Oklahoma State Fires HC Mike Gundy After Terrible Start In 2025

Well, folks, the day many thought would never come has finally arrived in Stillwater. Mike Gundy, the man, the mullet, the legend, is out as the head coach of Oklahoma State. After a truly cringeworthy 1-2 start to the season, capped by a loss to Tulsa that felt like a punch to the gut, the university decided it had seen enough. The Cowboys, once a proud program, looked more like a herd of confused cattle, and the administration pulled the trigger.

Let’s be honest, this wasn’t just about losing to Tulsa for the first time since before most of this year’s freshmen were born. This has been brewing for a while. The program has been on a downward slide that’s been hard to watch. Remember the glory days? The explosive offenses, the Big 12 title aspirations, that near-miss at a national championship run in 2011? Yeah, those memories are getting pretty dusty. Lately, it’s been more about head-scratching losses and a brand of football that’s just plain boring.

How Did Oklahoma State Get Here?

The decline has been as steep as it has been baffling. The Oklahoma State Cowboys limped to a 3-9 record last year, going completely winless in conference play. It was a disaster. Yet, Gundy, ever the survivor, managed to hang on, even negotiating a new contract this past offseason. It felt less like a vote of confidence and more like the university trying to figure out a polite way to show him the door. They brought in a whole new fleet of coordinators and a truckload of transfer players, hoping a fresh coat of paint would fix the crumbling foundation. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

The final straw was the 19-12 embarrassment against Tulsa, a team OSU was favored to beat by two touchdowns. It was a game that solidified the painful truth: the magic was gone. The fire that fueled Gundy’s famous “I’m a man, I’m 40!” rant had fizzled out, replaced by a sense of tired inevitability.

Gundy’s Legacy and What’s Next for the Cowboys

You can’t talk about Oklahoma State football without talking about Mike Gundy. He is, without a doubt, the most successful coach in the program’s history. With 170 wins, he built the Oklahoma State Cowboys into a nationally relevant team, a consistent contender that produced NFL talent and played in big-time bowl games. For a long time, he was the perfect fit for Stillwater—a proud alum who bled