🚨Oklahoma State Fires Mike Gundy Instant Reaction | Cover 3 College Football

Summary

Cover 3 College Football Podcast

🚨Oklahoma State Fires Mike Gundy – Instant Reaction

Date: September 23, 2025
Hosts: Chip Patterson and Bud Elliott

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Episode Overview

This emergency “Cover 3” episode delivers immediate reactions and in-depth analysis after Oklahoma State fires longtime head football coach Mike Gundy. Chip Patterson and Bud Elliott dig into the timing and rationale for the decision, evaluate Gundy’s legacy, speculate on what comes next for the program, and break down possible coaching candidates. They also compare the attractiveness of the Oklahoma State job to other openings and potential openings around the college football landscape.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The End of the Gundy Era (03:00–07:00)

• Recent Program Decline:
  • OSU lost 11 straight against FBS teams, allowing 41.3 points per game in that span.
    “It is the worst 12-game stretch for Oklahoma State football since 1935 and 1936.” — Chip (03:05)
  • Only win in last 12 was vs. UT Martin.
• Not About Surprise, But Timing:
  • Surprise is not that Gundy was fired, but that it happened now, midseason.
  • “Surprise is about the timing, right, Bud?” — Chip (04:15)
• The Unraveling:
  • A "dead cat bounce" in 2023 masked decline.
  • Offseason changes (staff, paycut) pointed to an end.

2. Why Now? The Timing Question (07:00–11:00)

• Delayed Firing:
  • “If you lose at home to Tulsa, it’s, you know, it’s pretty bad.” — Bud (05:09)
  • Why wait days after the loss? Possible reasons explored:
    • Rounding up buyout money from boosters.
    • Not wanting to force players to redshirt if they jump ship (NCAA rules trigger after 5 games).
    • Locker room possibly quitting on Gundy.
• Next Steps for 2025 Season:
  • Who leads OSU now, how to salvage the current season, avoid further embarrassment.

3. Mike Gundy’s Legacy (10:30–15:00)

• Sustained Success:
  • “Eighteen straight bowl seasons, I mean…the program had never seen this.” — Bud (10:46)
  • 21 years as head coach, multiple 10-win seasons, Big 12 titles, iconic “I’m a man, I’m 40” press conference anniversary.
• Critique:
  • “Games passed him by a little…maybe he has a reset, maybe he’s a guy who needs to drop down to a G5…” — Bud (10:56)
  • Unwillingness to adapt to NIL, transfer portal, revenue share.
• Final Assessment:
  • “This is a sensible decision to try to move forward…if you’re not willing to meet the players in the middle as the sport is changing, then it is going to be impossible for the results to meet the standard you have set.” – Chip (13:05)

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4. The Coaching Search: Who's Next? (17:00–44:00)

The Candidate Name Game (17:09–40:00)

• Prominent Names Discussed:

  • Alex Golesh (USF): “He was a GA at Oklahoma State, did good work at Iowa State, Tennessee. Makes a lot of sense.” — Bud (17:55)
  • Eric Morris (North Texas)
  • Zach Robinson (Falcons OC, former OK State QB)
  • Will Stein (Oregon, Texas roots)
  • Collin Klein (Texas A&M, former K-State QB)
  • G.J. Kinne (Texas State)
  • Sean Lewis (San Diego State)
  • Shannon Dawson (Miami OC)
  • Jeff Traylor (UTSA)
  • Dan Mullen (UNLV)

• Notable Quotes:

  • “I think you have a lot of potentially really good options here.” — Bud (17:09)
  • “Would Oklahoma State fans get excited about Jimbo Fisher?” — Chip (27:40)
  • “If Oklahoma State comes calling, Jeff Traylor’s agent’s like, ‘Yes, we would like to take that interview.’” — Chip (40:00)

Coordinator vs Sitting HC Debate

• Not necessary to be a sitting HC, but must have P4 experience. (22:37)
• “If it’s not [a sitting HC], it needs to be a coordinator who has been in the P4.” — Bud

Lateral Moves/Redeem Yourself Jobs

• Is OSU a place for a coach to reset or step down to restart? (26:31–28:40)
• “Is Oklahoma State a reset-the-clock job for somebody lateral move or maybe slight step down?” — Chip (26:31)
• Dana Holgorsen and Billy Napier scenarios considered.

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5. Comparing OSU to Other Jobs (19:44–25:45)

• Arkansas vs Oklahoma State:
  • Bud says he’d prefer OSU: “I think you can win at Oklahoma State. I don’t think you win at Arkansas.” (19:44)
  • Arguments: resources, donor base, conference strength.
• Baylor, Kentucky, Wisconsin Comparisons:
  • OSU seen as mid-tier Big 12 with opportunity for a ceiling run.
  • Wisconsin considered a better job primarily due to Big Ten positioning (41:36).
  • “Is Oklahoma State a better job than Wisconsin?” — Chip (41:36)
  • “No.” — Bud

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6. The Big 12 & College Football Context (29:00–37:00)

• Conference viewed as “wide open.”
• Rev share era may create more haves and have-nots.
• Speculation about how jobs will be compared in the future.
• “The O in Oklahoma State stands for opportunity.” — Chip (37:59)

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7. The Interim Situation & What’s Next

• Doug Meacham (ex-TCU OC) tapping in as interim head coach.
• “Doug Meacham taking over as the interim is the interim head coach for Oklahoma State football again. Oklahoma State fired Mike Gundy on a Tuesday playing Baylor on a Saturday.” — Chip (45:03)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This is about accountability. Accountability is exactly what Oklahoma State is asking… Mike Gundy brought a level of sustained success that was really unheard of.” — Chip (02:00)
• “The writing was on the wall… But I think this is a program that, that should have some hope.” — Bud (04:15)
• “Every year after his first year he went to a bowl until last year. That’s a hell of a run, man.” — Bud (10:54)
• “If you’re not willing to adjust to meet your players in the middle as college football changes, you will not meet the standards you set.” — Chip (13:11)
• “The O in Oklahoma State stands for opportunity.” — Chip (37:59)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:00 – Analysis of program’s historic collapse, recent performance stats
• 04:15 – Masking of program decline, dead cat bounce season discussed
• 07:45 – Theories on unexpected timing of firing, roster management, redshirt talk
• 10:25 – Gundy’s legacy, what he meant for OSU
• 13:10 – Candid criticism of Gundy’s resistance to college football’s new era
• 17:09 – The “name game”: candidate breakdown
• 19:44 – Comparing OSU to Arkansas and other jobs
• 26:14 – Is OSU a “reset” job for a coach needing a new start?
• 37:59 – “O for opportunity” & why coaches should want the OSU job
• 41:36 – Comparing Oklahoma State to Wisconsin and other P4 jobs
• 45:03 – Doug Meacham announced as interim coach

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Final Thoughts

• The firing was necessary for OSU’s long-term program health, and the search for a modern, adaptable head coach begins immediately.
• Oklahoma State—while not an elite program—is seen as an appealing opportunity in a shifting Big 12, and can be a major proving ground for either rising stars or established names seeking redemption.

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This summary captures the fast-paced, informed style of Cover 3, highlighting sharp insights, off-the-cuff humor, and inside-the-industry speculation, making it accessible for those who missed the episode but want all the key takeaways.

Transcript

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Welcome Back to the COVID 3 podcast with your hosts, Chip Patterson, Tom Furnelli, Danny Cannell and Bud Elliott. It's your call for the best college football coverage from national signing day to the national championship and everything in between. CBS Sports presents the COVID 3 podcast.

[B]

And welcome back to the COVID 3 podcast here on CBS Sports. That's Bud Elliott. I'm Chip Patterson coming to you [e-mail] cover3 and everywhere. Get your podcast on demand. Thanks for hanging out. Smash that, subscribe, smash that like and come and join us in the chat, aka the COVID 3 tailgate, where Bud, the list of potential candidates is rolling. And don't worry, before we get out of here, we will definitely be going down the wish list. Candidates who might make sense, candidates who we think Oklahoma State should look at. As always, the COVID 3 search firm is ready to undercut all of the executive search firms out there. We will charge less money and give you similar results. That is what the COVID 3 search firm has always been willing to offer. Feel free to contact us and we can, we can begin those kinds of negotiations.

[A]

Reasonable rates. Also, I, Chip, I'm a little bit disappointed we did not have. I know we're out of practice. It's our first one of the season. Right. I've been on. But you see those sirens.

[B]

Oh, yeah. And you see those sirens in your feed. You know exactly what that means. Thank you. Yeah, no, like, I, we had it, we did have it for the, the desean Foster, Brent Pry, but we came right, literally right off of being on CBS Sports Network.

[A]

I just saw you, buddy.

[B]

Yeah. Just a second ago. So if you didn't watch us live on CBS Sports Network, be sure to check the YouTube feed and your podcast feed a little bit later this afternoon. You can get our, our big game breakdowns for Penn State, Oregon, you know, a nice conversation there. Big game breakdown for Ohio State against Washington, some thoughts on Illinois against USC and much more. So, yeah, I, I was, I was like still in the CBS Sports Network mindset. So thank you very much this is about accountability. And accountability is exactly what Oklahoma State is asking. Because while Mike Gundy brought a level of sustained success that was really unheard of throughout Oklahoma State's entire football history. I mean 18 straight seasons in a bowl game, the recent struggles is really the modern definition, bud, in my opinion of bottoming out. How about. Oklahoma State has lost 11 straight games against FBS competition. That is the longest losing streak against what we are calling major college teams in the past 80 years. They have allowed 41.3 points per game in that 11 game losing streak. Two FBS teams and the only win in the past 12 games was against UT Martin in the opener. 27. It is the worst 12 game stretch for Oklahoma State football since 1935 and 1936. Oklahoma State is 4 and 11 since the start of last season. It is the worst 15 game stretch since Mike Gundy took over. So surprise is not a word we are reaching for here. The surprise is about the timing, right, bud?

[A]

I, I think so. They had a bit of a dead cat bounce season there in, in 2023 that probably masked the downturn that this program was on. And a lot of us saw that coming. Like I, I bet them to win the conference title that year, you know, 60 to 1. Thankfully we're able to hedge that out against Texas. And I don't say that toot my own horn. I say that to basically say I didn't even like that team that much. I just loved the cakewalk schedule that they were set up with. And I thought the rest of the Big 12, you know, was potentially pretty down that year other than the Longhorns who ended up winning it. You know, they were really bad in 22 and I think like a very easy schedule kind of masked that. Obviously they went winless in the conference last year. You know, the, some of the stuff that he did in the off season, taking the, you know, reduced money, changing the staff up again, it felt like the writing was on the wall. And I'm sure if you're an Oklahoma State fan, you're saying why didn't we just do this, you know, last off season, right? Especially like when you lose at home to Tulsa, it's, you know, it's pretty bad. But I think this is a program that, that should have some hope. Like if you look like north of Dallas that like that area is expanding, you know, so fast. It's a big population center. Oklahoma is growing in population like a lot. They do have some money. I bet you they have more money that will be more confident in giving to a guy who's not Mike Gundy, you know, maybe somebody who actually embraces the new era of nil, of portal, of rev. Share of, you know, treating your players like they're, you know, professionals. Right. So I, I think there's a lot of hope for this program still within the Big 12.

[B]

Yeah. Because while Mike Gundy undoubtedly has let this program fall off a cliff in recent years, he also raised their ceiling. He showed what, what success could look like. And that is going to make whoever takes over this job, it's going to give them a better chance to be able to do it because of the, the community here. Now, for those of you who are just joining us, and we appreciate you rocking with us live for this emergency podcast. Oklahoma State plays against Baylor at home on Saturday, and Mike Gundy will not. Best as we can tell right now, Mike Gundy will not be a part of that game. So how, how do you manage the rest of this season? I mean, is this totally lost? They've got to play at Baylor at home this week, then they go at Arizona, then they play against Houston, then Cincinnati, then at Texas Tech, then at Kansas, and then we get our next bye week. Because, bud, while we have some other coaches who've been fired, you know, going into a bye week, you know, that was what was going on with desean Foster. They already had that bye week in between the 69. 3 loss at Oregon and as you mentioned earlier, the 19 to 12 embarrassment against Tulsa last Friday night. I mean, is it. Are you hearing from boosters? Are you hearing from season ticket holders? Are you worried about that the product on the field against a conference rival at home is just going to be so toxic. You don't lead them out there. I don't want to linger on the, the mechanics of it at all because we need to spin this thing forward. But I just, I still can't quite get over how we're doing this at, you know, 1pm on a Tuesday.

[A]

The, the timing is certainly weird. Typically you would do this on, on the Sunday. Also, wasn't that a, that was a Friday night game.

[B]

That's what I'm saying. You could have fired on Saturday. Yeah.

[A]

Which makes me wonder if you, if they had to kind of pass the hat a little bit to make sure that they could actually pay this buyout. Maybe it took until, until last night or early this morning to get the guys who write the checks say, yeah, all right, we're, we're done. You know, if we don't want to show up for A conference home game against arrival and Baylor might as well write the check that. My guess is how that, that's how the conversation went down. I don't know. I'm just trying to work through it in my head because it shouldn't take, you know, 96 hours since you lose it home to Tulsa, of all people. I mean, that was. That was pretty embarrassing. I also wonder, like, you have to kind of balance the fact if you're an athletic director. You know, we haven't seen Wisconsin pull the plug out on Fickle. We haven't seen Florida fire Napier. And I. I firmly believe the reason they have not is because they still have a lot of games to play. And if I'm Florida and I fire Napier now, I worry those kids are going to basically hold out in red shirt. You know, if you, if you wait until after the Texas game to fire Billy Napier, then those kids are locked in. You might as well play the rest of the season, you know, because that once you play five games, you have blown your year of eligibility. You can play four, essentially for free. Oklahoma State's only played three. So maybe in their mind it's untenable to go like two more weeks of Gundy just to, to basically, you know, trap these kids on your roster for the rest of the year. Maybe that's part of the equation here. No, Maybe they think the team has quit on Gundy and almost anybody else would do better as far as motivating them.

[B]

I like nine new assistant coaches. You know what my mind was going to remember when Brent Pry gets fired? They. They give Philip Montgomery the interim role. And part of the conversation that I heard was Philip Montgomery just showed up and maybe that fresh voice is a part of this. Maybe with all these new assistant coaches, there is a little bit of a. A chance or an opportunity for some of these newer voices to. To try to get a hold of this locker room and try to get better performance because they could have won against Tulsa on Friday night and I would not have changed how violently ill watching Oklahoma State football made me feel on my insides. And it was just like a. A subpar power conference football team. And so you could know that this was going to be something that needed to be changed pretty quickly. Maybe that's got to be a part of it here. You just give some of these new assistants a chance to do whatever they can so that the product on the field is just not like 100% embarrassing. That's my guess.

[A]

I think that's fair.

[B]

Do you want to give Gundy Some flowers before he gets out of here.

[A]

Yeah, I probably should. I mean, this guy did a tremendous job at Oklahoma. Statement. He won. Shoot.

[B]

He.

[A]

What did he go to? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

[B]

The bowl seasons. It's 18 straight bowl seasons.

[A]

18 straight bowl seasons. I mean the, basically every year after, after his first year he went to.

[B]

A bowl until last year.

[A]

Yeah, that's a hell of a run, man. Like, would Oklahoma State sign up for the Mike Gundy experience again? Yes, and twice on Sunday. Absolutely, man. Like, he elevated that program, did a tremendous job with it. Games passed him by a little bit, I think. And maybe he has a reset. Maybe he's a guy who needs to drop down to a G5 where they're not really dealing with, you know, players getting paid. But if he saw us to coach, I could see, I could see him in one of those roles. Just not in a, not on a team that's doing rev share. You know, I don't think he ever embraced the business side of the sport now.

[B]

Yeah, Mike Gundy, his whole identity was Oklahoma State football. He was a quarterback, he was an assistant coach for five years left came back, was an assistant coach for another five years. Now with a two decade run, 21 seasons as Ohio State's coach from 2005 to 2025, eight, 10 win seasons in that span, three time Big 12 coach of the year. Of course, they win the Big 12 title in 2011. They play for it a couple more times. Even outside of that, I mean, just, you know, I'm a man, I'm 40. Which by the way, the I'm a man, I'm 40 anniversary was yesterday. So happy anniversary to that famous press conference. But you know, of the years that Mike Gundy has spent on earth, majority of them have been loving and pouring everything into Oklahoma State. But for Oklahoma State, this is a sensible decision to try to move forward. You know, I was hearing a power conference coach. Yeah, actually, I'll go ahead and say it. There is an opportunity whenever you've got these, these long track records and these long histories to, to really lean back on it. Right. And if you're Mike Gundy and maybe if you're Dabo Sweeney, you're like, look at everything that I've accomplished. But to me, the most powerful thing is when a coach is like, yes, those are standards and those are the benchmarks that we want to hit, but the way that we get there might need to change because the sport is changing and the players are changing. And if you like what it seemed to be with Mike Gundy from my seat were not willing to meet the players in the middle as the players are changing and not willing to adjust the way that you're doing it as the sport continues to change, then it is going to be impossible for the results to meet the standard that you have set. Because if Mike Gundy was was just kind of making bowls and that'd be generous. Again, given what we have said about the way that this team is 4 and 11 in the last 15 games, about how this team has lost 11 straight games to to FBS competition. But even if they were just going six wins, seven wins and he had never put together the kind of run he had, well then it might be okay because the only coaches who had success at Oklahoma State left and he was the only one that stuck around and made it sustained. So ultimately this was something that Oklahoma State had to do or else the entire program was going to regress as Mike Gundy's results regressed. They were going to end up right back where they started before Mike Gundy as they just also ran in the Big 12 Conference. So I totally understand the decision. Of course. Timing a little bit question of questionable not questionable timing a little bit head scratching I would say here one of the longest tenured active head coaches is now out that list of the longest tenured active FBS head coaches. It's now Kirk Ference, Kyle Whittingham, Troy Calhoun and the aforementioned Dabo Sweeney. Coming up on the other side, we turned our attention to the future of Oklahoma State football. Starting to kick around candidates where Oklahoma State might look where they need to look and more Next.

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It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn [e-mail] back here on the COVID 3 podcast. And a huge shout out to all of you watching live on YouTube.com cover 3. We appreciate you responding because, yes, you see those sirens in your feed, you know exactly what that means. A Cover three emergency podcast. Great call from Yosef. I Hope is an App State fan, but Yosef said third Power 4 coach fired after losing at home to a G5. That's right. That would be DeShawn Foster after losing to New Mexico. That would be Brent Pry after losing to Old Dominion. And now that is Mike Gundy after losing to Tulsa. I don't know how many of those situations we will have left, but I will say Billy Napier has somehow magically escaped that one. Yeah, you mentioned some theories behind that as well. Sam Pittman took a. Took a loss to a G5, though. That one was on the road. All right, let's play the game. Everybody's favorite game at this time of year. Where they gonna go? The name game. Let's kick it around.

[A]

I think you have a lot of, like, potentially really good options here.

[B]

So would you hire Trey Lamb, the guy who just beat you?

[A]

I mean, I think. I think he would be down the list a little bit just because of track record. There's a real big difference between coaching at the P4 level and the G5 level. I would look at some guys, you know, as far as guys with head coaching experience. Right. Go. Lesh would make the most sense to me. He's doing a really good job at usf. He's won there every single year. Even when his quarterback got hurt last year, he still managed to win ball games. He was a G8 Oklahoma State, obviously. He spent a good long while at Iowa State. He understands how to recruit the region. He runs an exciting offense. He also has powerful experience there at Tennessee. Like that. That makes a lot of sense to me. I think Eric Morris is doing a nice job at North Texas. Certainly a name that I've seen come up, you know, from a lot of folks. I saw Zach Robinson, the former Oklahoma State quarterback who's now with the Atlanta Falcons, get mentioned. And then on the coordinator side, you know, Will Stein for Oregon. I don't know if, like, Oklahoma State is a good enough job to pluck him, but it could be right. He's a Texas guy. He was with Jeff Traylor at utsa. You know, I know Texas is not in the state of Oklahoma. Clearly, I understand how a map works. But a lot of times, like, I.

[B]

Don'T know, culturally, they were talking about, you know, like, still water North Texas.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. I think Colin Klein at Texas A and M, former Kansas State quarterback, obviously has recruited the region before, you know, played up there, understands kind of how things work. That would really piss off Kansas State fans, by the way, who are about done with climbing, you know, and want to get Colin Klein back in there. So you want a little big drama. We didn't mention him. Yeah, I think that that could make some sense too. Texas State looks fairly good this year.

[B]

So that's G.J. kenny is one that we've got. Actually a pretty awesome. A nice crew of Texas State alums in our college football editorial outfit. And this was one where the job opens and they're like, oh, gosh, oh no. It's either that or Fayetteville that they've got as their main concerns for why they might be. Might. Why they might be losing one of their, one of their beloved coaches. Somebody who has kind of been on the radar at least for some potential bump up from the work that he has been doing in San Marcos.

[A]

Let me ask you this because I got into markets all fans yesterday on Twitter. Shocking. Would you rather have this job or Arkansas? Because I think we expect both to open Arkansas. I think I would take Oklahoma State, man, just because like Arkansas, from a rev share standpoint, we know their numbers real low for football because they have to compete in basketball and they're also trying to compete in baseball and they don't exactly have like a huge, you know, donor base there that like actually donates. Like, they have a good theoretical base, but they don't. Like, look at the, look what they did this year in the portal on defense. Like, they clearly don't have a lot of money to spend on football or at least haven't, you know, to help out Pippin. And I think they're way behind in terms of football spending compared to the other SEC schools against which they're expected to compete. I bet you Oklahoma State is very like middle of the pack in the Big 12. Like, I think you can win at Oklahoma State. I don't think you win at Arkansas.

[B]

I think that your, your chances to spike at Arkansas, I think you can get. I think you can get better players to Arkansas than you can to Oklahoma State.

[A]

Agreed. But the competition levels way higher.

[B]

I think Mike Gundy did a lot of very, very good work coaching them up out there. Yeah, we've seen that's fair. Mixed results at Arkansas, but they're usually a couple. Like, Arkansas is not going to have as many good players as Auburn. Arkansas is not going to have as many good players as a lot of SEC teams. But they'll, they'll. Arkansas will get some special players in there. And the lack of investment right now might also be from people who are reading the, reading the tea leaves in terms of the long term outlook of the program. Like this might be one where a coaching chains ends up also opening up some wallets to be able to help with the spending process.

[A]

I will point out at Oklahoma State, like Les Miles was there for four years. His last three he took him to bowls. You know, he, he was averaging eight wins a year like that. That's, that's not too bad. I don't know who the hell Pat Jones is, but he actually had what, four 10 win seasons. Like that was kind of, kind of the guy before Les Miles. I, I mean that like that they haven't always been terrible. It had a guy named Barry Sanders. Obviously that helped quite a bit.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And, and also Thurman, you know, Thurman Thomas.

[B]

Didn't they have Switzer too?

[A]

Yes. Wait, no. They had Jimmy Johnson, Jimmy Johnson before him. Jimmy Johnson actually didn't win there. It's weird, but I, he kind of set some things up, I think.

[B]

What would you do in terms of any. Do you think that it needs to be a sitting head coach?

[A]

No, I, I don't think so, but I think it, if it's not, it needs to be a coordinator who has like been in the P4 school.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's why like I, I think Trey Lamb is probably a rising star, but I, I don't know on that one.

[B]

What's the. Do you think Oklahoma State needs to try to back channel some stuff quickly in case this turns into. Because here's what I fear. I fear that Oklahoma State made its move on Mike Gundy and maybe they've known this was going to happen for a while. But if you are on Oklahoma State's list in mid December, are you also waiting to see what the dominoes are in terms of other jobs?

[A]

I think it depends on like, do you think Oklahoma State's a better job than the Hokies? You know, we, we saw their announcement and commitment to spending, you know, on athletics revenue. We didn't see like, like an nil announcement from them. Right. You know, I think it's a lot harder to win at. It's weird. I think it like Vatech has a higher floor and a lower ceiling to me because like, because like there's no Clemson, Miami, Florida State in the Big 12 now Texas Tech wants to spend like Insane money every year then, then okay, you might have one. But Oklahoma State could, if they really, really did it right, could be second in the Big 12 every year like that. That league is so wide open everybody's separated by three points for the most part. Except for some of the new additions, you know, but those are our teams trying to catch up from the rev share standpoint. What if there, what other small jobs like we already talked about Arkansas. I think that's going to be sort of just, you know, coaches preference.

[B]

What if Baylor opens? Is Baylor, Oklahoma State a better job?

[A]

I think Baylor is a better job just because of money.

[B]

I'm trying to think about where else, where else we have our eyes set right now with the potential.

[A]

But like, like if Auburn opens or Florida opens, those are not debatable, right? Like there's no, there's no coach. Like I don't know. I'm going to pick between Oklahoma State and, and Florida, right?

[B]

Are Ole Miss and Oklahoma State fishing in the same pool if Lane leaves?

[A]

No, I, I think Ole Miss is a pretty clearly better job than Oklahoma State. Yeah, I just think Arkansas is about equal to Oklahoma State because I don't think you can win there. And I don't think Arkansas spends on football because they actually have to spend on basketball because Calipari and they're really committed to spending in baseball. Like I guarantee, I guarantee Arkansas football spending number is very close to the worst in the sec.

[B]

Do you think the same about, do you think the same about Kentucky?

[A]

Yes, I think, I don't think you win a Kentucky anymore at all. I think they are all in on hoops.

[B]

Wow, what a great, like what a great statement on the current revenue sharing.

[A]

Era because pick and choose unless you have somebody who's going to bankroll the sport you choose not to give the rev share to. Yeah, like, like Arkansas is taking the SEC check and they're choosing to be good at basketball and baseball and that's fine.

[B]

Revenue sharing just started and we talked about the many ways that we thought it might impact college athletics and the truth of the matter is that we are only going to be finding this out on the fly and we're going to be finding it out at moments like this when there is a candidate who might be in the same conversation. And again I realize Sam Pittman and Mark Stoops are like still coaching their football teams. Let that be read into the record. But if we are hypothesizing that I.

[A]

Don'T think Stoops is getting fired.

[B]

You don't Think Stu, you don't think Kentucky will open?

[A]

I think they'll let Stoops go for several more years. Oh, I don't think like that's a big buyout. Who are they going to get that's better if they're not spending money on in football?

[B]

Garrett in the tailgate with an interesting. Is Oklahoma State a reset the clock job for somebody lateral move or maybe slight step down? And of course I, I apologize that I always come back to this story, but I mean he did have one very good year with the Cougars. But in our recent history, Dana Holgerson's move from West Virginia to Houston is like boom. Like because he wins the Orange bowl, you know, leads them from the Big east into the Big 12 and even has a couple of was it the Will Greer year with the Mountaineers where they were pretty good, you know, like not a lot of wins. But he could tell that things were starting to run their course. He could feel the pressure, little sidestep out the back door, go to Houston. Of course only ends up lasting a couple years, but did get a double digit win season there. So I apologize that I always call this the Dana Holgerson. But is Oklahoma State a good option for someone to pull the Dana Holgers Holgerson?

[A]

Yes. I'm just trying to think who that might be.

[B]

Could Billy do it?

[A]

I don't, I don't think a lot of fans at Oklahoma State are getting excited over Billy Napier.

[B]

Would Oklahoma State fans get excited about Jimbo Fisher?

[A]

I don't know. Jimbo Fisher hasn't been like a value add as an on field head coach in about a decade now. Like things were not going well in Tallahassee from a coaching perspective.

[B]

I, it if you are Oklahoma State and you need someone who is going to be able to organize the program, I think Jimbo can do that better than, better than some of the coordinators that we're talking about. Like how about this? Ben Arbuckle right now is a superstar offensive coordinator at your rival Oklahoma. And Ben Arbuckle might even think in his own mind, you know what, I could have that Oklahoma State job. And maybe he's right.

[A]

But I, I bet you could get. I just don't know if he would take it. I, I think, I think our Buckles like star is like, I, I don't, I don't think summer all would take it and I don't think our buckle would take it. I think those guys are in a higher class.

[B]

Luke Fickle.

[A]

There'S no way you're excited about Luke Fickle without those Notre Dame coordinators. Like, it's not like Wisconsin hasn't spent in nil money. They have. He just hasn't won. Shannon Dawson is actually another really interesting name for Miami. That. That's a good call out from Michael Quinones in the chat. Yeah, that I could see.

[B]

Shannon Dawson's. Because he was, what, at Houston for a little. Was he. He's from the Dana Tree, right?

[A]

He was at Houston. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. That's a good one. Let's see. Jonathan Smith, Michigan. I'd ride. I'd ride with Michigan State. It's too early.

[A]

I think Michigan State has some money. Is there. Somebody said we're purposefully ignoring a name, but I'm not really sure who. Dan Mullen.

[B]

Yeah, sure, sure.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, I, I. That. That's one where Dan is. I mean, I know Dan's a big fan of the COVID 3 podcast, so. Hey, Dan, I'm not trying to disrupt your. Your season.

[A]

Really.

[B]

UNLV is4.0, so we, of course, want to celebrate the Rebels. We don't want anything to run off the tracks on our account for you, Daniel, but I would think. I would think that Dan's gonna be like, oh, nice. Oklahoma State's open. Maybe. Let's see. What's that? Let's. Let's see what else goes through. You know.

[A]

Kodalniki, John Gruden, he was at Kansas. Oh, Bob Chesney at jmu. That. That's an interesting one.

[B]

I. I think. I think Bob Chesney needs to get a look for Virginia Tech. I don't know if Virginia Tech, with all this recent spending and investing, wants to hire JMU's head coach, even though it worked out well for Indiana. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. Are there any others that we would. Ed. Oh, no, I think we. We. We want Ed Odron or Todd Grantham to be the interim coach for every job that fires their coach.

[A]

Odrah is not a serious name. Right? Am I wrong on this? I don't know. Like, maybe I'm wrong.

[B]

I saw Smiley Kaufman post a video with Coacho at the Ryder Cup. I mean, I think that Coach O loves being Coach O. I think Coach.

[A]

Coacho is living pretty well.

[B]

That's what I'm saying. Like, like to. To meet Coacho's requirements for. For a good life. I think he's already. I think he's already checked a lot of boxes. Now he just has to go live it. It's not like he's. It's not like he's chasing the dragon anymore.

[A]

Over. Under on Oklahoma state coach age 52 and a half.

[B]

Who'd you look up? That's 52.

[A]

Mullen just turned 53.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And he seems like, he seems like a young 53, you know.

[B]

Yeah. If, if there is a situation where Oklahoma State has had the potential to spend but is withholding because of their head coaching situation, I'd say under. Then you go younger. You're trying to, you know, I mean, let it not be forgotten. Mike Gundy was opting to do that live show from a retirement home. Remember when he was taking the coach's show to the retirement home? Which. It was endearing and I kind of adored it on some levels, but also maybe, you know, not necessarily connecting with the Utes, as they say. What about Sean Lewis, San Diego State head coach?

[A]

If he keeps winning. Yeah, for sure. I, I don't, man, I. You tell us. Oklahoma State fans. Are you excited about Pat Fitzgerald? No, not either.

[B]

I think Pat Fitzgerald can be a.

[A]

Good coach at like a Stanford.

[B]

Yeah, that. But this, this would be tough. I mean, what would your idea be that you're going into the Big 12 and you are going to be the zig to the zag. You're going to build. Our friend Joe Gilio always likes to say build a different mousetrap. You know, like see Dana Holgerson. Oh, retread. Not a bad idea.

[A]

I don't think they're gonna go Dana. It feels a little gundish to me.

[B]

I mean, it should. He's Gundy's old oc.

[A]

Right. But in terms of like the, some of the flair and the. I, I don't know. I, I would be surprised on that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But.

[B]

I think, I think we probably.

[A]

Had a names here. We discussed him. Ryan Silverfield. Yeah, I, I do. I, I do think there is a pretty good chance that all of the top coaches in the American get out. Oh, like I think Golash has to get out. If you think about like the players that are carrying that team, they're all either draft eligible or transfer eligible. Like I think he has. Like if they. Yeah.

[B]

Some writing on the wall.

[A]

Silverfield I don't think has to get out. Memphis has FedEx money. Memphis has probably the most nil money in the group of five. Like they're on a different level.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they offer 200 million to join the Big 12. So I don't think there's the pressure on Silverfield to leave, you know, Summer all. I think it's probably Just going to like be able to not totally pick and choose his destination.

[B]

But wait, at least, I mean he's not, he's not going to be.

[A]

He's not, he has to jump for Arkansas in October. Right.

[B]

He's not, he's not going to be introduced as the next head coach of Oklahoma State on December 9th or whatever because that's Oklahoma State would like for that to happen. So. Yeah, lots.

[A]

I mean Florida State, that's an interesting one too if you wanted to go defense certainly. I think he's super impressive. I know ucla, you know, is interested.

[B]

So I mean don't you think Tony White might be interested in ucla?

[A]

Yeah, I mean I just, I wonder if UCLA doesn't go. Somebody with actual head coaching experience just given how the Sean experience went. Like you might not want a guy who's learning on the job.

[B]

Brennan, Marion.

[A]

How is Sac State doing this year?

[B]

I thought it wasn't going great. Is that correct?

[A]

I'm gonna say no on that one.

[B]

I mean let me fact check this in real time. Sacramento State.

[A]

Buster Faulkner is an interesting one, but I don't, I don't think he will.

[B]

Okay. I might be off. Sacramento State handed it to Central Arkansas handed it double digit win against Mercyhurst. Played Nevada to a three score game but lost to South Dakota State 2 and 2 on the year. Not bad. Jim Noel, I, Jim Knowles ain't. Jim Knowles ain't going to this, to this job. I, I thought that part of the Penn State move was about the call back to Pennsylvania. Right, Right. For the Philly guy. That was, that was my, my hunch on that one.

[A]

But isn't Knowles older?

[B]

Yes, Knowles is older.

[A]

Spavital is an interesting one from Baylor.

[B]

Be a great opportunity for him. Do you know what Oklahoma State is actually this is. I love that we get to talk these out on the air. That's why they're instant reactions.

[A]

I got two more for you.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Finish this.

[B]

Okay. Oklahoma State is a great opportunity for a lot of coaches who might have had a shot to be a head coach and it didn't quite work out who maybe think that their star is on the rise because Oklahoma State is the type of place where I think you can go in and you are not going to face some of the same challenges in conference play. As you mentioned, when we're talking about how good of a job Oklahoma State is, you probably get a little bit of a longer leash because of how coin flippy Big 12 play can be. But the opportunity is the ceiling of being able to make The College Football Playoff. So if you are a young coach, a coach on the rise, a coach who wants another chance to be a head coach, the O in Oklahoma State stands for opportunity. There is no guarantee that you're going to be able to win at Oklahoma State, but I do think that there is not as many obstacles in your way to. And certainly the opportunity to make the College Football Playoff is something that a lot of coaches on the rise or coaches looking to be back in that direction should certainly want to take advantage of.

[A]

Okay, a few more here. Kirby Moore, the Missouri oc. I was watching Missouri the other day. Like, I like the transfer back they got from Louisiana, but dude, like, Kirby Moore call place.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And like, he seems to be a rising star. Obviously he's been around Eli, who does a pretty good job. Missouri has been very progressive in the nil space and really embraced kind of the new model of college football. So I like that he's been around that. So I think Kirby Moore is certainly a guy, you know, you could take a look at. And I don't know that his star is so high that he could say no to an Oklahoma State if they came calling. A lot of guys in the chat are saying, J. Hill, the BYU, D.C. interesting. Okay.

[B]

He is very good. We've sung his praises before.

[A]

I don't know if he has any ties, I guess, to Oklahoma State.

[B]

I mean, played at Utah, Utah, Utah, Utah, Utah, Utah. We were State head coach for a long time. That would just be. That would just be hiring somebody who won the Big sky four times. It's not terrible.

[A]

Should we, should we mention Jeff Traylor? I mean, like, he hasn't, he hasn't been winning the exact same amount since they lost Frank Harris. But.

[B]

If Oklahoma.

[A]

Good track record.

[B]

Yeah. If Oklahoma State hires Jeff Traylor, you're not, you're not taking a big risk, right? Yeah, I don't think. And I think that if he gets the players, like when he had to play, when UTSA had an nf, had not an NFL offensive line, but when UTSA had offensive linemen with, like, power conference bodies and Frank Harris and Zachariah Franklin, then, yeah, they were. They were rolling. So you hired Jeff Traylor. You spent some money on players. Again, good opportunity there for Traylor. If I'll tell you this, if Oklahoma State comes calling, Jeff Traylor's agent is like, yes, we would like to take that interview. And that maybe goes back to your point about the American athletic.

[A]

I love Georgia fans trying to get Mike Bobo. Guys, Mike Bobo called a good Game against Tennessee.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

If you want to tell me Georgia's offensive line coach has slipped, I'll buy that. But Bobo called a fine game.

[B]

Hey, listen, Jason Eck.

[A]

I mean, if he doesn't get the Wisconsin job. Yeah, yeah. Wisconsin hasn't opened yet. Of course. Maybe they decide to stick. Stick with Fickle.

[B]

You see, Barry Alvarez started.

[A]

That was so, so lame, bro. Like, apparently the Wisconsin, like, student ticket experience is God awful. Like, they're saying they're waiting in line for like over an hour to get in the stadium. And I mean, you got seniors who have gone to Wisconsin who have had nothing but a crap product their entire experience. Like, Barry, he just, he's so washed at this point. Like, dude, if that's what you're gonna come on and say, just don't say anything. That, that, that's so lame.

[B]

For those who weren't aware, Barry Alvarez called Wisconsin fans, quote, spoiled after they were chanting fire Fickle during Wisconsin's home loss to Maryland on, on Saturday. Luke Fickle addressed the complaints afterwards and he was like, yeah, I knew what it was when I came here. I know what the standard is for Wisconsin success, and we haven't been doing it. Fickle owned up for it. He didn't need daddy Barry to come and defend him. So Barry just decided he'd lash out.

[A]

Is Oklahoma State a better job than Wisconsin?

[B]

No.

[A]

Why?

[B]

Number one, Big Ten, number two. I think that you've got a little bit more of a generational track record because at Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech might have this. We know one coach who added up and running inconsistent.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You've been playing football for 100 plus years and not every. Like, others have not been able to find that. So, like, that was the, the great success for your Florida State program is that Jimbo was able to like, get in there, win some conference championships, win a national championship, like, break the. It's just Bobby's program situation.

[A]

I think I agree with you. Also. I don't think Wisconsin's expectations are insane.

[B]

Well, it's just. Don't do what you're doing right now.

[A]

Like, a lot of other programs would have fired Fickle after last year and they let him hang around. I, I think internally Wisconsin probably realizes it's not a team that can win the Big Ten. Right. Right.

[B]

Not now.

[A]

I mean, do you think Wisconsin will win a Big Ten title in our.

[B]

Lifetime.

[A]

Like, going forward?

[B]

How about this?

[A]

I'll say Wisconsin, you 39.

[B]

I'm 38.

[A]

38. Sorry.

[B]

Yeah. Wisconsin will not win a Big Ten title in the next 10 years.

[A]

Totally agree. Yeah.

[B]

Because you know, Wisconsin might be the best program in the Big Ten if the super league forms and the Big Ten sticks around and you know, like, that's fair. Yeah. You know, just not knowing what college football is going to look like after 2032, 2034, 2036. I think that I'm going to stick to that as my. Stick to that as my. My sort of like range that I'm willing to take a stab at. But as long as they are in a. In the Big Ten with Ohio State, with Penn State, with Oregon, with Michigan. No, I'm. I think that that is roadblocks that we're not going to see the Badgers break through. I thought they could lie to themselves when it was the Big Ten West. You say, hey, it's one game. You never know what happens on an early Saturday on early December Saturday. But once Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State got right and I know that Wisconsin won lots of Big Ten titles with Brett Buma and even after Brett Bua, I think that that's. I think it's a little bit tougher right now.

[A]

Yeah. I think the better way to phrase it for me would be as the sport is currently constructed where we don't have a real salary cap. And with the current construction of the Big Ten, I'm very confident Wisconsin will not win a title if the structure of the sport changes. Okay. And I think the cool. The thing you got to consider if you take the Wisconsin jobs, I don't think they expect you to contend for Big Ten titles. I think. I think they do expect you to put a respectable product on the field that fans are not going to be yelling to fire the head coach over.

[B]

Yep. All right. Anything else? Thank you so much for jumping on, bud. Putting it. Putting in the. Putting in the extra OT here.

[A]

The interim is Meacham, not Grantham. Major missed opportunity.

[B]

Doug Meacham, former TCU offensive coordinator. Does that sound right?

[A]

And we have no. No problem with Doug Meacham. I'm just saying like Grantham would have been so much more fun.

[B]

Let's see where was Meacham was at TCU until last year. Yeah. All right. There you go. We'll see. We'll see how it ends up playing out. The Doug Meacham taken over as the interim is the interim head coach for Oklahoma State football again. Oklahoma State fired Mike Gundy on a Tuesday playing Baylor on a Saturday. We will be back [e-mail] cover3 on Wednesday for big game breakdown where it's gonna get a little SEC heavy. I gotta be honest, because we just did two huge segments looking at the Oregon, Penn State matchup, looking at then another segment looking at the Ohio State, Washington matchup, a little bit more on Illinois, usc. So what do we have left on the big game breakdown checklist? That's right, just a small little showdown in Athens where it will be Alabama taken on Georgia. We also have lsu, Ole Miss, old school rivalry renewed. But it won't just be the sec. We'll make sure to turn our attention elsewhere. All across the landscape, some good Friday night action like fsu, Virginia, tcu, Arizona State and so much more. And you can follow him on Twitter @Buddha3. You can follow me at chip underscore Patterson. Gentlemen, thank you very much. An exclusive Paramount plus original documentary.

[A]

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[B]

They cared about their narrator was going.

[A]

To be upset by somebody speaking to the press. Bodyguard of Lies, now streaming on Paramount plus.