This week, one of the longest running tenures in College Football came to an end as the Oklahoma State Cowboys fired Mike Gundy. The coach's run at Oklahoma State started as a player before he became a positional coach and then ran the program for more than 2 decades. When you look at why Oklahoma State made the decision to fire Gundy, it's been the past few seasons that made the decision for Oklahoma State.
In 2024, the Cowboys went 3-9 while going winless in Big 12 play in a season where it was clear that the Cowboys didn't have the talent to compete. In 2025, Oklahoma State was off to a 1-2 start with a blowout loss to Oregon and a stunning loss to Tulsa.
The loss to Oregon showed all of the problems with the Cowboys as Gundy bashed Oregon for how much they spent on their roster before getting demolished. Oklahoma State clearly didn't adapt to NIL early enough and it ultimately cost Gundy his job.
Nick Saban's comments on the Mike Gundy firing are interesting
Part of what makes Nick Saban being on College GameDay so great is the fact that we get to hear his comments on a ton of topics. On Saturday Morning, Saban spoke about the Gundy era coming to an end and his thoughts are interesting when it comes to his own career.
"Some people have a tougher time embracing the whole idea of paying players, especially some of us old timers you know, it was a little more difficult, and Mike Gundy has been a great coach for a long time. You know, coaching is teaching, teaching is ability to inspire learning, and for those of us who kind of get that, and that’s been our self-gratification for so many years. Embracing paying the players has been a little bit harder, and I think that ultimately is what got them at Oklahoma State."Nick Saban
Not adapting soon enough to NIL is certainly the reason that Mike Gundy was fired however, Nick Saban relating it to himself is a look into why he may be retired. Saban speaking on how coaching is teaching and how that was the gratifying part of coaching speaks to how a lot of coaches have felt there isn't the same joy.
Nick Saban had accomplished everything in College Football and had very right to retire yet, it's more likely NIL and everything that came with it pushed him away.