Report: Mike Gundy, OK State in 'Standoff' After School Asked to Restructure Contract

Oklahoma State and football head coach Mike Gundy are reportedly in a "standoff" over a dispute regarding a restructured contract, to the point where the university has discussed firing him for cause if he doesn't agree to a new deal, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Gundy has "nearly" $25 million remaining on his existing deal, Thamel reported.

Pete Nakos of On3 and John Holcomb of KOTV provided more information:

The 57-year-old Gundy just finished his 20th season as the head coach for his alma mater, where he played as the starting quarterback in the late 1980s. This year's squad went 3-9 overall and 0-9 in Big 12 play.

Austin Curtright of The Oklahoman provided the terms of the current deal and also noted that he's owed $25,359,375 if fired.

"Gundy is currently on a 5-year rollover contract, which extends by a season every Jan. 1. He earned $7.75 million in 2024," Curtright wrote. "Gundy's contract is set to lengthen by another season on Jan. 1, 2025, along with his annual $125,000 raise."

The 2024 season was Gundy's worst leading the Cowboys. It was also just the second time Oklahoma State had a losing overall record under Gundy and the first since 2005, his first year at the helm.

Generally speaking, Gundy has enjoyed much success as Oklahoma State's head coach. Half of his 20 seasons have resulted in Top 25 Associated Press poll finishes. The Cowboys have also gone 169-88 (102-72 in Big 12) with Gundy leading the way.

His peak was in 2011, when Oklahoma State went 12-1, won the Big 12, earned a Fiesta Bowl victory and finished third in the polls. The Cowboys also found great success in 2021, when they went 12-2, went to the Big 12 Championship Game, won the Fiesta Bowl again and finished seventh in the polls.

It's been an uneven ride in Stillwater ever since. Oklahoma State dropped to 7-6 in 2022 and lost the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. But the Cowboys improved in 2023, winning 10 games and finishing 16th in the polls.

The bottom fell out on Oklahoma State in 2024, a year that ended an 18-year bowl game streak. The Cowboys began the year with three wins against Division I-FCS South Dakota State, a 6-6 Arkansas team in double overtime and a 3-9 Tulsa squad. Oklahoma State then went winless in conference play for the first time since 1994.

The defense in particular struggled. Oklahoma State allowed 35.6 points per game, the ninth-most in the 134-team Division I-FBS. The season ended with an ugly 52-0 road loss to Colorado.

It was a stunningly bad season for a team that finished third in the preseason Big 12 poll and was as high as 13th in the AP poll earlier this year.

And now Gundy's two-decade tenure as Oklahoma State's head coach appears to be on the brink.