THE SPORTING NEWS -Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy and the Cowboys are headed for change this offseason. A 3-9 finish to the 2024 season, with a lowlight 52-0 loss to Colorado in Week 14, guaranteed as much.

CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer sees Gundy remaining in Stillwater, but his coaching staff to be hacked by OSU’s brain trust.

“There were several behind-thescenes rumors in recent weeks that Gundy might choose to retire. There were even those on his staff who wondered if Gundy might step away, per sources, but Gundy shut that down last week, saying ‘there ain’t no way’ he’ll retire,” Hummer wrote.

“Could he be fired? Anyone could. But a $25 million buyout and Gundy’s general cachet in Stillwater puts it on the ‘un’ side of ‘likely.’ What will happen, however, is an overhauling of Gundy’s staff -- whether that’s his decision or one charged by athletics director Chad Weiberg doesn’t much matter.”

Gundy has been lashing out at fans and the media during this freefall of a season. In what was supposed to be the kind of year that established OSU as a Big 12 powerhouse with Oklahoma and Texas in the SEC, the Cowboys have lost control. The Pokes were putrid, and the hammer is going to come down on Gundy’s coaching staff.

Getting Oklahoma State to the 2023 Big 12 Championship Game buys Gundy time, as does his buyout cost, but the leash is short these days. In a wideopen Big 12, Gundy could lose ground quickly. The Cowboys have the No. 55 recruiting class in 2025 and don’t project to be a transfer portal hotspot. Spencer Sanders left a starting job in Stillwater to be a backup in Oxford, Mississippi. If anything,

they’re proven to be the opposite at this point.

Gundy either finds guys that change that narrative, or he’ll be replaced by someone who can inspire the program more than he is at the moment.

As for the players on the roster, many of the team’s stars will exhaust their eligibility and graduate. Others with eligibility remaining, like Gordon, are going to explore their NFL options.

Thus, the Cowboys will need to be heavy transfer portal shoppers. They have to be after three straight recruiting classes (2023-25) that rank in the 50s. Gundy has always taken a sly pride in building a winning program and developing All-Americans without elite recruiting classes, but eventually the luck runs out. And it has. Priority No. 1 among many will be to find a quarterback. The Cowboys will be in that market in the portal as it doesn’t look like the younger options like Garrett Rangel are the program’s future; true freshman Maealiuaki Smith had his moments against Texas Tech two weeks ago but showed his age with a 11-for-29, 70-yard, two-INT performance in Boulder. Gundy needs a proven winner in 2025.