5 Head Coaching Candidates To Replace Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State

Gundy won ten games or more six times in eight years from 2019 to 2017, didn’t have a losing season for 18 straight years, and was on a 34-12 run with two double-digit win campaigns in just over three seasons, and then …

Last year, Utah 22, Oklahoma State 19. That was the start, and it didn't stop.

Injuries hit, the quarterback situation was never right, and the program didn’t have a lick of luck in a nine-game losing streak that became a 1-11 run going into this year.

So on the one hand, dealing with Mike Gundy … uhhhhhhh. Moving on.

Mike Gundy as a head football coach? The guy won at a place that’s not easy to succeed at, and he’s further proof that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past; you can never, ever, ever, ever go on a losing streak as a college football head coach.

Okay, so he ended on a long losing streak, and you can’t get rolled by Oregon and then lose at home to Tulsa like that.

It was time. The man is just 58, and he’ll probably be a brilliant offensive coordinator somewhere soon.

In the meantime, what’s next for Oklahoma State?

This isn’t your older brother’s Big 12 anymore. There are no anchor tenants in the conference mall like Oklahoma or Texas to deal with. Oklahoma State can be the star of the Big 12, but it has to get the right guy.

5 Coaching Candidates to Replace Mike Gundy

This is total speculation, but if I were Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg, I’d at least give a holler to all five of these guys just to see if there’s a possible fit.

5. Josh Henson, Purdue Offensive Coordinator

The former Oklahoma State offensive lineman has never been a head coach, but he worked as a top offensive coordinator at Missouri, USC, and now he’s at Purdue under Barry Odom. He’s an outlier, but it's an instant fit for the community, and he’s ready to run his own program somewhere.

On to the more likely choices …

4. Jeff Traylor, UTSA Head Coach

He’s probably a bit older than Oklahoma State would like (57), and the momentum has slowed down after UTSA moved to the American Conference, but he's ready for that step-up job. His offenses are great, his teams are fun, and he’s been a tremendous success over his five seasons with the Roadrunners.

3. Eric Morris, North Texas Head Coach

North Texas is just renting Morris.

The former Texas Tech offensive coordinator took over the head coaching gig at Incarnate Word, was great as the Washington State offensive coordinator, and now, after two okay years, has built an offensive powerhouse that should be in the mix for the Group of Five's CFP spot.

2. Jon Sumrall, Tulane Head Coach

There’s one massive problem with Sumrall - Oklahoma State might not be a big enough gig.

He went 23-4 at Troy, won nine games in his first year at Tulane, and he has a team that should be in the mix for the American Conference title.

At 43, he’s at just the right age, with the right amount of experience, to blossom into a college football head coaching superstar …

At Florida, or Wisconsin, or Kentucky. So ..

1. GJ Kinne, Texas State Head Coach

In the For What It’s Worth category, not counting my belief that Lane Kiffin is the next Nick Saban once he gets the Alabama job, or a similar-sized gig, the last time I went this hard on a head coaching prospect for this long was Billy Napier.

Kinne is the head coach you grow with. He’ll turn 37 this December, has pro experience, his 2022 Incarnate Word team was special, and two straight 8-5 seasons at Texas State, and best of all, has a high-powered style of offense that fits right into the Oklahoma State model.