Mike Gundy never planned for this. For nearly two decades, he operated on loyalty, development, and old-school grit. NIL? That was noise. The portal? A fad. He didn’t just ignore the new era of college football; he bet against it. And for a while, it almost worked. But eventually, the cracks grew louder than the cheers. Oklahoma State fans went from trusting the mullet to questioning the man. Now, after the program’s worst season in nearly 20 years, even Gundy can’t dodge the mirror.

The Cowboys weren’t just losing games, they were losing relevance. Other teams were buying depth, snagging stars, and reloading overnight. Gundy, meanwhile, stuck to his system like it was gospel. The result? A 3-9 faceplant that hit Stillwater like a gut punch. For a guy who used to make bowl appearances feel routine, that collapse didn’t just hurt the record—it shook the foundation. And finally, after months of silence, the head man is coming clean.

“So three years ago when this started, I almost refused to believe it was ever going to happen and I just thought it would go away,” Gundy confessed on On3’s Andy and Ari. “It’s almost like getting in an argument with your wife and then you just hope it goes away… I thought you forgot about that. Oh, I didn’t forget about that.” That denial became costly. “After a point about 18 months ago, I said this is not going away. We’re going to have to make some real adjustments here,” Gundy said. The brutal confession came with more weight.

Oklahoma State hadn’t “bought” players through the transfer portal until this past January. “The truth be known, this portal class from January is the first class that we ever bought,” Gundy said. “That hurt us. Hurt us the last year or so from a depth standpoint. And then and that was nobody’s fault. That’s not the administration’s fault, not the donors. That was really kind of my fault because what I had done was taken money that had been raised through donations and spread it amongst the troops somewhat evenly to the current players. We didn’t go out and solicit for players and pay them to come to our team. We did that starting in December, which I think we all would agree if you don’t do that, you’re not going to survive.”

It was a gut-punch realization, and Mike Gundy owned it. But the price of catching up might be even steeper. In total, Oklahoma State has brought in 65 players since mid-December. But only 14 of those were high school recruits. “There’s whatever those numbers are, 18 or 19 that are on our team now that didn’t get here until June that should be factoring in the first game,” Gundy said. “That’s where people ask, ‘How’s the team? How you doing?’ I don’t really know, just because you have potentially half of the two-deep that have never practiced for us yet.”

This was more than a soft reset; it was a hard reboot. Their 41 incoming transfers as part of its 2025 class are tied for the third-largest haul of any Power Four program this cycle, as per CBS Sports. It nearly doubled OSU’s total portal additions from the previous six cycles combined. For a program that once prided itself on long-term development, this was a dizzying pivot. Despite the volume, the Cowboys sit at No. 32 nationally in the portal rankings for 2025 and just fifth in the Big 12. That’s solid, but not elite—and with less than two months before kickoff, continuity is nowhere in sight. This is what survival mode looks like in the new world of college football. Mike Gundy waited, misread the room, and finally made the move.

Mike Gundy on the clock after pay cut

The career record is 169-88 (.658). If you want to know where Mike Gundy stands in Stillwater, just follow the money. That’s exactly what ESPN’s Pete Thamel did on CFB Live, and the signs aren’t subtle. “I really think Mike Gundy’s job will be in trouble,” Thamel said Friday, delivering a cold dose of reality for the longest-tenured head coach in the Big 12. “When wanting to know what institutions do, Woodward and Bernstein told us to follow the money. Well, Oklahoma State made it very clear, with Mike Gundy’s money, what their intentions are.” That money trail?

A $1 million pay cut after last season’s 3–9 disaster, and a significantly reduced buyout—making it easier (and cheaper) for the school to part ways if things go south again. “You don’t need to be an investigative reporter to see their actions, leading towards some type of action on Gundy if the results don’t get better in 2025,” Thamel added.

This isn’t just about wins and losses anymore. Gundy has “stepped in it publicly a few times,” and the goodwill that came with years of success seems to have dried up. “They have run out of patience with Mike Gundy,” Thamel said. So now, with a rebuilt roster and zero excuses left, Oklahoma State needs results. Fast. Because what the school made clear this offseason is simple: it’s no longer about loyalty.