Anonymous Big 12 coach thinks 2025 season could be Mike Gundy's biggest challenge of Oklahoma State tenure

The 2024 season was arguably the worst of Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy‘s career. Now, at least one opposing Big 12 coach believes Gundy is headed for the biggest challenge of his tenure in Stillwater.

Last season, Oklahoma State went just 3-9 and was winless in Big 12 play. That was the first time since his first season that Gundy didn’t go to a bowl. It was also the worst record of his tenure. Worse, the offseason began with a contractual standoff between Gundy and the school that ended with a restructured contract and assistant coaches turning over.

Coaches from the Big 12 spoke to Athlon anonymously. There, one emphasized the challenge that Gundy now faces at Oklahoma State.

“No one should count out [Mike] Gundy,” the coach said. “But this might be the biggest challenge of his entire run there.”

Oklahoma State has a new offensive and defensive coordinator for the 2025 season. On the offensive side of the ball, that means Doug Meacham is being tasked with re-sparking the offense. It’s a unit that has plenty of personnel questions, but at least it’s Mike Gundy’s side of the ball and, therefore, should have some continuity.

“They badly misused [Ollie] Gordon, they’re turning over the entire offensive line,” a Big 12 coach said. “And there’s no clear answer at quarterback. But this is Mike’s side of the ball, Mike’s system, so they’re going to be inexperienced, but there’s a consistency there.”

On the defensive end, Todd Grantham takes over as the defensive coordinator. He’s a veteran coordinator but also hasn’t been a college coordinator since 2021. Now, he has a project to take on in Stillwater.

“Defensively it will be a lot harder,” the coach said. “It’s all the good and the bad of a [Todd] Grantham defense. They won’t be boring to watch, that’s for sure. You see a lot of risk and reward with what he does, especially when the personnel isn’t fit for that 3-4.”

Oklahoma State is going to have a completely new look in 2025. Mike Gundy has been very active in the Transfer Portal. The Cowboys currently have the 29th-ranked transfer class in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. That includes 26 players leaving and 39 entering the program for next season.

Fans will get their first look at this new Oklahoma State team on August 28th when the Cowboys host UT Martin. Big 12 play will later kickoff on September 27th against Baylor.