STILLWATER, Okla.—Head coach Mike Gundy will handle the offensive play-calling for Oklahoma State in its season opener Saturday against Washington State, taking over duties he’d relinquished after being promoted from offensive coordinator three years ago.
Gundy said he thinks his program is on more stable footing, allowing him to take on additional responsibilities that he gave up when he took over as head coach prior to the 2005 season.
“We’re a little bit further as a group, as a team,” Gundy said Monday at his weekly news conference. “Fortunately, I haven’t had to deal with as many issues that I don’t like to deal with as I had three years ago. … The system’s in place now and we don’t have as many issues in those areas, so that will free up more time.”
Larry Fedora called plays for the Cowboys last season, but the former offensive coordinator was hired as the new head coach at Southern Mississippi last December and it had been uncertain who’d fill that role.
Gundy said he’ll make the play calls, and co-offensive coordinators Gunter Brewer and Trooper Taylor will be able to make adjustments before the snap. The team had a similar arrangement during the Insight Bowl, after Fedora’s departure.
Gundy downplayed the decision, saying he thought there were numerous offensive coaches on his staff who could handle the play-calling and all were involved in game-planning during the week anyway. Speculation had grown that Gundy was trying to hide his decision to keep Washington State from preparing for the play-caller’s tendencies.
“This is not something that I wanted to try to delay to make some big announcement. I would prefer that nobody even asked me, to be honest with you, just because it’s somewhat irrelevant,” Gundy said. “But that’s the part that I enjoy to do. I just like and enjoy that.
“We may have to work a little bit longer as a staff during the season to get everything worked out and put ourselves in a position on Saturday to give those guys a chance to have success.”
Using Fedora’s no-huddle spread, the Cowboys ranked seventh in the nation in total offense last season, averaging 486 yards per game. Gundy plans to continue using that same system, updating it with the input of his assistant coaches and depending on who they see as their top playmakers.
“Now we’re just trying to keep it up and running,” Gundy said.
The no-huddle approach takes some of the emphasis off the initial play call because quarterback Zac Robinson can make changes after coaches see how the defense lines up and suggest adjustments over the headset.
“We go into a game with a list of plays that we feel comfortable with, and we’re not going to just pull a rabbit out of a hat,” Brewer said. “We’ve talked about fourth-and-1, we’ve talked about third-and-long, we’ve talked about third-and-medium, we’ve talked about first-and-10.
“Those things are basically predetermined. It’s just that what the defense does, you’re going to react to it.”
Brewer, a former receivers coach, will move from the sidelines into the press box to get an overhead view, putting him in better position to call in adjustments. Offensive line coach Joe Wickline will join Brewer upstairs.
“You can really see a lot better upstairs and see them spinning from one coverage to the next or showing a blitz and things of that nature,” Brewer said. “Those are the things that coach Gundy is relying on us for, the eyes in the sky.”
Gundy, a former quarterback for the Cowboys, was the team’s play-caller as the offensive coordinator for Les Miles before he was hired as Miles’ replacement in 2005. He called it the “funnest” part of his job.
“Being in my office and dealing with all the other issues is not fun, but going in there and coaching offense is fun. That’s why I’m back involved,” Gundy said. “We just feel like it’s the best way to start, and it can change maybe in a game or it can change maybe after a game. It’s not like it has to be permanent.”
Gundy said he had not reached a decision on who would be Robinson’s backup and did not expect to choose between sophomore Alex Cate and redshirt freshman Brandon Weeden before Saturday’s game. Gundy said he’d have to make an impromptu decision if Robinson were injured and a replacement was needed.
“Both guys have gotten better, but there hasn’t been one that has done anything in practice to distance himself from the other,” Gundy said.
