I'm Glad Mike Gundy is our HC

[OSU-DNA]

The past two days has seen articles in the DOK and TW being extremely critical of Mike. In my opinion they are unprofessional, and while expected from the DOK, very surprising that we see the TW chiming in on this babble.

My guess is that most people would look at Jimmy Johnson as being the most talented HC OSU every had. Yet in Jimmy's first four seasons, he had two below losing seasons, his 5th and last year at OSU he was 8-4 and off to Miami.

Mike no doubt has been growing on the job, his game management is improving and needs to continue to improve. His personnel selection though has been excellent. A manager comfortable with surrounding himself with talented individuals will most always be successful. In this area Mike has been exceptional, the only previous coach that has done this at OSU was JJ.

I found the bias slant of the DOK article beyond disgust in reviewing the Fedora situation. On the other hand for me, there was an extremely positive message with Fedora's selection as the Southern Mississippi HC. Fedora is the first OSU assistant that I can remember being selected to be a HC at an institution other than OSU. That tells me two things, first that Mike is a tremendous personnel selector, and two that OSU can attract top talent to the assistant positions and they now have legitimate opportunities of moving up the coaching ladder. This to me is the basis of building long term viability and Mike is succeeding in this critical area.

Mike has made tough player decisions, not just the cleaning of the disappointments left by Miles. The first decision to use Reid versus Woods was very difficult. The allegiance to the Woods family made this even more challenging, but the lack of an ability to develop a passing game made this necessary. And, that change was followed by the Robinson insertion at QB another extremely gut wrenching call during the season. I give Mike high marks for those decisions. (BTW, if we had Miles, we would not have had Robinson.)

Mike is making more personnel decisions now and again they are challenging. Our lack of defensive play makers led to a very poor showing this year. The decision to utilize the JC route shows the urgency he is placing on fixing this situation. Frankly, I do not think all of those JCs will start, but they will provide challenging depth that will push the starters.

Yes, I am glad Mike is our coach. He is building a program for long term success, he is selecting assistants which will enhance the program, he is making tough personnel calls, he is improving in his game day management and he believes his future is at OSU.

I will be in Arizona cheering on Mike and the Cowboys.

GO POKES!

[Verb]

Well said, DNA. I feel like I sound like a paranoiac when I say this, but I genuinely feel that those articles were just "punishment" for Mike for the Carlson incident. The print media is still mad at him, and they want to make him pay. Incredibly childish of them.

[MemphisPoke]

Well said, DNA. I feel like I sound like a paranoiac when I say this, but I genuinely feel that those articles were just "punishment" for Mike for the Carlson incident. The print media is still mad at him, and they want to make him pay. Incredibly childish of them.

What she said. They (the media) know that MG's rant against JC is rapidly moving into history and they are after that one last shot before it totally becomes "old hat" and of no importance.

And a very good post DNA.

[CaliforniaCowboy]

I think he's done a decent job overall, with an exceptional rating with regards to player personnel relations and development, with academic standing of the kids, with selection of assistants, with providing every single amenity available to the players, with recruiting, and with media relations (despite what some envious media types would like us to believe; that there is a problem).

I would like to see some continued improvement with game management (clock, play calling, use of available personnel, etc.).


Gundy seems to have us moving in a great direction toward actually winning a Big12 championship in my lifetime; perhaps even in 2008 (next year "might" be premature because once again we have lots of changes that create some uncertainity, like influx of JUCOs, loss of OC, reliance on a new set of skill players, and sporatic play of the special teams). I think that all of those can be overcome to make a championship run in 2008, but that is a pretty big list.

With Holder running the show we can rest assured that it will get done, even if it eventually means finding someone else.

I think we're in great hands with Mike and Mike... I can't wait to see how this all plays out... and I'll be thumbing my nose at the agenda-driven media the whole way.

[CanadianCowboy]

I think that everything that all four of you - OSU-DNA, Verb, MemphisPoke, & CCWest - is right on the mark. If I were to add anything, it would be that I am proud of how well-constructed The Master Plan is and that we are sticking to it. I think it is obvious that at the time Gundy was hired, there was a plan constructed that was dedicated to the long-term development of an athletic program that included multiple sports as "marquee" sports instead of being one-dimensional as most other university athletic programs are - the traditional line of thinking being a school is either a Football or Men's Basketball school. Although Football is the cash cow, we also have Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, and Wrestling to serve as financial and coaching springboards for the development of the other non-marquee sports O-State supports.

In parallel, there is The Football Plan...also dedicated to long-term winning and consistent challenging for championships. Gundy is the right guy with the right values and strength of spirit to see it through. I am proud that Gundy and the Athletic Department have been steadfast to stay the course, weather the idiotic calls for his removal, and put a product on the field that will be well-worth the cost of the ticket to see. I think The Football Plan was generated EXACTLY at the same time as the decision to hire Gundy, because the plan fits him, and he fits the plan. My estimation is that the base plan was for 9 years, which coincides well with his contract structure, and the structure of the assistants' contracts. In "cowboy-math" terms, the 9 years figures to be a year of forming, 2 following years to install the Offensive part of the package (scheme & personnel) & develop depth for the defense, followed with 3 years of installing the Defensive package (scheme & personnel), finishing with 3 years of polish & finish with maybe a "lull" year for the offense and a "lull" year for the defense. The end result is a Sewerner's Nightmare - an O-State Football Program that consistently wins 11 a year, and competitively challenges the paperclips & whorns year-in & year-out to represent the Big XII South in the B12 Championship.

Lots of words just to say, I'm glad that Mike Gundy is O-State's Head Football Coach, too. :D

[Lewis the Pike]

What she said. They (the media) know that MG's rant against JC is rapidly moving into history and they are after that one last shot before it totally becomes "old hat" and of no importance.



+1

[mdpoke]

This post is why I like OState Sports.

[Roman Craig]

This post is why I like OState Sports.
+1

[MarkOSU]

The Tulsa World article surprised me, the DOK did not. The World has not shown that kind of anger. The part about Collins was, in my opinion, a low blow. Mike made it clear that he felt that Collins had earned the right to hear the decision face to face.
I would not be surprised if Mike was told that he miss handled the Carlson situation, but it is old news for everyone but the press.
I think Mike will get us there, and think we need to stick with him,

[legelegel]

The Tulsa World article surprised me, the DOK did not. The World has not shown that kind of anger. The part about Collins was, in my opinion, a low blow. Mike made it clear that he felt that Collins had earned the right to hear the decision face to face.
I would not be surprised if Mike was told that he miss handled the Carlson situation, but it is old news for everyone but the press.
I think Mike will get us there, and think we need to stick with him,

I believe a lot of people were involved in the Collins decision making from the very beginning. His coach may have championed him to the end, but there had to be others higher than Gundy that had to also agree.