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Since the introduction of NIL, the job of a college football coach has gotten infinitely more challenging. While most coaches keep their heads down and do their best to adapt, Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy spoke out about the challenges ahead of the 2025 college football season.
As one of the longest-tenured coaches in college football, Gundy has seen everything with Oklahoma State. The 57-year-old believes the current landscape is unfairly slanted toward the schools with the highest budget and will only be fixed once the NCAA “admits the players are employees,” he told On3 Sports.
“College needs to build that type of system so we don't have the same four, five or six schools that pay the most money at the end of the season in the playoffs,” Gundy said, via On3 Sports' Andy Staples. “You gotta restructure the system and you gotta admit that the players are employees. Then you can build a collective bargaining, like we've all talked about. You can do it all. You need an entry salary cap for a high school player coming in because it's not sustainable.”
“You’ve got to admit the players are employees. Then you can build collective bargaining. We’ve all talked about it. But you have to admit they’re employees.”
— Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, saying on the record what pretty much everyone is saying off the record. pic.twitter.com/oDnaZ6YDYL
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) July 10, 2025
Gundy's Cowboys are coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in recent history. After being ranked No. 17 in the preseason AP poll, Oklahoma State went just 3-9 in 2024, the worst season of Gundy's tenure.
Oklahoma State's disappointing campaign led to rumors that the longtime head coach might not return in 2025. The two sides eventually put their differences aside, though Gundy is transparently on the hot seat ahead of his 21st season.
Pressure on Oklahoma State entering 2025 college football season
If Mike Gundy ever gets the NIL rule changes he desires, they will not come in 2025. Instead, he enters arguably the most challenging season of his career with his job on the line.
After failing to win a single conference game in 2024, Oklahoma State changed nearly its entire roster in the offseason. The Cowboys lost star running back Ollie Gordon II, as well as quarterbacks Alan Bowman and Maealiuaki Smith. As a result, they are projected to start 13 transfers in 2025, including all five offensive linemen.
Oklahoma State's disastrous 2024 season gave Gundy his first losing record since 2005, his first year on the job. Despite being arguably the greatest coach in program history, Gundy's back is against the wall as he struggles to adapt to the modern era.
