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A coach doesn’t stick around the same program for two decades without winning.
Mike Gundy is entering his 20th season leading Cowboy football after accepting the head coach ahead of the 2005 season after Les Miles left for LSU. He’s become engraved in OSU tradition, not only because of his longevity as a coach, but also as the Cowboys’ quarterback who was handing the ball off to Barry and Thurman.
Heading into season No. 20, Gundy has racked up a lot of wins while making the Cowboys nationally relevant, so let’s take a look at where Gundy currently ranks in different win categories after 19 years of leading the same football program.
Most All-Time Wins Among Active Coaches: 5th
This list is actually what sparked me to write this. Gundy ranks fifth in all-time wins among active coaches, moving up a spot into the top five during the offseason after Nick Saban’s retirement. Coaches ahead of Gundy include Mack Brown, Kirk Ferentz, Brian Kelly and Dabo Swinney. Another tough season for Swinney, and if the Cowboys can have another year like the last, then Gundy could surpass Swinney by his 21st season. Or, considering Gundy said at Big 12 Media Days he doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon, he could outlast those ahead of him and be at the top of this list one day.
1. Mack Brown (276)
2. Kirk Ferentz (196)
3. Brian Kelly (186)
4. Dabo Swinney (170)
5. Mike Gundy (166)
6. Kyle Whittingham (162)
7. Troy Calhoun (130)
8. Rich Rodriguez (127)
9. Bret Bielema (115)
10. James Franklin (112)
Most Wins at Current School: 3rd
One thing Gundy has uncommon from half of the other coaches on that list is that he’s racked up all of his wins at the same place. Ferentz, Swinney, Whittingham and Calhoun are the others to do the same.
Gundy ranks third in wins at current school, and those four make up the rest of the top five, with new Big 12 foe Kyle Whittingham being right behind Gundy after the two were hired only weeks apart. Of the five on the list, Ferentz, fittingly at the top, has been at his school the longest, coaching Iowa for 25 years — six years longer than second-place Gundy and Whittingham. Swinney, impressively, has been at Clemson the shortest amount of time — 16 years — despite being second on the list.
1. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (196)
2. Dabo Swinney, Clemson (170)
3. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (166)
4. Kyle Whittingham, Utah (162)
5. Troy Calhoun, Air Force (130)
Most Consecutive Winning Seasons at One FBS School: T-8th
And speaking of success at the same place, Gundy’s run at OSU has him on a list with some coaching legends. He’s led the Cowboys to 18-straight winning seasons, coaching a winning team every season of his career but the first. That’s tied for the eighth-longest streak for winning seasons at the same FBS program. A winning season in 2024 would break the tie with Bob Stoops, who accomplished the feat at OU in 1999-2016, and Michigan’s Fielding Yost. A winning campaign would then tie Gundy with BYU’s Lavell Edwards and Texas’ Darrell Royal. Another successful decade, and Gundy would move to second on the list behind only Bowden, considering Gundy’s the only one in the top 10 still coaching.
Others on the list ahead of Gundy include Florida State’s Bobby Bowden (No. 1) and Alabama’s Bear Bryant (No. 2). He’s ahead of guys like Nick Saban (17 seasons) and Barry Switzer (16 seasons) in the category.
1. Bobby Bowden, Florida State (33, 1977-2009)
T-2. Bear Bryant, Alabama (25, 1958-82)
T-2. Tom Osborne, Nebraska (25, 1973-97)
4. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech (23, 1993-2015)
5. Joe Paterno, Penn State (21, 1967-87)
T-6. Lavell Edwards, BYU (19, 1974-92)
T-6. Darrell Royal, Texas (19, 1957-75)
T-8. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (18, 2006-Present)
T-8. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma (18, 1999-2016)
T-8. Fielding Yost, Michigan (18, 1901-18)
Most Bowl Wins: 6th
Gundy has a knack for getting teams to bowl season (18 times in a row), and he also tends to win those games once there. His teams have won 12 of the 18 bowls he’s coached in. Those 12 wins are tied for the sixth-most bowl wins ever by a coach. After this season, Gundy will most likely only be tied with Dabo Swinney if both of them lead their teams to bowl games and win them. However, I don’t know yet how a possible first-round playoff game could alter these bowl records.
1. Joe Paterno (24)
2. Bobby Bowden (22)
3. Nick Saban (19)
4. Bear Bryant (15)
5. Mack Brown (14)
T-6. Mike Gundy (12)
T-6. Lou Holtz (12)
T-6. Urban Meyer (12)
T-6.Tom Osborne (12)
T-6. Dabo Swinney (12)
Most Big 12 Wins: 3rd
Now the grandfather of the Big 12, of all the lists mentioned, this is the one Gundy will most likely be at the top of before his career concludes. Gundy ranks third in Big 12 wins with 102 behind only Bob Stoops and Bill Snyder. He should move to No. 2 rather quickly this season being only two wins behind Snyder. He’s 19 behind Stoops, who has 121, but Gundy should eventually surpass that in this new Big 12, especially if he really doesn’t retire for awhile. And Gundy shouldn’t be passed anytime soon either, considering the only coach in the top 10 still coaching in the conference is Iowa State’s Matt Campbell with 38. That would also give Gundy the most Big 12 wins among active conference coaches.
1. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma (121)
2. Bill Snyder, Kansas State (104)
3. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (102)
4. Mack Brown, Texas (98)
T-5. Mike Leach, Texas Tech (47)
T-5. Gary Pinkel, Missouri (47)
7. Gary Patterson, TCU (45)
8. Art Briles, Baylor (39)
9. Matt Campbell, Iowa State (38)
10. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma (37)
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Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.