Oklahoma State football makes smart move, extends Mike Gundy

Oklahoma State football made the smart move on Tuesday, extending head coach Mike Gundy’s contract five years.

Everyone remembers the famous Mike Gundy speech in 2007 when he said to the media, “I’m a man. I’m 40!” Now, 10 years later, the head coach can look back and laugh at his antics, all while signing a major contract extension to stay with Oklahoma State for the next five seasons.

According to John Helsley of The Oklahoman, Gundy and Oklahoma State agreed on the five-year extension which will give him a $300,000 raise in 2017.

Prior to the extension, Gundy was set to make about $3.9 million, but he will now take home a whopping $4.2 million in 2017 with yearly escalators of $125,000. Not too shabby for the head coach who is still trying to be the dominant program in his own state.

Sure, you can look at Gundy’s list of accomplishments and realize that they’re nowhere near what in-state rival Bob Stoops’ were before he decided to retire last week. However, he now finds himself in an ideal situation as the most proven coach in the rivalry and one of the best in the Big 12.

Oklahoma State has seen its football program go from four wins in Gundy’s first year (2004) to at least 10 victories in five of the last seven seasons. Keeping him on board for another five years, at least, will provide even more of a program-wide upgrade.

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Gundy has compiled a 104-50 overall record at Oklahoma State with a conference and division title to his name. He’s entering his 13th season with potentially the highest expectations of his career. He will do so as the conference’s third-highest paid coach behind Texas’ Tom Herman and TCU’s Gary Patterson.