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Gundy's contract: A counterpoint
Published: 12/20/2011 1:14 PM
Last Modified: 12/20/2011 1:14 PM

The contract situation of Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy is heating up.

If you haven't read Dave Sittler's column on the situation in Tuesday's Tulsa World, you definitely should.

Click here for Dave's take.

The mention of Texas A&M definitely caught my attention. Talking to those I know in College Station, Gundy's name did surface in the recent A&M coaching search -- although his involvement could never be confirmed through Aggie sources.

But take this for what it's worth: two of the big names mentioned in connection with the A&M job -- Gundy and Georgia coach Mark Richt -- were both seeking a better contract situation at their current job.

Does Gundy deserve a new deal? Sure. He did what was asked of him -- he won a Big 12 championship and took his team to a BCS bowl. OSU looks to be on an upward trajectory, and Gundy appears to have grown nicely into the job.

But if you're sitting in the position of Cowboys athletic director Mike Holder and super-booster Boone Pickens you can make a valid case for being cautious.

1. Why compound one mistake with another?
The 10-year deal given to basketball coach Travis Ford appears to be a sticking point in the current negotiations. I'm sure OSU administrators are cursing Iowa State, who recently gave football coach Paul Rhoads a 10-year deal. If you believe the Ford deal was a mistake, why would you want to repeat that error a second time?

2. Gundy owes a lot to OSU
Mike Gundy gets a lot of credit for elevating the OSU program. But when the Cowboys named Gundy their head coach, they made a move no other major school in the country would have made. Gundy was a relative unknown who damaged his national image with his "I'm a man" rant. If it weren't for OSU, Gundy would probably be the head coach at Southern Mississippi or Arkansas State now.

3. OSU administrators are likely riled by negotiating tactics
Folks in Mike Gundy's camp have been jockeying for a new contract since about midseason. Although it doesn't reach Todd Graham levels when it comes to breaches in coaching etiquette, it is unseemly. And I have to guess it's part of the reason this process is taking longer than it should.

4. Gundy's leverage is questionable
Although Gundy's popularity and profile are at all-time highs, his true negotiating leverage isn't. Gundy's name doesn't come up for NFL jobs. And some of the college jobs he's been associated with -- North Carolina comes to mind -- are little more than negotiating ploys. There really aren't any college jobs left that are better than the job he has now.

As always, things will likely work themselves out. The two sides will come to an agreement, with Gundy getting a little less than he wanted and OSU offering a little more than it wanted.

And the two sides will hold a press conference, profess their undying loyalty to each other and say reports of any disagreement were overblown.

At least it makes the time between football games pass more quickly.

Reader Comments

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Pokefan519 (last year)

1. Gundy has shown he is capable of building (that's a key word) a consistent winner. Ford has not. Ford took a group of players that weren't his and succeeded with them at a higher level than he has with players who are his.

2. Gundy does owe a lot to OSU. It's questionable whether a BCS school would have given him his first head coaching opportunity with his experience at the time. However, it's not unheard of. Holgerson had never been a HC and yet he was hired after being the OC at OSU, same as Gundy. And the rant only damaged his rep to the media and OU fans. OSU fans OVERWHELMINGLY supported him after the rant, and still do. Please stop bringing this up. It really makes us OSU fans mad.

3. If they were riled up about it, why did Boone go on national TV and give his support for Gundy getting paid multiple times during the season? And he did it unprovoked.

4. Gundy's leverage took a hit when he intimated that he doesn't want to go anywhere, not because of his lack of other options. If he opened it up, don't you think offers would come from all over? You don't think Penn State would jump at Gundy? And the fans, once again, are overwhelmingly in Gundy's corner. We love this guy. If the powers that be don't get him signed, and Gundy bolts, there will be mass chaos and major uproar from the fans.

mgpeters (last year)

Gundy has proven more than Ford, but I don't think that's the issue. The issue seems to be: should Ford's contract have any bearing on Gundy's contract?

That seems to be the sticking point between the parties.

Gundy may have been known here, but he didn't have the national profile Holgerson had. I'm sure OSU fans supported Gundy after the rant, but it didn't make him look good to outsiders.

Penn State would be happy to have Gundy, but no one wants to go to Penn State. That's my point. The current crop of available jobs are far worse than his current one, no matter the contract dispute. He'd have to wait until next year to have good job options.

But, really, I think this is all off-season chatter. I'm sure a deal will get done soon and everyone will be happy -- or at least pretend to be happy.

120961 (last year)

Thanks for a more level headed view of the situation than your colleague managed to cobble together.

Dave is pretty salty with his knowledge of all things sports, if I recall correctly he had the cornthrusters winning the Big 10 in football. My guess if he were consulted he would have them #2 in the Big 10 in mens hoops as well.

Cardinalsfan (last year)

I dont think this is about the money as much as it is about having a contract past 4 years. That is a negative in recruiting if he doesnt have it. I seriously doubt he wants top dollar, he has proven in the past he will take less money, especially if they pay his assistants more.

Comes down to stubborn people who arent in the 21st century being in control. This isnt the 70s, a football coach needs more than 4 years on his contract.

mgpeters (last year)

120961: I love Dave. He and I agree on just about everything. In this case, I just wanted to throw out some other things to think about.

Cardinalsfan: I agree. It's definitely not about the money. It seems to be about Gundy wanting to feel as loved as Ford was.

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Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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