The Mullet apparently isn’t moving anytime soon.
After several years of his name coming up in the coaching carousel — and a few tense flirtations with programs like Tennessee — Mike Gundy is making a media push to reaffirm his love for the old alma mater just before his 15th season at Oklahoma State.
“No, I wouldn’t have thought I would still be here, but I do now,” Gundy told ESPN. “This is who I am. This is what I am. This is where I belong. This is me. There’s no reason for me to go anywhere else.”
The man with the hair no other head coach can come close to isn’t wrong, as he is a former star quarterback at the school and has led the Cowboys to relatively unprecedented success. OSU has won a Big 12 title during his tenure and, outside of rival Oklahoma, has been one of the more consistent programs atop the conference — last year’s 7-6 campaign more aberration than the norm it once was before Gundy was elevated to the big chair.
The 52-year-old is now the third-longest tenured head coach in FBS right now and is certainly well compensated at over $5 million per year. Per USA Today, his salary ranks just outside the top 10 nationally.
Gundy has other reasons to stick around Stillwater too, as the opportunity to potentially coach one of his sons is fast approaching. He told ESPN that he also once considered a jump to the NFL ranks with somebody like the Dallas Cowboys but it appears even that too is off the table to stick with the orange and black.
We’ll have to file all this away the next time Gundy’s name comes up in connection with a big opening at one of the sport’s bluebloods but at least as we approach the dawn of a new season, the Oklahoma State lifer is going nowhere soon.
