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Explaining What Went Down in the Tom Herman-Mike Gundy Brouhaha

Quotes from both parties in the Herman-Gundy kerfuffle.

Published

5 years ago

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Mike Gundy and Tom Herman capped off a wild night in Stillwater with a delectable little dustup at the end of OSU’s 38-35 victory over Texas. So what in the world happened? Here’s a breakdown with commentary from both coaches at the end.

Breckyn Hager — No. 44 on Texas — absolutely lit up Tyron Johnson on one of the final plays of the game (maybe not the dude you want to go after, by the way). It appeared that Hager was going after Corndog, though he never reached him.

It wasn’t that far outside the bounds of two teams getting a little chippy (maybe Lil’Jordan will name his son Lil’Chippy?) at the end of a game, but all of a sudden Mike Gundy came blazing onto the field to apparently break up what I guess could have been a fight.

 

“When I went out, I was concerned about a fight,” Gundy told ESPN’s Maria Taylor after the game. “I was trying to get my guys back, and (Herman) thought I was trying to get in it. It’s just competitiveness. I told him I didn’t want him to think that. I didn’t want it to get ugly. It’s all good.”

Gundy does appear pissed at somebody — I just don’t know who. Maybe a ref? One of his players? Herman was definitely pissed at Gundy. But they made up in the handshake.

An amateur stenographer (me) took notes.

Herman: “You coach your guys. I’ll coach mine.”
Gundy: “I was trying to … (something).”
Herman: “You were?”
Gundy: “Oh yeah.”

Pause — Gundy saying “oh yeah” here is so on brand it hurts. I have no idea if he’s toying with Herman, and neither does Herman!

Gundy: “I would never … (something) … I didn’t want a fight because I didn’t want it to get ugly. I promise you that.”
Herman: “I apologize. I apologize.”

Me: ???

Gundy: It’s good. When I did it, I knew what you were thinking …”

The way their necks go back and forth and they chat in each other’s ears is incredible, my favorite part of the weekend (it’s also 3 a.m. and I’m punch drunk so maybe ignore me).

An amateur opinion: Gundy probably was going to break up something, but there was definitely some chirping at somebody, and him raising his hands at the end was a punctuation mark of sorts. It delighted me.

“I thought Mike had come out and was having words with one of our players, and I took exception to that,” Herman told reporters. “When I shook his hand at the end, he said, ‘Hey, I was just trying to make sure that we were smart and no fight ensued.’ I believe him. We smiled. We go way back. I have no issues. He told me what he was trying to do, I saw it differently at first, and so I was certainly going to go defend my player.”

Hager’s teammates also weren’t real thrilled with him.

“I was worried about the teams fighting,” reiterated Gundy after the game. “I like coach. He and I get along good. We’ve always got along good. I was concerned about it getting ugly. I wasn’t worried about 44. I’m not worried about that, but they started to come together and I did not want something ugly to end on the field like that so I was going to try to get all my guys back.

“I didn’t have any concerns with Texas. I just wanted our guys to get back. He thought something else. I said, ‘Listen I’m not going to coach your players.’ I was trying to not make it an ugly situation. He said, ‘I’m good.’ I said, ‘I’m good.’ He and I get along just fine. I can understand. There’s a lot of frustration and excitement on both sides.”

Probably more frustration on Texas’, though, now that Gundy has delivered them seven Ls in their last nine matchups.

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