What a Debacle!
It has been reported today that the Oklahoma State Board of Regents has given Mike Gundy an ultimatum, accept new terms, or accept the consequences. And, they’re not wasting time as have appeared to give him a time frame to respond of 5:00 today (Friday).
For starters, this needed to be negotiated behind closed doors with Mike Gundy and framed as if he loves the University to the point where he felt like these steps were necessary based on what funds are available, and the challenges that have to be met with NIL.
If this scenario actually did play out “Behind Closed Doors”, and Coach Gundy rejected it, then that is on him, and, IMO, he needs to be removed from his position, and here’s my opinion of why.
There is no way that in my opinion, he can justify his contract being the best thing for OSU football or his program. He can justify that HE is the best thing, but not in combination with the lack of accountability that came with his contract. So, if that was offered to him in “private”, and he rejected it, then, at that point, he is putting himself above the best interest of the program and he needs to be removed.
Or…
Just fire him and move on!
If OSU has cause to remove him that would remove the payout, then that makes things more simple. If Gundy called their bluff on that, and assumed there was nothing they could do to make any changes to his contract or autonomy over the program, then he should have lost ALL equity with OSU fans.
And, that’s quite a statement to make considering how outstanding his tenure at OSU has been.
But…
Having an executive meeting that is public record, in terms of it taking place, then giving a “quasi” vote of “no confidence” to your coach, but, yet, not removing that coach from their position, is just about the worst way this could have been handled.
This WILL be seen by Assistant Coaches, recruits, portal players, etc…as a vote of “no confidence”, and that his tenure here is on thin ice. So, if the goal was to put OSU in a better position to acquire the coaches and players necessary to make the massive improvements to get this program BACK to its winning ways, this was about the worst possible scenario to play out.
Coach Gundy’s contract needed to be restructured, that much we should all agree on. But, not in a way that gives off the perception that it’s because important people behind the scenes want him fired, which means that this program can offer basically 0 security to any current player, recruited player, current coach, or potential coach who would be coming in.
This has been just a terrible day for OSU football, maybe the worst one is a season that has seen historic terribleness, if that’s a word. This is a day that was probably inevitable, but it just should have played out better than this. Especially considering just about every single person involved claims to be a “diehard” OSU fan, and 100% “Loyal and True” and wants the best for the future of this program.
The “Elephant” here is that, if Gundy were to reject this, the assumption would be that gives OSU the “cause” they needed to remove him, and without paying the buyout. At that point, it’s anyone’s guess what happens then, other than to say this situation became a “blackeye” for OSU athletics.
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