OSU's Gundy may be testing Pickens' faith
When it comes to Gundy's future, Bohls predicted: "Mike Gundy could be fired by December if manly Oklahoma State, which now has fewer weapons, continues to underachieve.
"Mike Gundy will be fired by T. Boone Pickens if Mr. Wind Energy — Mr. Hot Air, if
you're a Missouri fan — thinks he's not getting his money's worth. Don't be shocked if new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen
or Holgorsen's mentor and Cowboys consultant, Mike Leach, slips in as head coach."
There's an excellent reason why I don't think Bohls was just throwing the OSU thing out there to see if it would stick. Pickens recently visited the American-Statesman's offices in Austin, where he did a podcast Q-and-A session with Bohls about Nebraska and Colorado leaving the Big 12.
Pickens didn't discuss Gundy's job status during the interview. But you have to believe he made plenty off-the-record comments before and after his podcast remarks, which include a shot at Mizzou for the Tigers' attempt to also leave the league for the Big Ten.
The elephant that will be in every meeting room during OSU's 2010 season will be the Leach-Holgorsen connection.
Pickens genuinely admires how Leach turned Texas Tech into a consistent winner. That included some victories over Oklahoma and Texas, schools that Gundy has gone a combined 0-10 against in his five seasons at OSU.
The stunning hire of Holgorsen last January set off all kinds of bells and whistles. The addition of the former offensive coordinator at Tech and Houston (which won at OSU last season) came two days after Gundy told the Tulsa World that nothing would change offensively in 2010, including him calling the plays.
(As an aside, it's no secret that OSU officials have told Gundy to quit playing his lying games with the media.)
Several OSU sources insisted Pickens met face-to-face with Leach last January, picking his brain about how to improve a Cowboys offense that struggled mightily in the Bedlam game and the Cotton Bowl.
Pickens has never confirmed or denied numerous reports that his private jet flew Leach to either his Pickens ranch or Stillwater for the clandestine meeting.
The billionaire investor did, however, tell me directly that he was not a happy Cowboy when he departed the Cotton Bowl in the final minutes of Mississippi's 21-7 win over OSU. Pickens was steamed after watching an inept, ugly Cowboys offense, which had been shut out the previous game at Oklahoma, commit six of its seven turnovers in the fourth quarter.
linky
