Mike Gundy responds to fan criticism, reveals how he handles it

It’s been a challenging season for the Oklahoma State Cowboys and head coach Mike Gundy. Amid that difficult season, there has also been mounting criticism from fans.

Despite that mounting criticism, Gundy shared in his weekly press conference that he doesn’t find it difficult to balance what has been happening with the Cowboys this season with what the expectations are for fans. Instead, he emphasized that he’s focused on wanting the players to succeed.

“No,” Mike Gundy said. “I want the players to have success because of the hard work they put in. I’ve done this a long time, not only as a head coach but as an assistant coach. It doesn’t bother me any at all, believe it or not, because I have to have a calm thought process and demeanor about myself daily in order to continue to function.”

Oklahoma State now sits at 3-6 overall and 0-6 in Big 12 play this season. That makes the Cowboys the only team in the Big 12 to not win a conference game to this point in the season. It also means that after a promising start in non-conference play, Oklahoma State has lost six straight games.

Mike Gundy is now in his 20th season as the head coach at Oklahoma State, having held the role since 2005. During that time, the Cowboys have only lost six or more games in the regular season five times, including in each of his first three seasons in Stillwater. Only twice before, in 2005 and 2018, did Oklahoma State lose six Big 12 games during Gundy’s tenure.

“We live in a society where people want instant success,” Gundy said. “I don’t know quite how to answer that, based on what somebody else’s perspective may be, other than in the last 18 years, I don’t know that there may be more than five or six programs that have had unprecedented success like we’ve had at Oklahoma State.”

During Mike Gundy’s tenure, the Cowboys have won one conference title, had two AP Top 10 finishes, 10 AP Top 25 finishes, eight 10-win seasons, and 18 bowl appearances. His 254 games coached are the most in program history and his 169 wins are more than 100 wins more than the second coach winningest coach at Oklahoma State, Pat Jones.

Mike Gundy will take Oklahoma State on the road, playing at TCU, where the Cowboys are looking for their first Big 12 win over the season on Saturday.