KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 01: Fans pack the stands to support their teams as the Mississippi Rebels face the Tennessee Volunteers on October 1, 2005 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)Mike Gundy is an Oklahoma State kind of guy – it’s just who he is.
Earlier this week, ESPN ran a profile on the Oklahoma State head football coach and why he chooses to stay in a small market. He’s had opportunities to leave, as he mentioned in the piece, but decided to to remain with the Cowboys instead.
“No, I wouldn’t have thought I would still be here, but I do now,” Gundy told ESPN. “This is who I am. This is what I am. This is where I belong. This is me. There’s no reason for me to go anywhere else.”
But he almost did leave.
Gundy revealed he nearly accepted the Tennessee job that ultimately went to Jeremy Pruitt in 2018. In fact, he’s been offered the Tennessee job three times.
“I’ve had that (Tennessee) job offered three different times…Tennessee put together an unbelievable package [in 2018], and it’s hard to tell somebody no when that happens. But I made the right decision.”
Gundy parlayed his flirtation with Tennessee into a significant bonus from Oklahoma State. He received a $625,000 one-time increase to a five-year contract he signed in 2017.
Gundy eventually revealed the one job he thought he would leave for was the Dallas Cowboys, but they never came calling.
