Athlon Sports assesses Mike Gundy's hot seat temperature entering 2025

Mike Gundy has been a staple in Stillwater for the past two decades, but he enters the 2025 season with some questions to answer. Oklahoma State is coming off of its worst record in the 20 years since Gundy took over, going 3-9 and failing to win a single Big 12 game.

That resulted in the Cowboys restructuring Gundy’s contract and lowering his annual salary by $1 million this offseason. The coach’s deal runs through 2028 and OSU would owe him $15 million if it fired him any time in the next three seasons and $10 million if he is fired in the final year of his contract.

Gundy’s connection to the program runs deep. He is a former Cowboys quarterback and has never been the head coach of any other team in his career, turning down offers from other programs to remain at his alma mater. That coupled with the success he has enjoyed — he is the winningest coach in Oklahoma State history — would make it difficult to let him go. Athlon Sports gave a brief summary of its take on the situation in its recent College Football Preview magazine for the 2025 season.

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“After a prolific playing career and leading the program to 169 victories as a head coach, Gundy is Oklahoma State football,” the article stated. “But after last year’s 3-9 record and reworked contract that included a pay cut, it’s clear that Gundy is under some pressure.”

Although Gundy remains, big changes still came in other areas of the coaching staff this offseason. For the first time in his career, Gundy fired both the offensive and defensive coordinators. He hired Todd Grantham to take over the defense and Doug Meacham to work with the offense.

Another requirement of Mike Gundy’s restructure contract is that he is more involved in fundraising for the football team. The $1 million gained from reducing his salary will also be put toward revenue-sharing from the university to student-athletes.

For as much that was made of last year’s disappointing record, it was still only the second time in Gundy’s tenure and the first since his inaugural season in 2005 that he did not finish above .500. Gundy also has a 12-6 record in bowl games including winning the Fiesta Bowl twice (2011 and 2021).

Despite this, Oklahoma State has won just one conference title and never made the College Football Playoff under Gundy. So while he has been consistent, he hasn’t been able to lead them to the top, and that could ultimately be working against him as well in a hot-seat situation.