Gundy Hires Tim Rattay as Quarterbacks Coach
STILLWATER -- Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy announced on Friday afternoon that he has hired former Louisiana Tech record setting quarterback Tim Rattay as the new quarterbacks coach for the Cowboys. Rattay, most recently, was coaching quarterbacks for the Washington Redskins of the NFL.
"Tim is a really experienced and sound quarterbacks coach," Gundy said in a release from Oklahoma State Athletic Media Relations. "He is the son of a high school coach and brings a unique perspective as a former NFL quarterback himself."
Gundy told Pokes Report after the news came out that Rattay was "a perfect fit for us." He also said that prior to interviewing Rattay that he had no previous connection with the Cowboys new quarterback coach.
"I'm excited about the opportunity with a very talented young quarterback returning and being around Coach Gundy," Rattay said in the Oklahoma State release. "Watching Oklahoma State from afar, I've always been impressed with how they play with tempo, how they play offensively and how they compete every game. With how respected Coach Gundy and his whole staff are in the college community, that was a huge plus. I'm excited to get in there and start working."
Rattay checks a lot of boxes for what any Division I program would be looking for. He came out of Louisiana Tech, a school known for passing and for quarterbacks like Terry Bradshaw, and Rattay is still the all-time leader in many passing categories. I like that he came out of junior college and worked his way into the opportunity at Louisiana Tech.
Rattay carries the added credibility of playing in the NFL for seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, and Arizona Cardinals. He finished his playing career in the United Football League playing for the Las Vegas Locomotives.
He started his coaching at that level, coaching receivers for the Las Vegas Locomotives and then went back to his alma mater and coaches receivers and then quarterbacks at Louisiana Tech before joining the Redskins prior to this season.
He has the college and professional playing experience and the same in coaching. He is still young at 41-years-old. Checking with contacts in Louisiana, Rattay was known as a good recruiter for the Bulldogs in his time there.
Rattay remains LA Tech's single-season and career leader in passing touchdowns. He passed for 4,943 passing yards in 1998 and his 411.9 passing yards per game that season stands as the ninth-best single-season mark in FBS history. He was enshrined into the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.
He was selected in the seventh round (212th overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and spent six seasons with the team. His NFL career included stops in Tampa Bay in 2006, Tennessee in 2007 and Arizona in 2007. Rattay appeared in 40 games in his career with 18 starts and finished 432-of-714 passing for 4,853 yards with 31 touchdowns.
A native of Phoenix, Ariz., Rattay started his collegiate playing career at Scottsdale Community College in 1996 before transferring to Louisiana Tech in 1997. He graduated in 2001 with a degree in general studies and is married to the former Allison Walker, who played volleyball for LA Tech. The couple has three children, Riley, Taylor and Sloane.
This still leaves some unanswered questions for Oklahoma State fans, like who will be the offensive coordinator and will call the plays. The best guess is that recently elevated associate head coach and receivers coach Kasey Dunn would be the answer. Dunn is heading into his 10th season at Oklahoma State and while he has not been the offensive coordinator and play caller, he has been a central figure in game planning and communication on game day as the voice for both previous offensive coordinators Mike Yurcich and Sean Gleeson on the sidelines. Dunn has both extensive college and NFL coaching experience.
Where does this leave the possibility of current Cleveland Browns and former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken joining the staff? Exactly where Pokes Report has told you. Monken has a contract, a fairly lucrative contract with Cleveland and he will need to see what happens with the Browns head coaching search to see if he might be retained or cut loose.
If he is cut loose by the Browns, Monken likely look for an opportunity to work and still collect his compensation from the Browns. We suggested a role as a senior offensive analyst at Oklahoma State as being possible. Monken was the Oklahoma State offensive coordinator in 2011 when the Cowboys won the Big 12 and defeated Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl. Gundy and Monken and their families are good friends and Monken's son Travis is slated to be a student at Oklahoma State.
More than likely the rest of the offensive coaching scenario will be announced in the coming weeks.
(Oklahoma State University athletic media relations also contributed to this story.)
