Bobby Reid joins OSU football staff
BY JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Monday, February 18, 2013
2/18/13 at 6:05 PM
Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy and former OSU quarterback Bobby Reid buried the hatchet last year.
They’ll share a workplace this year.
Reid, a central figure in Gundy’s rant-gone-viral in 2007, has been hired for an administrative/non-coaching position in the Cowboy football program.
OSU did not issue a press release to announce the hiring, but confirmed the news to media outlets.
Reid started 18 games for the Cowboys as a freshman and sophomore, but lost the starting job to Zac Robinson as a junior and his relationship with Gundy soured post-rant.
Gundy’s “I’m a man! I’m 40!” tirade was spawned by a column about Reid that appeared in Sept. 22, 2007, editions of the Oklahoman. The column suggested attitude and lack of toughness were factors in Reid being benched.
Instead of talking about a victory over Texas Tech in a postgame press conference that day, Gundy came armed with a copy of the newspaper and spoke instead for three minutes about Reid and the column.
“I’m not a kid. Write something about me, or our coaches,” Gundy said, raising his voice occasionally. “Don’t write about a kid that does everything right, (whose) heart’s broken and then say that the coaches said he was scared. That ain’t true!”
Reid transferred to Texas Southern after that season and, in an ESPN the Magazine article, was quoted as saying the rant didn’t seem genuine and “basically ended my life.”
An excerpt from the article: “When that rant happened, I was like, ‘Blugggh, I don’t think this is for me anymore’.”
But Gundy told the Tulsa World last summer that he and Reid had talked for about an hour and a half to hash things out.
“He flew in from Houston just to see me and sit down and talk,” the coach said. “And he instigated it ... He wanted to come and sit down with me and clear the air.”
When Gundy was asked how it felt to make peace, he said, “Good, just because... I don’t like to have enemies. And I wanted him to know (my reasons for the rant). I thought he knew, but I wanted to make sure he knew that was for him and nobody else because I was kind of putting myself out there.”
Gundy also said last summer that he believes outside influences were a factor in Reid being offended by the rant.
“I would never change what I did for Bobby Reid, but I would change how I did it,” the coach said, adding that it helped him in learning to deal with people and the media.
At that time, Gundy said Reid had a good job in Houston, but also had expressed an interested in coaching. Mending fences paved the way for Reid to become part of the Cowboy football program again.
Reid did not respond to a text message from the Tulsa World last summer or Monday. The hiring was first reported by GoPokes.com.
Associated Images:
Bobby Reid started 18 games for the Cowboys as a freshman and sophomore, but lost the starting job to Zac Robinson as a junior. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World file
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