Mike Gundy Cherishes Relationships With QBs, Both Past and Present

Mike Gundy has developed a reputation not only as an offensive genius over the years, but as a QB whisperer. He’s played a part in the development of some special talents in the likes of Brandon Weeden, Zac Robinson and others.

Gundy, a former OSU signal caller himself, has a special insight when it comes to playing the position. Which is a big reason why he says he’s been able to forge a unique bond with some of his quarterbacks over the years — including Mason Rudolph.

“Mason and I have had a great career here together,” said Gundy. “Over the last couple years he and I have gotten really close in things we do. We go over the gameplan together, and we’ve had a great relationship.

“I’ve been lucky to have had the Josh Fields’, the Zac Robinson’s — the one year with Chelf was special. I’ve had J.W. Walsh, I’ve had Weeden. And that’s a pretty special deal for me, because that’s the world I lived in. So he and I need to spend time together and do things [like taking our shirts off] together. I just think that’s important.”

Nothing quite like going over gameplans and flashing your bare chest together in front of 10,000 fans to forge that special, lasting QB-coach relationship.

But on a more serious note, a bond between a coach and its most important player is a big deal. How successful would OSU have been in 2011 if Brandon Weeden went rogue and decided he was a dual-threat QB? It didn’t happen (and probably because he was slow as molasses.) But also because both Gundy and Weeden were on the same page and clicking as a unit.

Do you think Butch Jones is on the same page with his QB? Do you think they’re getting leadership reps together in the pregame? That I would highly doubt. Having a QB-coach bond like Gundy describes might be one of the more underrated aspects of how he’s been able to achieve (and maintain) an elite level of success as head coach of the Cowboys. And while something as small (or big) as taking his shirt off in front of a crowd with his starting QB doesn’t exactly seem important, the element of kicking back and having fun is something he says he stresses.

And it seems like he’s having plenty of it right now.

“If you can’t have fun doing this, it’s probably not worth it. So we had a good time.”