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Mike Gundy update: Pete Thamel shares latest on Oklahoma State standoff

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The standoff between Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State continued well into Saturday, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Following a 3-9 season, Oklahoma State wants to restructure Gundy’s contract and cut his salary, but the coach isn’t budging. His current deal is a rolling five-year contract. 

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According to Thamel, Gundy could come to some sort of compromise.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen one quite like this,” Thamel said on College GameDay. “Yesterday, Oklahoma State officials approached Mike Gundy and said to him, you need to take a pay cut, and a cut in his buyout, or we’re going to fire you. Gundy, as of right now, is still in this contract standoff with Oklahoma State. He makes $7.7 million a year, his buyout would be $25 million. I’ve been told Gundy has been shown a willingness to compromise. We’ll see if it happens this weekend.”

If Gundy doesn’t agree to a restructured deal, the Cowboys could fire him for cause, Thamel reported. He is owed more than $25 million if fired without cause.

On3’s Pete Nakos reported shortly after that Oklahoma State is planning to cut Gundy’s base salary and rededicate those funds to going all-in on NIL, should he agree. If Gundy doesn’t, they will terminate his contract, Nakos added.

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The Cowboys went 3-9 in 2024 and didn’t win a single conference game after being picked as a potential league winner. It’s only the second time Gundy has failed to get his team bowl-eligible, and the first time since his first season going 4-7 in 2005.

Oklahoma State fired both offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn and defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo shortly after the regular season ended, according to ESPN’s Max Olson.

Oklahoma State also took a major step back offensively under Gundy as running back Ollie Gordon rushed for half the amount of yards he had in 2023 when he led the country with 1,732. The Cowboys had quarterback issues all season and benched starter Alan Bowman at multiple points throughout the year.

Despite returning eight starters on offense including Gordon and Bowman, they averaged just 22 points per game across conference play.

Andrew Graham contributed to this report