The Oklahoma State Cowboys fired head coach Mike Gundy on Tuesday, becoming the latest college football program to fire a coach in the early stages of the season. The UCLA Bruins are looking for their next head coach after moving on from DeShaun Foster, but would Gundy be a good fit for the Bruins?
Gundy spent over two decades with Oklahoma State but after struggling in the past two seasons, the Cowboys opted to pay a $15 million buyout to move on from their coach. With such a hefty buyout, Gundy may not be in a hurry to find his next coaching job with such a hefty buyout but UCLA could be attracted by the long-term stability that Gundy could bring to the program.
He was fired for a reason though, Oklahoma State went just 3-9 last year and didn’t win a single Big 12 game. This year, the Cowboys started the season 1-2 with a 19-12 loss to Tulsa and a 69-3 loss to Oregon.
Gundy is the most accomplished head coach in program history, winning three Big 12 championship games, including two this decade (2021 and 2023) but the Cowboys have struggled against bigger programs, having lost 11 straight games against Power Four opponents.
The fit with UCLA is far from perfect, Gundy is 58 and has never coached west of Oklahoma and is seen as a Cowboys’ lifer but with the Bruins in such a desperate situation, perhaps they’d consider the veteran coach to help re-shape the state of UCLA football.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Is there a realistic fit for Mike Gundy with the UCLA Bruins?
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
