Mike Gundy has been the face of Oklahoma State football for the last 20 years. A mullet-toting icon and former Cowboy QB, he’s long been the program’s constant in an ever-shifting Big 12 landscape. But after a brutal 3-9 campaign in 2024—Oklahoma State’s worst since Gundy took over—the air in Stillwater feels thick with uncertainty. For the first time in a long time, his status feels shaky. The Cowboys failed to win a single Big 12 matchup. That’s a crack in the foundation.
And the pressure cooker isn’t just internal. It’s turning up the heat from 90 miles away in Norman. Where Brent Venables’ Oklahoma Sooners—fresh off a rocky 6-7 transition to the SEC—are expected to bounce back fast. That contrast matters, especially in the state’s football ecosystem. “I think Oklahoma State… just because we’re not used to them being down and certainly not used to them being down for an extended period,” said The Athletic’s Sam Khan on 365 Sports. “Mike Gundy, remember, we were having this standoff in December that everybody was kind of watching with bated breath about his contract… I don’t know that he will be able to go out on his own terms if they really struggle this year.”
That looming comparison with OU only adds fuel. “If the rival program over there… if they go win nine to ten games in their second year in the SEC—you guys know how it works down here with Texas A&M. When one program does really well and the other’s not, it ramps up the pressure a little bit,” Khan continued. He added that Oklahoma State “worked so hard to get to a certain level… and if they’re not good this year, if they don’t make a bowl this year, you kind of feel that slipping away.”
BTS, the university is already hedging its bets. Mike Gundy’s contract—once as ironclad as Boone Pickens Stadium—is showing signs of flexibility. Following last year’s collapse, Oklahoma State restructured Gundy’s deal, cutting his annual salary by $1 million. The numbers now matter: his contract runs through 2028, with a $15 million buyout if fired over the next three seasons and $10 million if let go in the final year. That’s a steep price tag, but not an unthinkable one if the downward spiral continues.
As Athlon Sports bluntly summarized in its preview, “After a prolific playing career and leading the program to 169 victories as a head coach, Gundy is Oklahoma State football. But after last year’s 3-9 record and reworked contract that included a pay cut, it’s clear that Gundy is under some pressure.”
To try and reboot the machine, Mike Gundy made sweeping changes to his coaching staff. Both coordinators were shown the door, with Doug Meacham tapped to guide the offense and Todd Grantham tasked with shoring up a defense that often looked lost in 2024. But changing the faces on the headset only works if the players respond. And for years, OSU thrived by doing more with less, turning under-recruited talent into All-Big 12 studs.
That margin for error is shrinking in today’s NIL-fueled arms race. As Khan put it, “If you’re not going to be a major player in NIL or Revshare… and they’ve never been a program that’s really recruited top-flight talent consistently… it makes it that much harder for the next guy—if there is a next guy.” Mike Gundy may have once been the constant. But in 2025, everything hinges on results. A breakout player is desperately needed.
Mike Gundy needs a big ‘Gun’ and how
If Oklahoma State is going to dig itself out of the crater that was its 3–9 collapse in 2024, one thing is certain. They need a breakout star, and fast. This isn’t about depth or culture or returning production. It’s about finding the guy—someone to grab the spotlight and drag the Cowboys back into the Big 12 conversation.
This isn’t uncharted territory for Mike Gundy’s program. In fact, OSU’s recent success has often been driven by one offensive dynamo stepping up. The last time it clicked? Ollie Gordon’s electric 2023 season, when he steamrolled defenses on his way to winning Big 12 OPOY and the Doak Walker Award. That year, Gordon became the identity of the team and carried them to 10 wins. That’s the kind of breakout moment OSU desperately needs again.
While it’s incredibly unlikely that OSU will have a player emerge as one of the absolute best in the country, the team must have a name that commands attention. Whether it’s a fresh-faced transfer lighting it up or a young gun like Zane Flores flashing his potential, somebody in orange and black has to put their stamp on this team.
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