Oklahoma State University Athletics
Examining Holgorsen and the Gundy Coaching Tree
October 25, 2017 | Cowboy Football
STILLWATER –Mike Gundy has joked that there should be a website called "HireCoachGundysCoaches.com" because it seems that more years than not, other schools come around and offer a head coaching position to an Oklahoma State coordinator or a coordinator position to an OSU position coach.
There are sayings about imitation and flattery and such, but the truth remains that at the relatively young age of 50, Gundy has sprouted a coaching tree with former assistants all over. Perhaps no former Gundy assistant is more prominent than the head coach of this week's opponent, Dana Holgorsen. That said, Holgorsen is not the only familiar face trying to take down his former Cowboy boss Saturday in Morgantown. Holgorsen's offensive coordinator is Jake Spavital, an OSU graduate assistant in 2010, and his offensive line coach is long-time Gundy assistant Joe Wickline.
Other notable branches from the Gundy coaching tree include, among others:
Back to Holgorsen, who revolutionized the OSU offense during his one season in Stillwater. The timing of the Holgorsen-Oklahoma State marriage was perfect, because the Cowboys were replacing a departed dual-threat senior quarterback in Zac Robinson and replacing him with a strong-armed but inexperienced gunslinger in Brandon Weeden. Weeden wasn't an ideal fit for the OSU offensive system that relied heavily on the zone read and other quarterback run concepts prior to Holgorsen's arrival.
However, Weeden was an ideal fit for the system brought in by Holgorsen, who learned under Air Raid savants Hal Mumme at Valdosta State and Mike Leach at Texas Tech. He left Tech to take over as offensive coordinator at Houston from 2008-09 and in those two seasons, the Cougars led the nation in passing offense in 2009 and were second nationally in passing offense in 2008. A quarterback with a big arm like Weeden paired with a coordinator like Holgorsen was too good to be true, so Gundy jumped at the chance to bring Holgorsen to Stillwater.
The partnership made sense for Holgorsen as well, because coming to Oklahoma State as offensive coordinator gave him a high-profile platform to show what his offense was capable of. Naturally, when the Cowboys ranked among the top three in the nation in scoring offense, total offense and passing offense during his lone season at OSU, Holgorsen drew attention as a rising star and a potential head coach.
The pedigree of the offensive coordinator position at Oklahoma State may have also been a factor in legitimizing Holgorsen as ready to take over a program of his own. The history of that position is remarkable. Consider the following:
OSU Offensive Coordinator Next College Job
Les Miles (1995-97)* Head coach at Oklahoma State
Mike Gundy (2001-04) Head coach at Oklahoma State
Larry Fedora (2005-07) Head coach at Southern Miss
Dana Holgorsen (2010) Head coach at West Virginia
Todd Monken (2011-12) Head coach at Southern Miss
* Left the college game following the 1997 season to coach three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Returned to take over as head coach at Oklahoma State in 2001.
So while Holgorsen and Gundy made a similar jump from Oklahoma State offensive coordinator to head coach, they'll be rivals for a few hours this Saturday.
"The series between us and them has been a fun one," Holgorsen said earlier this week. "We probably know as much about Oklahoma State as we do anybody on our schedule. Oklahoma State probably knows as much about us as anybody on their schedule, so our job as coaches is to put our guys in the best situation that we possibly can, which we will do for this Saturday."
There are sayings about imitation and flattery and such, but the truth remains that at the relatively young age of 50, Gundy has sprouted a coaching tree with former assistants all over. Perhaps no former Gundy assistant is more prominent than the head coach of this week's opponent, Dana Holgorsen. That said, Holgorsen is not the only familiar face trying to take down his former Cowboy boss Saturday in Morgantown. Holgorsen's offensive coordinator is Jake Spavital, an OSU graduate assistant in 2010, and his offensive line coach is long-time Gundy assistant Joe Wickline.
Other notable branches from the Gundy coaching tree include, among others:
- North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora (Gundy's first offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State from 2005-07).
- Former Southern Miss head coach and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken (OSU's offensive coordinator from 2011-12).
- Tennessee assistant head coach Robert Gillespie (OSU running backs coach from 2009-10).
- North Carolina co-offensive coordinator Gunter Brewer (a Gundy assistant at OSU from 2005-10).
- Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator Jason Jones (OSU cornerbacks coach from 2008-12).
- Kansas offensive coordinator Doug Meacham (a Gundy assistant from 2005-12).
- Kansas special teams coordinator Joe DeForest (a Gundy assistant from 2005-11).
Back to Holgorsen, who revolutionized the OSU offense during his one season in Stillwater. The timing of the Holgorsen-Oklahoma State marriage was perfect, because the Cowboys were replacing a departed dual-threat senior quarterback in Zac Robinson and replacing him with a strong-armed but inexperienced gunslinger in Brandon Weeden. Weeden wasn't an ideal fit for the OSU offensive system that relied heavily on the zone read and other quarterback run concepts prior to Holgorsen's arrival.
However, Weeden was an ideal fit for the system brought in by Holgorsen, who learned under Air Raid savants Hal Mumme at Valdosta State and Mike Leach at Texas Tech. He left Tech to take over as offensive coordinator at Houston from 2008-09 and in those two seasons, the Cougars led the nation in passing offense in 2009 and were second nationally in passing offense in 2008. A quarterback with a big arm like Weeden paired with a coordinator like Holgorsen was too good to be true, so Gundy jumped at the chance to bring Holgorsen to Stillwater.
The partnership made sense for Holgorsen as well, because coming to Oklahoma State as offensive coordinator gave him a high-profile platform to show what his offense was capable of. Naturally, when the Cowboys ranked among the top three in the nation in scoring offense, total offense and passing offense during his lone season at OSU, Holgorsen drew attention as a rising star and a potential head coach.
The pedigree of the offensive coordinator position at Oklahoma State may have also been a factor in legitimizing Holgorsen as ready to take over a program of his own. The history of that position is remarkable. Consider the following:
OSU Offensive Coordinator Next College Job
Les Miles (1995-97)* Head coach at Oklahoma State
Mike Gundy (2001-04) Head coach at Oklahoma State
Larry Fedora (2005-07) Head coach at Southern Miss
Dana Holgorsen (2010) Head coach at West Virginia
Todd Monken (2011-12) Head coach at Southern Miss
* Left the college game following the 1997 season to coach three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Returned to take over as head coach at Oklahoma State in 2001.
So while Holgorsen and Gundy made a similar jump from Oklahoma State offensive coordinator to head coach, they'll be rivals for a few hours this Saturday.
"The series between us and them has been a fun one," Holgorsen said earlier this week. "We probably know as much about Oklahoma State as we do anybody on our schedule. Oklahoma State probably knows as much about us as anybody on their schedule, so our job as coaches is to put our guys in the best situation that we possibly can, which we will do for this Saturday."
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