STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State could have had a much different last decade of football if Mike Gundy wasn't around.
Gundy told reporters Monday that he'd nearly taken the open head coaching job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers more than 10 years ago, but decided to stay put at OSU. Gundy's Cowboys were coming off a 12-1 season that ended with a win in the Fiesta Bowl over Stanford.
"I interviewed three times with one team and didn't take the job," Gundy said before revealing the team in question was the Bucs. "Long story short, yeah I thought about [going to the NFL] but obviously not now."
The Carolina Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule on Monday, prompting Gundy's comments on the challenges of coaching in the NFL due to the parity in the league.
"That's what's trickling down to college because of NIL and the [transfer] portal," he said. "That's why you're seeing things are starting to level out now."
Apparently, Mike Gundy interviewed for, and turned down the Head Coaching job with the Tampa Buccaneers back in 2012.
Here's Gundy on why College coaches so often struggle at the next level. pic.twitter.com/R8ub6Mg37J
— Cayden McFarland (@caydenmc) October 10, 2022
Instead of taking that Bucs job, Gundy signed an eight-year contract extension with OSU after the 2011-12 season. Tampa ended up hiring Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano.
Gundy's Cowboys are 5-0 to start the 2022-23 season.
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