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Fedora's future: Stillwater or elsewhere?
Published: 10/31/2007 7:54 PM
Last Modified: 10/31/2007 7:54 PM

With Oklahoma State's offense performing at a high level for the second consecutive season, it seems a certainty that offensive coordinator Larry Fedora will be viewed as a head-coaching candidate.

Don't be surprised if SMU makes a run at Fedora, and don't be surprised if he earnestly considers the Mustang job.

Following the 2006 season, he was offered the offensive coordinator position at Alabama and LSU, and he was contacted about Rice's head-coaching job. OSU responded by making Fedora one of the better-paid assistant coaches in college football. He is making $393,000 and has a five-year contract.

Fedora is a well-spoken guy. The guess here is that he would perform extremely well in a job-interview setting. He is a Texas native. His age is 45. He seems completely qualified to be a head coach.

I do not expect Fedora to be on the OSU staff next year. And if he does leave, there will be great pressure on Mike Gundy to hire a comparably capable coordinator.

From a yardage standpoint, the 2007 Cowboys are having the second-best season in school history (only the 1988 Cowboys averaged more yards).

For the next OSU offensive coordinator, Fedora would be a tough act to follow.

-- Bill Haisten

Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer



Reader Comments 4 Total
Chance (5 years ago)
I agree for the most part. If OSU only wins against Baylor the rest of the season, Fedora will have a lower profile, but he will still get attention because offensive numbers don't lie. There is a small chance Fedora will stick around for next year; virtually none after that.

Fortunately, Gundy has an aggressive offensive philosophy, so I think he will find a replacement somewhat similar to Fedora.
Marc V (5 years ago)
Remember Coach Kragthorpe, and Peterson from TU? Before Fedora jumps at the chance to be a head coach, he'd better be sure that it's the right fit for he and his family. Right now, OSU is a sure thing. But yes, every coach wants to run their own program. It's the nature of the job.

When Mike Gundy was promoted, I remember him expressing the desire to run the spread offense since he felt that OSU would have more success recruiting the type of player who would excel in that offense, rather than the I-formation.

Therefore, I would expect Gundy to search out someone with similar coaching philosophies. And with his reputation of rewarding his assistants with some of the more competitive salaries in the conference, I imagine that Gundy won't have a shortage of excellent candidates.
B. Haisten (5 years ago)
Marc is correct. When Fedora does leave, be it this year or later, OSU should have plenty of quality candidates. OSU's salaries for assistants are well above average, and each staff member gets at least a three-year contract. Very few other schools provide that type of security for assistant coaches. And if a change does occur this year, the new OC would inherit a talented crew. Zac Robinson has two seasons of remaining eligibility. Brandon Pettigrew is a junior. Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant are freshmen. Four of the five offensive-line starters return next season.
Richard Popeson (5 years ago)
This might be a good time for Fedora to leave.

Arguably his 3 best offensive players - Dontrell Savage, Brandon Pettigrew and Adarius Bowman will be playing on Sundays next season.

My guess is he takes the SMU job. I wish we could ship Todd Graham back to Rice and have Fedora at TU!
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Tulsa World Sports Writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

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Tulsa World Sports Writer Kelly Hines joined the World staff in September 2007. She grew up in the Oklahoma City area, was valedictorian at her high school and attended Oklahoma State University. She previously worked at The Oklahoman and KOTV and in the World's web and news departments.

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