Oklahoma State fires Mike Gundy after loss to Tulsa dropped Cowboys to 1-2

Mike Gundy’s run at Oklahoma State is over after more than 20 years.

The school fired the former Cowboys QB and longtime coach on Tuesday after the program sunk to further depths with a 19-12 loss to Tulsa on Friday night. The loss to Tulsa dropped the Cowboys to 1-2 and came two weeks after Oklahoma State was blitzed 69-3 by No. 6 Oregon in Week 2.

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It was the first victory for Tulsa over Oklahoma State since 1998 and the school's first at OSU since 1951. Oklahoma State was a 13.5-point favorite as neither team played with its Week 1 starting quarterback.

"Cowboy Football reached an unprecedented level of success and national prominence under Coach Gundy's leadership," Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said in a statement. "I believe I speak for OSU fans everywhere when I say that we are grateful for all he did to raise the standard and show us all what is possible for Oklahoma State football."

Gundy's firing came a day after he had his weekly news conference. The Cowboys host Baylor on Saturday. Per ESPN, offensive coordinator Doug Meacham will be the team's interim coach.

“I’m under contract here for I think, about three-and-a-half years …. When I was hired here to take this job, ever since that day I’ve put my heart and soul into this and I will continue to do that until at some point if I say I don’t want to do it or somebody else says we don’t want you to do it," Gundy said Monday.

The man famous for his "I'm a man, I'm 40" news conference rant is the most successful coach in program history and was the second-longest tenured coach in college football behind Iowa's Kirk Ferentz. But things trailed off quickly after the Cowboys went 10-4 and made the Big 12 title game in 2023. OSU was 3-9 in 2024 and was one of the worst teams in college football as it lost every conference game.

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All but three of those defeats were by multiple possessions.

"This is a decision about what's best for our football program, our student-athletes and Oklahoma State University and it reflects our unwavering commitment to championship-level football and competing for national success," Oklahoma State president Jim Hess said. "Coach Gundy dedicated decades of his life to OSU, achieving significant success and positively impacting hundreds of young men who wore the OSU uniform. His contributions to our university, both as a player and coach, deserve our profound respect and will not be forgotten. We are grateful for his service and wish him and his family the very best."

Gundy took over for Les Miles after Miles left for LSU following the 2004 season. After a 4-7 campaign in his first year in charge, Gundy’s teams never posted a losing season until 2024. Over that span, the Cowboys won at least 10 games eight times and came a missed field goal away from a chance to play for the national title.

OSU went 12-1 in 2011 as it scored 49 points per game with QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon leading the offense. The Cowboys were 10-0 and had a chance to take the lead against Iowa State with just over a minute left on a 37-yard field goal by the reliable Quinn Sharp. However, the kick sailed wide and Oklahoma State lost 37-31 in double overtime after Weeden was intercepted on the Cowboys’ first play of the second extra period. The loss dropped Oklahoma State to No. 4 in the BCS rankings and the Cowboys stayed behind both LSU and Alabama over the final two sets of rankings.

That’s the closest the Cowboys have ever come to a national title, and those heights seem far, far away at the moment.

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Gundy returned for the 2025 season on a redone contract and with two new coordinators in Meacham and Todd Grantham after last season ended with a 52-0 loss at Colorado. That loss came weeks after the outspoken coach was forced to apologize for remarks he made about fans who were criticizing his struggling program.

Those comments rankled many — especially as Oklahoma State was facing its worst season since it went 3-8 in 2000.

Before this season, Gundy had what was essentially a lifetime contract at Oklahoma State. Gundy’s previous deal was a rolling five-year contract with a buyout based on a percentage of his future salary owed. His new deal with the school dropped his salary to $6.75 million in 2025 and was officially a four-year deal through the 2028 season with a $15 million buyout.

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Gundy leaves Oklahoma State with a career record of 170-90. No other Oklahoma State coach has more than 62 career wins and only Pappy Waldorf — who coached at the school from 1929 through 1933 — has a better winning percentage than Gundy.

Gundy is also the third coach fired in the first four weeks of the 2025 season as the college football world seems headed for an especially active coaching carousel. UCLA fired DeShaun Foster and Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry after each of their schools went 0-3 over the first three weeks of the season.

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