It’s that time of the year, folks! The 2024 season is all ready to drop its curtains. And the players have already started to make their way out to dive into the transfer portal. Sadly, things are not limited to the players. Coaches like Ryan Day are now walking on thin ice after the below-average season of the Ohio State Buckeyes. And guess what? Day is not the only one whose job is hanging on a thread and might snap at any moment. Now the Oklahoma State Cowboys HC, Mike Gundy, too, is walking on fire when it comes to his role. However, can the Cowboys be blamed? After all, they have exhausted all their patience when it came to their HC Gundy after going 3-9. 

As per the ESPN reports, the school’s board of regents came together for a meeting on Friday, December 6th. In the end, they came to a decision that they would be in a “standoff” with Gundy. Maybe this was the first time that the HC failed the Cowboys, as in Gundy’s 20-year tenure this has been the worst season. So, will the axe now fall on his job? Well, we don’t know that yet. What we know is Oklahoma State is set to offer a restructured contract. And forget bonuses; Gundy will be offered a revamped contract that might include a pay cut. Upon his refusal to accept the offer, the Sooner could fire Gundy. But before that, Oklahoma State must fatten its pockets. 

That’s the cost they have to pay to get rid of having one of the 20 highest-paid coaches in college football on the pedestal. Taking into account the findings of USA Today’s salary database, Gundy is the 17th highest-paid college football coach. Going by what Austin Cutright from The Oklahoman said, “Gundy is currently on a 5-year rollover contract, which extends by a season every Jan. 1. He earned $7.75 million in 2024. Gundy’s contract is set to lengthen by another season on Jan. 1, 2025, along with his annual $125,000 raise.”

Well, the extension part seems like a far-fetched dream. As already, his buyout figures have started doing the rounds. Since Gundy comes off clean and the Cowboys will have to fire him without any cause, the program owes a buyout of over $25.3 million. Gundy might think it’s a tall order, but Oklahoma State is already taking baby steps to make it happen.

Analyst questions the cost of letting Mike Gundy go 

According to the CFB analyst RJ Young, to let go of Gundy is going to be tough, but the desperation looks real. On the Number One College Football Network Show, he stated, “$25 million doesn’t sound like a whole lot when we talk about firing people now because we’ve seen people fire for way more, but it’s still a lot for a place like Oklahoma State.” So for now, the Gundy decision is on hold. That doesn’t mean that the Cowboys are not up for some coaching roster revamp. 

They had already fired their offensive coordinator, Kasey Dunn, and defensive coordinator, Bryan Nardo. So that marked the end of Dunn’s 14-season-long stint with the Cowboys, while it’s only two seasons for Nardo. As per the contract, Oklahoma State now owes $1 million and $700,000 in buyout money to the OC and DC, respectively. In that case, it’s pretty evident that the program is financially in a position to afford these changes. 

So, it’s high time that Mike Gundy comes halfway to making some sacrifices. After all, this isn’t his first standoff with the administration. Back in 2020, he agreed to let go of $1 million as his salary hit straightway from $5 million to $4 million. Now it’s up to Gundy whether he chooses to burn the bridges or overcome the difficult time hand-in-hand with the Cowboys.