Mike Gundy explains how culture of continuity breeds adaptability
Through all the turmoil in the college football landscape in recent years, from conference realignment to NIL shifting paradigms of roster assembly and management to the en vogue schemes coming and going, Mike Gundy has been one of the true constants. The head coach at Oklahoma State since January 2005, Gundy is the third-longest tenured coach in Division I football at their current school.
The only two coaches still going who have been in one place for longer are Kyle Whittingham at Utah — who was hired just a month prior to Gundy’s hire — and Kirk Ferentz at Iowa, who has been the head coach there since 1998. Speaking with Fox’s Joel Klatt on the “Breaking the Huddle” show, Gundy explained how this continuity provides avenues for the Cowboys to be adaptable.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” Gundy said. “The large majority of the coaches, administrative people in this organization, have been with us, with me, for a long time. Our coaches stay here, they like living here, they’re comfortable. That continuity that we have with our players, we have a pretty good feel for the guys that we want to recruit, based on our systems, based on the culture that we have here. And we’ve been very fortunate that we’ve hit on enough good players that can make big plays on both sides of the ball and in special teams. And then we have really quality young men that play hard. They love Oklahoma State, they love to be a part of our culture.”
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Klatt had pointed out how in 2021, Oklahoma State fielded a Top 10 team by virtue of having one of the best defense in the country, whereas the Cowboys are back in the Top 10 in 2022 mostly on the back of quarterback Spencer Sanders and the offense. He asked Gundy how Oklahoma State has managed those sort of shifts in style to stay competitive.
The key is to make tweaks and alterations to play to your strengths while not going overboard, Gundy said. In one year, personnel might dictate the Cowboys to lean on defense, like last year. For a number of years, Oklahoma State was more of an offensive juggernaut.
For Gundy, it’s about getting the right group of players in the program to do what the coaches want to do, all while tailoring it to the players on hand.
In essence, you can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and make drastic changes. They’re subtle, but over time they add up.
“And just the consistency of not trying to get out of our box, Joel,” Gundy said. “I think sometimes young coaches get pushed into a corner where they hit a panic mode and they might change a style of offense, change the defense terminology, sometimes even a coaching pattern. And obviously I’ve got a lot to learn but I figured out a long time ago that the consistency with the players gives you the best chance to make small adjustments. And then coaches are responsible for understanding who we are and what are our strengths and where do we struggle, where are we immature. And once we can accomplish that, I think we’re a better team.”