Mike Gundy is coming back to Oklahoma State after contract dispute
Mike Gundy isn’t going anywhere after all.
The longtime Oklahoma State head coach and university agreed to a restructured contract, according to ESPN.
On Friday, the outlet reported that the two sides were in a standoff after Oklahoma State asked Gundy to take “a significant pay cut,” and there were discussions of potentially firing Gundy if he did not restructure his deal.
The school also reportedly requested that Gundy lower his $25 million buyout.
Now, according to ESPN, Gundy’s $7.75 million-per-year deal — along with his buyout — will be lowered to help use NIL funds to get players.
Coming off his 20th season with the Cowboys, Gundy is the second-longest tenured head coach in college football behind Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz.
Gundy is 169-88 since taking over at Oklahoma State, with just two losing seasons.
The Cowboys are coming off the worst season of his two-decade tenure, though, after going 3-9 in 2024 with nine consecutive losses — including a winless Big 12 record.
It’s not the first time the school and coach have gone head to head over his contract.
In 2020, Gundy agreed to take a $1 million pay cut after an internal review of the football program.
The university launched an investigation into Gundy’s program after running back Chuba Hubbard called attention to a photo of Gundy wearing an OAN (One America News) T-shirt on social media, and former Colorado player Alfred Williams claimed Gundy directed a racial slur at him during a game.
In July, Gundy had a bizarre response after 20-year-old running back Ollie Gordon II was arrested for DUI.
“I’m not justifying what Ollie did, I’m telling you what decision I made. Well, I thought I probably done that a thousand times in my life, which is fine” Gundy said. “So, I got lucky. People get lucky.”