After a truly embarrassing 1-2 start to the season, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have fired long-time head coach Mike Gundy. This isn’t shocking news after an embarrassing loss. The Cowboys have been good in the past, especially a couple of years ago. However, the Cowboys suddenly fell to 3-9 after a 3-0 start in 2024, and things look even worse in 2025.
Mike Gundy Fired As Oklahoma State Coach
Gundy Had a Very Embarrassing Season In 2024 and in 2025
In 2024, it can be argued that the Cowboys were the most disappointing team of the season. The Cowboys started 3-0 and were ranked as the No. 14 team heading into the game against the Utah Utes. The Cowboys then lost to No. 12 Utah 22-19 in not very surprising fashion. Then, a sudden collapse occurred which included all of the losses:
L No. 23 KSU 42-20
L WVU 38-14
L No. 13 38-35
L Baylor 38-28
L ASU 42-21
L TCU 38-13
L TTU 56-48
L No. 25 Colorado 52-0
The shocking season definitely left a bad taste of in the mouth of the fans. It began with a simple loss to a ranked team, then a full out collapse with close losses and blowouts. 2024 was quite stunning, as the Cowboys were almost certainly seen as a potential team to win the Big 12, especially with the exit of giants the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns. Gundy just couldn’t afford to start 2025 and a bad way, and boy he did….
OSU May Be the Worst Team in the Big 12
Unfortunately for Gundy, the Cowboys didn’t begin the season well at all. The Cowboys hoped that the previous season was just a fluke. However, OSU preceded to beat UT Martin just 27-7. They followed this with an stunning 69-3 loss at the Oregon Ducks. This loss alone led to many people calling for Gundy’s job. However, after a bye week, the Cowboys lost to the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes, in a game that Tulsa most dominated. The only previous victory Tulsa had was against Abilene Christian University. Tulsa was 3-9 last season… Just a few days later, it isn’t very surprising at all that Gundy will no longer coach the Cowboys.
Simply put, losing by 66 to Oregon is hard for an FCS team to do. Not to mention, Tulsa has been consistently one of the worst teams in the FBS. Losing to Tulsa is a new low for the OSU, thus leading to the end. At the moment, it feels like the Cowboys will struggle to win one more game this season. A bowl game feels nearly impossible.
Who’s Next?
There remains to be a couple of coaches that could be on their way:
Billy Napier
Really, it is hard to understand why Billy Napier is still the coach of Florida. Perhaps it is because DJ Lagway, who probably deserves a lot of blame. However, even then, Florida has begun the season 1-3, with three straight losses. Florida has mostly been competitive, but the question remains how long will Florida keep up with being mediocre. Next on the schedule? No. 10 Texas and No. 9 Texas A&M. Ouch.
Luke Fickell
The best decision in the last few seasons was the Nebraska Cornhuskers not hiring Luke Fickell. The worst was the Wisconsin Badgers doing the opposite. In 2024, Wisconsin missed a bowl game for the first time since 2001. Fickell now looks like he will lead Wisconsin right into a potential 3-9 or worse season. For Wisconsin, this just isn’t feasible to be so mediocre. Fickell has turned a legendary program to trash. That is one of the nicest ways to put it.
This season has already seen several coaches fired. Now, Gundy joins their ranks disappointedly. Overall though, it certainly feels like there will be a lot more guys being fired in 2025. Especially certain schools. No one lucks mediocrity, or what some might say is just stinking.
Main Image: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
