Mike Gundy goes on tangentially to say that “in most cases” negative people who express their opinions “can't pay their own bills.”

STILLWATER – Mike Gundy addressed the state of the world again Monday.

Amid a six-game losing streak, Gundy, the Oklahoma State coach, was asked if his time as an assistant coach helped him deal with the ups and downs of a season. That's a fair question because as a head coach, Gundy hasn't had to deal with issues of this magnitude due to the Cowboys' success under him. But somewhere along the way while answering that question, Gundy returned to the question that what made his job different from more traditional jobs was that thousands of people were watching the product he brought to the field, to which Gundy went on to say this:

“In most cases, the people who are negative and express their opinions are the same people who can't pay their own bills,” Gundy said. “They don't care about themselves. They don't care about their own family. They don't care about their own work. But they have a duty to express their opinions and complain about others because it makes them feel better. But in the end, when they go to bed at night, they are the same losers they were before they said anything negative about others.”

Gundy is scheduled to make $7.75 million in 2024, according to USA Today. That makes him the highest-paid coach in the Big 12 and the 17th highest-paid coach in the country, according to USA Today.

As part of the more than 800-word quote, Gundy also said that he refuses to watch the news because he is tired of people “complaining and bitching” about something instead of trying to make it better.

According to the OSU box score, there were 52,202 fans in the stadium for the Cowboys' 42-21 home loss to Arizona State on Saturday, which left the Cowboys 0-6 in conference play. The crowd thinned out significantly during the weather break at halftime, but some stayed to watch the Cowboys finish 21-7 in the second half. Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo had more all-purpose yards (274) than the Cowboys had total yards on offense (270). Toward the end of the tangent, Gundy had a message for OSU fans.

“But I think what's important for all Oklahoma State fans is that we're very aware of what's going on and that we all have to trust someone at some point in our lives,” Gundy said. “And I think they need to trust that we have a good plan for what's going on here broadly and that we have answers. Sometimes they are not short-term. Sometimes they could be long-term answers.”

To lose as little context as possible, here is Gundy's full quote and a tweet with the tone of that quote:

“I coached for 11 years before we ever won more than five games. I don't know if that helped anyone because being a head coach is so much different than being an assistant coach. It's not even on the same level. In my opinion, as an assistant coach you have responsibility for your players. You are responsible for your recruiting area. As a head coach I have to deal with 215 people, so it's completely different.

“So I think I need to have a better sense of the bigger picture of the organization in general. The summary of all this is that this place has had tremendous success for 18.5 or 19 years – I don't really do a good math. But unfortunately, most people in life are weak, and as soon as things don't go as well as they thought, they panic. And then they want to point fingers and blame others. You see it in everyday life. People do it all the time. That's why I refuse to watch TV and watch the news because I'm tired of people complaining and bitching about this and that instead of just doing something about it and trying to find a way to make it better.

“Well, that’s what happens in college athletics. And like Jenni said – she's absolutely right – it's only on the bigger stage where people can voice their opinions. And in most cases, the people who are negative and express their opinions are the same people who can't pay their own bills. They don't care about themselves. They don't care about their own family. They don't care about their own work. But they have a duty to express their opinions and complain about others because it makes them feel better. But in the end, when they go to bed at night, they are the same losers they were before they said anything negative about others.

“But here we're trying, as I've always told the team, that the single most important thing you can do in life is to make sure you maximize your chance of being the best person you can be.” trade you choose. Well, sometimes we fail by falling short, which in most cases, as I mentioned, is the case for 50% of people on a Saturday. And I tell them, “Look, that doesn't make you a failure, okay?” What makes you a failure is that if you have a bad attitude about it, you won't try to improve, and if you do give up. Then in my opinion you are a failure.' That is questionable. This is just my opinion and this is how we take responsibility in this organization.

“For example, you’ve been following Oklahoma State football for a long time. There were times when we played against teams that had eight to ten players drafted. We had no business being on the field with them. We might have lost 37-35 at the end of the game. So you're asking yourself, “Does this make us a failure?” In my opinion, no. So there is only one big picture.

“But I think what's important for all Oklahoma State fans is that we're very aware of what's going on and that we all have to trust someone at some point in our lives. And I think they need to trust that we have a good plan for what's going on here broadly and that we have answers. Sometimes they are not short-term. Sometimes they could be long-term answers. And secondly, at the end of the day, as I tell our players, the very best thing people can do is buy in 100%. You have to be on someone's team. I can't go through life alone.

“So these are long answers and a big picture of how we hold ourselves accountable. And so I'll go into a meeting at 1:30 p.m. and have a similar conversation with the team, but it'll only last about two minutes because they've heard this from me 1,000 times throughout their careers and they understand it. And what I want to tell them is that we as a team, me as head coach, have worked over the last two days and put a lot of time and effort into giving you a plan. Now we're asking you to buy in and implement this plan, and then get out there on Saturday, have fun and compete. And that's the message I'm going to give them and that I'm looking for people who are willing to do that. That's called being a team. That’s called being part of an organization, and for us it’s really that simple.”

Due to the weather, Mike Gundy held his weekly press conference via Zoom today. He was asked how his time as an assistant coach prepared him for the ups and downs of being a head coach. #OKState pic.twitter.com/kHG1QhcKL8

— Scott Pfeil (@scottpfeil) November 4, 2024