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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Mike Gundy is in a standoff with Oklahoma State over his contract, sources told ESPN, which is putting his future at the school in flux after 20 seasons as head football coach.
The Cowboys have asked Gundy to take a restructured contract that will include a significant pay cut, according to sources. Gundy had meetings with Oklahoma State officials to discuss his future Friday, sources said.
Also included in Oklahoma State’s request to Gundy, according to sources, is a significant drop in his buyout, which is currently near $25 million. Gundy is under contract through 2028.
There has been discussion about firing Gundy for cause if he doesn’t agree to the new contract, sources said. It’s unclear what Gundy might have done to potentially be fired for cause.
Oklahoma State said it would not be releasing any official statements about Gundy and his future Friday night, though sources told ESPN’s Chris Low that talks between the sides continued throughout the night and that there was growing optimism that an agreement on a restructured deal would be reached.
Gundy has been at Oklahoma State for 20 seasons and is the second-longest tenured coach in the sport. He is 169-88 over that span, and his only losing seasons were his first one in 2005 and this season.
The unrest from Oklahoma State officials has come in the wake of a 3-9 campaign, which included nine consecutive losses and a winless record in conference play.
This isn’t Gundy’s first standoff with the administration. He agreed to take a $1 million pay cut in 2020, decreasing his salary to $4 million from $5 million. That came in the wake of a review into the program after Gundy was publicly criticized by former Cowboys tailback Chuba Hubbard for wearing a T-shirt from One America News.
In October 2021, Oklahoma State announced that Gundy’s salary was restored and that the school had restored his “perpetual five-year contract.” He is expected to make nearly $7.75 million this year.
Gundy has twice courted controversy due to comments he has made this season. In November, he posted an apology for comments in which he suggested fans critical of Oklahoma State “can’t pay their own bills.”
At Big 12 media day this year, Gundy released a statement to clarify his comments about drinking and driving in the wake of star tailback Ollie Gordon II‘s DUI arrest. Referring to details of Gordon’s arrest, Gundy said he himself had probably done that 1,000 times. He later said his intended point was that everyone makes bad decisions.