Tulsa World: For Gundy, a balancing act

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For Gundy, a balancing act

By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist
Published: 8/30/2008 2:05 AM
Last Modified: 8/30/2008 3:00 AM

Mike Gundy may never acknowledge it, but I would wager he has a ton more respect for Les Miles today than he did seven years ago.

I guarantee you Gundy has a better understanding and appreciation of Miles' decisions. He now realizes that there was a method to what many considered Miles' madness at the start Oklahoma State's 2001 football season.

That was Miles' first season as OSU's head coach. And a frustrated Gundy, who was one of the nation's highest-paid offensive coordinators, felt Miles was not giving him a chance to prove he deserved his $250,000 salary.

Gundy was the offensive coordinator in name only. Miles, whose background as an assistant was on offense, decided to call the plays instead of Gundy.

After OSU got off to a 1-2 start, Gundy found it difficult to conceal his emotions. In off-the-record talks with some media members, Gundy discussed the angst he felt in being under used.

I was one of those writers who agreed with Gundy. And I wrote about it after Miles called a fake punt against Texas A&M that backfired on the Cowboys and played a critical role in their 21-7 loss in College Station, Texas.

In a telephone interview the day after he coached LSU to the national championship last January, Miles instantly recalled every detail about the controversial play and the media criticism he took for it.

"Fourth-and-14 on our own 26," recounted Miles of his decision, which resulted in punter Brad Elder picking up just 6 yards. "You (media) guys were right; that was a bad call."

In the days immediately after the A&M loss, some of us wrote that Miles was making a rookie head coaching mistake by not letting Gundy call the plays. Miles had not been a head coach on any level, so he needed to realize ASAP that the time demands as the boss wouldn't allow him to be as effective a play-caller as when he was an offensive coordinator.

As he proved in that BCS title win over Ohio State, Miles is not the dummy a lot of fans like to make him out to be. By the middle of that 2001 season, he was wise enough to turn the play-calling over to Gundy, which allowed him time to mature as a head coach and rebuild the OSU program.

Gundy obviously agreed with the media back then. And the memories of his frustration and off-the-record comments came flooding back this week when Gundy announced he would call plays this season.

This isn't a rookie mistake. Gundy is entering his fourth season as Miles' successor, and he has two staff members who carry the title of co-offensive coordinator.

Gunter Brewer and Trooper Taylor probably won't acknowledge it, but they must be feeling a lot like Gundy did in 2001. When Larry Fedora got the head coaching job at Southern Mississippi after three seasons as Gundy's offensive coordinator, conventional wisdom was that Gundy would let Brewer or Taylor replace Fedora.

But he didn't. And of all the questions that surround OSU, Oklahoma and Tulsa as they open the season Saturday, none is more intriguing than how Gundy will perform the delicate balancing act of being a head coach and offensive coordinator.

Gundy demonstrated in last season's Insight Bowl win over Indiana that he hadn't lost his play-calling touch. When Fedora left before the bowl game, Gundy took over in the 49-33 win over the Hoosiers.

But Gundy had a month to prepare for the bowl game. And he has had an entire off-season and fall camp to get ready for today's opener against Washington State in Seattle.

So we probably won't get a true gauge on Gundy's balancing act until a few games into the season.

When Gundy announced the reasons behind his decision at Monday's press conference, he sounded a lot like Miles in 2001. Miles said his offensive assistants were heavily involved drawing up the game plan during the week, and he also allowed Gundy to make some suggestions during a game.

At his press conference, Gundy said Brewer and Taylor had scripted the plan for today's opener against the Cougars. He also sought input from running backs coach Curtis Luper, tight ends coach Doug Meacham and offensive line coach Joe Wickline.

Gundy's surprise move seems to smack exactly of what Miles was thinking in 2001. He wanted to make sure he was a success as a head coach, so he needed to micro-manage because he trusted his skills more than those of his assistants.

Perhaps Gundy will be a smashing success like Tom Osborne. Bob Devaney's offensive coordinator at Nebraska, Osborne never gave up the job in 25 seasons as the Cornhuskers' head coach.

But Gundy's decision is the exact opposite of the latest trend in the college game. Two of the biggest names in coaching, South Carolina's Steve Spurrier and Notre Dame's Charlie Weis, decided in the off-season to quit calling plays. Georgia's Mark Richt made the same move in 2006.

"I think when you're play-calling on offense, you might not necessarily be the best head coach," Weis told the Associated Press. "So what I'm trying to do is I'm trying to be a better head coach."

Gundy did say he would periodically evaluate his decision. So it won't be a surprise if he matches another Miles move, realizing the best call he'll make all season is when he lets someone else call the plays. By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist

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