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Oklahoma State Cowboys coach Mike Gundy led his team to a woeful 3-9 record last season. The Cowboys endured their worst season in Gundy's tenure since a 3-8 finish in 2000 and suffered their worst defeat as well when they finished the season with a 52-0 blowout loss to the Colorado Buffaloes.
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Questions Mike Gundy will answer at the Big 12 media days
Below are five of the most pressing questions that Mike Gundy will have to answer at the Big 12 media days in Frisco, Texas, on Wednesday.
#5. Roster turnover
The Cowboys have had a significant roster turnover with 40 players brought in from the transfer portal, while 16 freshmen will also join the team next season. Oklahoma State's offensive line last season was one of the oldest and leakiest in college football and all of them have departed the team.
Mike Gundy added Virginia Tech Hokies star Bob Schick and Appalachian State offensive lineman Markell Samuel to his offensive line under the leadership of new OL coaches Cooper Bassett and Andrew Mitchell for a new look team. One of the questions that will be asked at the Big 12 media days will revolve around team cohesion after such a huge turnover.
#4. New coordinators
After the end of last season, Mike Gundy fired offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn and defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo. Gundy overhauled most of his staff and replaced Dunn and Nardo with Doug Meacham from the TCU Horned Frogs and Todd Graham from the New Orleans Saints to improve his team's fortunes.
One of the questions that the Cowboys coach will have to answer is whether the high staff and roster turnover combined will affect Oklahoma State's fortunes next season.
#3. His relationship with the players
With the Cowboys on a six-game losing streak last season, Mike Gundy hit back at fans who criticized the team's form during a news conference after a 42-21 loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils.
"[I]n most cases, the people that are negative and voicing their opinion are the same ones that can't pay their own bills," Gundy said. "They're not taking care of themselves. They're not taking care of their own family. They're not taking care of their own job. But they have an obligation to speak out and complain about others because it makes them feel better."
Despite his apology to the fans after the comments, the question about Gundy's relationship with them is likely to crop up during the 2025 media days.
#2. His future
After 20 years at the helm of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, including 18 bowl seasons and with a 169-88 career record, a poor 2024 season put Mike Gundy on one of the hottest seats in college football.
At the end of the season, Gundy was in a standoff with the OSU board and was forced to take a $1 million pay cut, including mentorship duties for his eventual successor, showing the shaky nature of his future at the head of the program.
#1. How the Cowboys will bounce back
Last season, the Oklahoma State Cowboys did not win a single conference game, the first time since 1991. The pressure on Gundy will be immense next season and one of the questions he will have to answer is how his team will bounce back from their woeful form last year.
It was a big fall off for Mike Gundy's team since the season before last, the Cowboys went 10-4 and reached the Big 12 championship game, which they lost to the Texas Longhorns.
