Eli LedermanCloseEli LedermanESPN Staff WriterEli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.Pete ThamelSep 23, 2025, 12:59 PM ET
Sources: Okla. St. fires longtime coach Gundy (0:40)Sources: Okla. St. fires longtime coach Gundy (0:40)
Mike Gundy, the second-longest-tenured FBS head coach, has been fired by Oklahoma State, effective immediately, it was announced Tuesday.
Gundy, 58, was in his 21st season leading the Cowboys this fall. His exit comes four days after Oklahoma State fell to 1-2 in a 19-12 loss to Tulsa last Friday and less than 24 hours after Gundy publicly stated his “100 percent” intention to remain with the program beyond the 2025 season in a Monday news conference.
“I’m under contract, here, for I think 3½ years,” Gundy said Monday. “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 if somebody else says we don’t want you to do it.”
He compiled a record of 170-90 from 2005 to 2025, overseeing a rapid transformation of the Oklahoma State football program across two-plus decades in charge. He led the Cowboys to eight 10-win seasons, including a 2011 Big 12 title campaign that saw Oklahoma State finish No. 3 in the AP Top 25 and a Fiesta Bowl win over Stanford.
Gundy and the Cowboys reached the Big 12 championship game as recently as 2023. But his departure follows in the wake of a downward spiral over recent seasons.
The Cowboys have dropped 11 of their past 12 games dating to the start of the 2024 season, with 11 consecutive defeats against FBS opponents — the longest such streak among Power 4 programs nationally.
Once a beacon for high-flying, offensive football, Gundy, who was a star quarterback for Oklahoma State in the late 1980s, leaves with the Cowboys ranked 81st in total offense and 74th in scoring this season.
He agreed to a restructured contract to remain the program’s coach late last year following a 3-9 finish to the 2024 season.
Oklahoma State added more than 60 new players to its roster before the 2025 season. After a Week 1 win over UT-Martin, the Cowboys suffered a 69-3 drubbing on the road at Oregon before falling to in-state Group of 5 rivals Tulsa in Week 4.
Sources: Okla. St. fires longtime coach Gundy (0:40)Sources: Okla. St. fires longtime coach Gundy (0:40)
CloseEli LedermanESPN Staff WriterEli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma State opens Big 12 play against Baylor on Saturday.
Monday marked the 17th anniversary of Gundy’s infamous “I’m a man, I’m 40” rant.
Sources: Okla. St. fires longtime coach Gundy (0:40)