Mike Gundy Fired After 20-Year Run at Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State fired longtime head coach Mike Gundy three games into the 2025 season, ending a 20-year tenure in Stillwater. Gundy, 58, was dismissed as the Cowboys fell to 1-2 after a weekend loss to their in-state rival Tulsa. The school confirmed the decision, with sources saying he will receive $15 million under a buyout for being fired without cause, per his contract.

Oklahoma State entered 2025 with low expectations after a 3-9 season last year and has failed to defeat an FBS opponent this season, with its only victory coming against UT Martin by 20 points. The Cowboys were blown out by nationally ranked Oregon, 69-3, earlier this month and have now lost 11 straight games to FBS competition dating back to the start of Big 12 play in 2024. Gundy's 20-year tenure ends amid a broader decline in results and a rekindled debate about the program's direction.

Gundy said he had received "fair questions" about his job security on Monday and said he "100 percent" wanted to remain at Oklahoma State beyond this season. "I'm under contract, here, for I think 3 1/2 years," Gundy said, adding that when he was hired he had "put my heart and soul into this" and would continue to do so "until at some point, if I say I don't want to do it or if somebody else says we don't want you to do it."

The firing comes amid a season that has done little to silence questions about the program’s direction. Oklahoma State has endured a rocky stretch since moving into the Big 12 in 2024, including a 1-2 start in 2025 and a stretch where wins have been scarce and competitiveness in key games has been uneven. The loss to Tulsa, a traditional in-state rival, proved to be the final straw for the administration, even as Gundy insisted he believed there was still fight left in the program.

With Gundy out, the Cowboys will begin the process of identifying a replacement and rebuilding around a new vision for the program. The decision ends a chapter in Stillwater that linked the coach to a generation of Cowboys football, for better and for worse, and marks the start of a search that will be followed closely by fans and analysts alike.