Time flies for veteran Oklahoma State coach as Big 12 title remains in sights

No team may have improved more throughout the 2023 season than Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys struggled against Arizona State and FCS Central Arkansas before they were demolished at home by South Alabama. Back-to-back losses to the Jaguars of the Sun Belt and to Iowa State in the Big 12 opener sent Mike Gundy searching for answers. What transpired in that bye week may have been the best week of brainstorming in Gundy’s long, successful career. His adjustments led to a change in philosophy offensively, the emergence of Ollie Gordon II as the nation’s top running back (1,732 yards) and wins in seven of the last eight games, including victories against three top 25 opponents and rival Oklahoma in their final Bedlam rivalry game (for now). The Pokes advanced to the Big 12 Championship Game for the second time in three years and then beat Texas A&M in a bowl game to give the Cowboys a 10-win season for the eighth time in the last 14 years.

Might the encore be better in 2024? Oklahoma State returns 21 of 22 starters on offense and defense and 52 total letter winners, including Gordon, the reigning Doak Walker Award winner. The Cowboys rank third nationally in returning production, according to ESPN, and the offensive line might be the oldest and most experienced unit in college football history — yes, the entire history of the sport. Six redshirt super seniors and one redshirt senior highlight the group. Their average age when the season starts Aug. 31 against South Dakota State: 23.6 years old.

“This is the most returning experience that we’ve had,” Gundy told 247Sports this summer. “These guys really like each other. The portal for us settled down. A few years ago we had a big run, and it was almost like a domino effect. One guy said he’s going in and so, well, if you’re going to go, I’m gonna go. Well, if you guys are going, I’m gonna go.”

Oklahoma State’s schedule is certainly manageable in the wide-open Big 12, even with three of the conference’s four newcomers on the schedule providing coaches extra headaches in their preparations. Arguably the Cowboys’ two toughest opponents come to Stillwater — Texas Tech and Big 12 newcomer Utah, with seventh-year senior quarterback Cam Rising — and an early-season trip to Kansas State (Sept. 28) looms large on the docket. The Cowboys also host the SEC’s Arkansas in Week 2.

247Sports chatted with Gundy in an exclusive one-on-one interview about the upcoming season, the professionalization of college football and why he is re-energized heading into his 20th season leading the Cowboys.

Brandon Marcello: Does it feel like you’re going into your 20th year as the head coach?

Mike Gundy: No, not really. You know, time flies. Fortunately, I’ve been healthy and I feel good. I’m very energetic. All the new stuff that’s going on now with the portal and NIL and revenue sharing has energized me. It’s new. It puts me in a situation where we have to really look into what we’re doing. It’s a different process for me now, being even more of a CEO than a coach. We’re in the process of hiring a business and finance office, which would be like a front office in the NFL. With revenue sharing going in, we’re going to need the business aspect of our staff to handle the players and how the money is shared amongst the group.

Marcello: College programs may soon be allowed to have unlimited on-field coaches, and many programs are building front-office staffs akin to the NFL because of NIL and the expected introduction of revenue-sharing with players. How prepared is Oklahoma State for this new age?

Gundy: We’re prepared, we’re thinking about it. I think on June 24 or 25 they’re having that vote where they’re going to eliminate staff size limitations for who’s coaching. So it’ll be like the NFL, you can have as many coaches as you want out there, but the additions that will factor in here is the business department. We’re gonna have to have a front office now, because we’re really not much different than the NFL.

Marcello: You’ve been there so long that I saw where you’ve put your house up for sale ($8 million). It certainly seems like you’re entering a new era in your personal life, too.

Gundy: We have a big house, it was originally built for young people. When I moved in there, my boys were little. But now they’re all gone and it’s just a lot of house. I’d love to be able to sell it to a family with young kids. And there’s a lot of land too. There’s 110 acres, so people that maybe want to have horses or animals, it would be more suited for them, than it would be for me.