 was the low point, where the team finished last in the Big 12 with an 0-9 record. Going into 2025, Oklahoma State added over 60 new players; still, the season has started off on a sour note.

Oklahoma State's two early-season losses were the final blow, leading to Gundy's official departure. In his last game at Stillwater, the Cowboys fell to Tulsa 19-12, giving the Golden Hurricane its first road win against Oklahoma State since 1951.

The loss was a microcosm of the team's struggles. The Cowboys opened the game with a field goal, but their offense went stagnant, and Tulsa scored 19 unanswered points to secure the victory. It came after Oklahoma State lost 69-3 to Oregon, the worst loss in program history since 1907.

How much did it cost Oklahoma State to fire Mike Gundy?

At the end of the 2024 season, Gundy and Oklahoma State agreed on a restructured contract that runs through 2028 and pays him $6.75 million in 2025 with a $125,000 raise annually.

With his firing coming on the first year of a restructured deal, Oklahoma State owes Gundy $15 million, which he would have been owed if he was fired in 2026 or 2027 as well. If he was fired in 2028, the final year of his deal, his buyout would have been $10 million.

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How long was Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State?

Gundy has been an Oklahoma State icon dating back to his time as the Cowboys' quarterback from 1986 to 1989. He held the Division I freshman record for most consecutive passes attempted without an interception at the start of a career with 138, until Robert Griffin III broke it at Baylor in 2008.

From 1990 to 1995, Gundy held various coordinator positions at Oklahoma State as part of Pat Jones' staff. He was an assistant coach from 1991 to 1993 and the offensive coordinator from 1994 to 1995.

Gundy left Stillwater before returning in 2001, when he was hired as the Cowboys' offensive coordinator under new coach Les Miles. Miles was at the helm for three seasons, and when he took the LSU job in 2004, Gundy was named the 22nd head coach in program history.

Gundy finished with a 170-90 record at Oklahoma State. He was a three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year, won the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year and Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year awards in 2011, and was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.

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What could be next for Mike Gundy?

After his breakup with the Cowboys, Gundy's future is unclear. On Monday when speaking with reporters, the coach said he intends to stay at Oklahoma State through the 2025 season.

"I'm under contract, here, for I think 3½ years," Gundy said Monday. "When I was hired here to take this job, ever since that day, I've put my heart and soul into this and I will continue to do that until at some point, if I say I don't want to do it or if somebody else says we don't want you to do it."

Gundy could be a candidate for head coaching jobs at respective college programs.

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Jake Mozarsky

Jake Mozarsky joined The Sporting News as an Editorial Intern in August 2025 after earning both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University. He has previously written for Marquee Sports Network, Chicago This Week, Inside NU and The Daily Northwestern.