Mike Gundy: Defender or Attacker?

Mike Gundy, head coach of the NCAA powerhouse Oklahoma State Cowboys, blew over the edge in a post-win news conference. Gundy’s tirade was set off after he read an article in the “Oklahoman,” a local newspaper, where it was written that freshman phenom, quarterback Bobby Reid, arguably one of Oklahoma State’s top recruits in recent years, is soft and a mama’s boy. Even though his team had just beaten the Texas Tech Red Raiders 49-45, Gundy took the option to make a personal statement about the written article. “Here’s all that kid did: He goes to class, he’s respectful to the media, he’s respectful to the public and he’s a good kid. And he’s not a professional athlete, and he doesn’t deserve to be kicked when he’s down,” Gundy said. Reid had thrown for 191 yards, according to ESPN, with one touchdown and one interception in a 35-14 loss at Georgia and started off slow before his undisclosed injury the following week in the first quarter of a game against Florida Atlantic. “If you want to go after an athlete—one of my athletes—you go after one that doesn’t do the right things,” Gundy said. “You don’t downgrade him because he does everything right and may not play as well on Saturday. And you let us make that decision.”

Some say Gundy over-reacted, calling him a control-freak and wants everything done his way, with no second choice. I disagree with this, as he was doing what I consider right, and that is defending his player. This is what athletes look for when they are looking for what school to go to, what team to play for, and whether or not they can trust the coach of the team. If seeing this doesn’t give the player complete faith in the coach, then there’s no way that they know what they’re looking for in a coach, in a team, or any other factor of why they would possibly attend the school. “Where are we at in society today? Come after me. I’m a man. I’m 40. I’m not a kid,” Gundy said. Write something about me or our coaches. Don’t write about a kid that does everything right, that’s heart’s broken and then say that the coaches said that he’s scared. That ain’t true.” This is the perfect example of what you need, what you want, in a coach. If you disagree, then I believe that you are either, one, crazy, or two, aren’t sure if you even want to play anymore. You were just doing it in the beginning because it looked like a lot of fun, eventually convincing yourself that it was something that you couldn’t live without. And playing for a coach like this, like Coach Gundy, is an extreme privilege in the sport of college football.