Last night brought word that Charlie Strong had snubbed Tennessee’s offer, with the coach confirming publicly Thursday morning that he will remain at Louisville armed with a shiny new deal.
As the Vols continue their quest to replace Derek Dooley, it appears a look back to Stillwater will no longer be an option at their disposal.
For the past week or so, Mike Gundy‘s name had been connected to the vacancies at UT and Arkansas. Whether it’s merely being used as leverage for an even bigger contract from Oklahoma State or sincere interest in something other than his current program, the speculation concerning Gundy was out there even as the coach remained mum on its validity.
Wednesday night, a man very familiar with Gundy looked to tamp out any flicker of the rumor mill fire still burning around the coach.
“I’ve got some news. Mike Gundy is staying at Oklahoma State,” Stillwater radio personality Robert Allen said Wednesday. “I know that Mike Gundy has decided not to pursue any other opportunities and decided to stay.”
While normally a radio station report should be taken with a grain of salt the size of T. Boone Pickens’ bank account, Allen co-authored a book last year with Gundy, so his knowledge dropping carries a significant amount of weight. It doesn’t, though, answer the question of why Gundy has apparently been sniffing around other jobs.
Tulsa World‘s Jimmie Tramel writes that the Gundy speculation is not centered on the coach leveraging a new deal; rather, “he isn’t satisfied with the control he has over certain aspects of his program, including scheduling.” A source went on to tell Tramel that "[s]omething needs to happen within the athletic department regarding the relationship between the head coach and the athletic director.”