Mike Gundy Addresses Multiple Interviews With Tennessee

The Oklahoma State coach explored the opportunity a few times over the past 15 years.

Mike Gundy has been the Oklahoma State coach since 2005, but he has flirted with opportunities elsewhere. In fact, Gundy interviewed for the same vacancy multiple times.

Three separate times in his tenure at Oklahoma State, Gundy interviewed for the Tennessee football head coach position, most recently in 2017. As for why Tennessee, the Oklahoma State head coach said that vacancy always interested him.

“I always felt like that job was a gold mine,” Gundy said, via ESPN’s Chris Low.

However, exploring with other job openings made Gundy realize how much he enjoys having the same job for 17 years.

“That’s why I’m so appreciative of what we have at this place, the continuity and stability that we’ve had,” Gundy said. “People don’t leave. They stay here, and with our new administration, there’s a lot left out there for us.”

Gundy is the longest-tenured Big 12 head coach and the third-longest tenured head coach in the power five conferences, behind only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham. In his Oklahoma State career, Gundy has a .683 winning percentage with 16 straight winning seasons, including seven double-digit win years. However, he has yet to lead the Cowboys to a College Football playoff appearance despite coaching in multiple New Year’s Six bowls.

Tennessee, meanwhile, has had six different coaches since Gundy took over Oklahoma State, with eight winning seasons total and only one double-digit win seasons.