Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s Coordinator Hires

What a wild six days it’s been in Stillwater, starting with a board of regents meeting last Friday and leading to OSU reportedly hiring a pair of coordinators.

Oklahoma State officially announced the hiring of defensive coordinator Todd Grantham on Wednesday, and Thursday, reports started surfacing the Doug Meacham is set to be the Cowboys’ next offensive coordinator. Here are five thoughts on the hires.

1. It’s an Old Staff

Meacham is set to turn 60 next week. Grantham turned 58 in September.

A list of worries includes the staff’s ability to relate to 105 18-24 year olds and whether the game has past either by. In the NIL era, where recruiting is more a transaction than about building relationships, maybe relatability isn’t as big as issue as it once might have been. Heck, North Carolina just hired a 72 year old. As for whether the game has passed them by, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

2. But Potential Will Get You Fired

There’s a saying in coaching that potential will get you fired.

Well, Gundy isn’t running that risk with these hires. He didn’t go get unproven guys with boatloads of potential. He got guys with proven success at the Power Five level. Grantham and Meacham have 19 years of coordinator experience at the FBS level. Gundy’s last two coordinators stepped into their roles with a combined zero years of coordinator experience at the FBS level.

It’s certainly a far cry from going to the Division-II ranks and pulling out a Mike Yurcich or a Bryan Nardo. And with a lot seemingly on the line going into 2025, Gundy didn’t go with flashy guys who have great potential. He went with guys with a proven track record.

3. Both Have Solid Highs

Both, at one point or another, have proven capable of being dang good coordinators. Meacham was a Broyles finalist in 2014 (which was 10 years ago because time is flying). Grantham had a six-year stretch where five of his defenses (at three different schools) ranked in the top 20 nationally.

Under Meacham, Trevone Boykin — who threw just 18 passes in the NFL — came in fourth and 10th in Heisman voting in back-to-back seasons. Grantham coordinated a Mississippi State defense in 2017 that ranked 10th nationally in total defense. Starkville isn’t exactly the easiest place to coach in the SEC, but Grantham did that in his lone season there.

Both have also had their struggles. Meacham’s stint at Kansas wasn’t good, but Kansas football stunk in general in those days. The end to Grantham’s tenure at Florida wasn’t ideal. But with guys who are 59 and 58, the law of averages would say that some bad years are going to come (see Mike Gundy, 2024). The worry is that those struggles are somewhat recent in terms of their times as coordinators. Florida was Grantham’s most recent coordinator gig, and after his stint at Kansas, Meacham has coordinated just one season. So, there’s where speculation could creep in.

4. Does This Make OSU More Likely to Get Chandler Morris?

This is sort of a minor storyline in the scope of the crazy past week or so, but quarterbacks are always going to be newsworthy.

Chandler Morris reportedly visited Oklahoma State this week. He spent the 2024 season at North Texas, but before that, he was at TCU for three seasons with Meacham. As of writing early Thursday evening, none of OSU’s three scholarship quarterbacks (Garret Rangel, Zane Flores and Maealiuaki Smith) have entered the transfer portal, and Gundy said toward the end of the season that he didn’t think any would. I think OSU fans think highly of that trio, but none of that group has a ton of experience. Rangel, Flores and Smith have combined to throw 254 passes in college. By himself, Morris has thrown 822.

It’ll be interesting to track whether Meacham returning to Stillwater will have any effect on Morris’ next move.

5. Offseason Perceptions Won’t Matter If the Cowboys Win

Social media isn’t always the most positive place — in general or as it pertains to the Cowboys’ coordinator hires.

And everyone is right to feel however they please with these hires. Hiring a coordinators who haven’t been coordinators within the past three years is a justified concern. In the eyes of many, the benefit of the doubt the Gundy has built over the years has dwindled in the past few months — whether that be because of woeful play, the “can’t pay their own bills” comments or whatever the heck happened Friday.

I feel like the more people have dug into Grantham’s history, more and more are starting to come around to him calling the Cowboys’ defense — especially considering how bad it was in 2024. Maybe that’ll be the same with Meacham. He is an alum, which OSU people always have a soft spot for, and as we’ve discussed, he’s called some really good offenses. It’s just been a while.

With all that being said, these aren’t very sexy hires. They aren’t the young, up-and-comers with the potential to revolutionize how football is viewed. Instead, it feels like this could be each guy’s last shot at being a coordinator at this level. That thought alone might be enough motivation for either to reprove himself. And in the end, what the outside perception is right now won’t matter come October if this group of guys pushing 60 years old has flipped OSU back into a winner. If that happens, it’ll be another stroke of genius from Gundy. If it doesn’t, the haters will feel justified. Until it happens, who knows?