Mike Gundy
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Michael Ray Gundy (born August 12, 1967) is the head football coach at Oklahoma State University and a former quarterback of the Cowboys. Gundy became Oklahoma State's coach on January 3, 2005. In 2007 he received national media attention for a his heated criticism of a newspaper article on one of his players.[2][3]
Playing career
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At Midwest City High School, Gundy played quarterback, and was voted Oklahoma Player of the Year in 1986. Gundy grew up a Sooner fan and was recruited by the University of Oklahoma but in the end decided that Oklahoma State offered a better opportunity for a passing quarterback and signed with the Cowboys. He became the starting quarterback midway through his freshman year and held the job from 1986-1989. Gundy would become the all-time leading passer in Oklahoma State and Big 8 Conference history. Over the course of four years, Gundy threw 49 touchdowns and 7,997 yards, including 2,106 yards in 1987 and 2,163 in 1988. He led the Cowboys to bowl wins in the 1987 Sun Bowl and 1988 Holiday Bowl aided by two Hall of Fame running backs, Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders.
Coaching career
When Gundy graduated, he became an assistant coach for the Cowboys. He was wide receiver coach in 1990, quarterback coach from 1991-1993 and offensive coordinator from 1994-1995. However, after the 1995 season, he left for Baylor.
Gundy was quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator for Baylor during the 1996 season. He was on staff with Larry Fedora at Baylor and would rekindle that relationship when he became head coach at Oklahoma State bringing Fedora on as his offensive coordinator. After the season, he moved again, this time to Maryland where he was wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator from 1997-2000.
In 2001, the Oklahoma State job became vacant when Bob Simmons resigned and a search produced Les Miles and Mike Gundy as the finalists. Miles would be hired as head coach and Gundy was brought aboard as offensive coordinator. The team would go on to three straight bowl games in Miles last three years as head coach. When Miles left in 2004 to take the LSU job, Gundy was named immediately as Miles successor and the 22nd head coach at Oklahoma State.
His first season saw the expulsion of eleven players from the team and the Cowboys struggled to a 4-7 record winning only one Big 12 conference game. In his second season, the Cowboy offense began to click and the Cowboys would finish 7-6 including a victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Independence Bowl. As of September 22, 2007, seven of his thirteen career victories have come against teams from 1-AA or the Sun Belt Conference.[3]
Media controversy
On September 22 2007, Gundy made comments that became the subject of a nationwide media controversy. Following his team's victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Gundy refused to discuss or answer any questions about the game. Instead, he said he wanted to talk about a newspaper article that had appeared that day. The article was critical of one of Gundy's players and Gundy launched into what ESPN called a "tirade" against the journalist who wrote the story.[2][3] Video clips of the coach, at times screaming, were quickly downloaded more than 75,000 times from video streaming sites such as YouTube,[4][5][6] where it became one of the ten most-downloaded clips of the day.[7] Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman wrote the original article discussing Bobby Reid, the former starting quarterback, and reasons why he may have been demoted to second-string. The OSU coaching staff publicly supported Reid earlier in the year but then demoted him with no explanation of the change.[8] The article was titled "Reid is still the most talented signal-caller, but attitude is reason for change".[9] Carlson said that Reid was still the most talented quarterback on the team but that he got "nicked in some games and sat it out instead of gutting it out."[4]
In his post-game speech to the media, Gundy called three-fourths of Carlson's column "fiction". During his weekly news conference the following Monday, Carlson asked the coach to point out what he thought were factual errors in the article. The coach replied, "I don't have to."[4] Carlson replied that she can't report errors to the paper unless she knows what they are.[10] Gundy said, "I don't have to. I'd rather just let it go."[4][10] Gundy was asked two more times by reporters from other papers and still did not explain what parts of the article were incorrect. He said that his only regrets concerning his post-game statements were that he wished he had said more and been better prepared.[7] Gundy called the 21-year old Reid a "good kid" who does things right and is undeserving of such criticism.[7]
In a column the following Tuesday, Carlson wrote that she also would like to let it go, had Gundy not questioned her credibility. She wrote, "I will not stand on the sidelines and allow someone to attack my credibility."[4] She challenged Gundy to point out even one statement from the article that was not factually correct.[4] The Oklahoman sports editor, Mike Sherman, also stood by the story.[11] Mike Griffith, president of the Football Writers Association of America, called Gundy's behavior "completely inappropriate".[4] CBS Sportsline's Dennis Dodd went further saying, "Mike Gundy needs to be reprimanded, definitely suspended, probably fined and maybe fired.[12] OSU athletic director Mike Holder stood behind Gundy, saying that "nothing is more important to us than our student-athletes."[7] College football coaches were divided in their opinions. Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said, "I feel like the coach at Oklahoma State summed it up very well. I’m in agreement with him."[13] However, Oregon State coach Mike Riley said that dealing with both criticism and praise is just part of a player’s learning experience. Riley said, "They’re young men, but I think college is all about growth and development. The scrutiny part of it is part of our life, and they have to be educated about that."[13]
The episode generated discussion about what constitutes fair criticism for players that welcome the adulation of the press when things are going well for them.[8][11][12][14][6] In Gundy's criticism of Carlson, he said that she would never have written the piece if she were herself were a parent, like Gundy. There are some concerns that the remarks constituted a form of sexism and about whether Gundy would have launched a similar attack on a male sportswriter.[8][14][15] The Association for Women in Sports Media said Monday night that Gundy handled the situation in an "unprofessional manner."[4]
Personal
Mike Gundy is the brother of Oklahoma running backs coach Cale Gundy.
Head coaching records
| Team | Year | Wins | Losses | Bowl game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma State | 2005 | 4 | 7 | |
| Oklahoma State | 2006 | 7 | 6 | Independence Bowl |
| Oklahoma State | 2007 | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | 3 years | 13 | 15 |
References
- ^ "Oklahoma State Payroll Database". TulsaWorld.com. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
- ^ a b "Mike Gundy Fired up over Article". ESPN.com. September 222007. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|company=ignored (help) - ^ a b c "September sizzles with shockers, coaching controversies". ESPN.com. September 222007. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|company=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h "Columnist responds to Gundy's tirade". September 252007. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Oklahoma State Football Coach Mike Gundy Upset". YouTube.com. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
- ^ a b Hale, Cody (September 252007). "Immune to criticism? - Brown empathizes with Gundy". The Daily Texan. Texas Student Publications. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d Cohen, Andrea and John Helsley (September 24 2007). "THE COACH: Gundy only wishes he'd said more and that he'd been better prepared". NewsOK.com. The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c Horning, Clay (September 242007). "Now we know what stirs Pokes coach". The Norman Transcript. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Reid is still the most talented signal-caller, but attitude is reason for change". The Oklahoman. September 22 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Cohen, Andrea (September 24 2007). "Gundy: I don't have to explain inaccuracies". NewsOK.com. The Oklahoman. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Trammel, Berry (September 242007). "Other Voices: Gundy was out of bounds with rant". SeattlePi.com. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Dodd, Dennis (September 232007). "After Gundy goes off, maybe next move should be out". CBSSportsline.com. Columbia Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Ruiz, Don (September 262007). "Pac-10 coaches divided over criticism of players". TheNewsTribune.com. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "Was Gundy mad at a columnist or a woman? You make the call - Coach's tirade makes an issue of gender". SunTimes.com. Chicago Sun-Times. September 25 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Let's just take a little breather". MurtleBeachOnline.com. The Sun Times. September 252007. Retrieved 2007-09-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)