Mike Gundy says Saturday Games Reveal What Kind of Coaching OSU is Doing

Mike Gundy said something this week that you may have missed. Everything Gundy says is under a much more intense microscope when things are trending sideways, and so maybe this is nothing, but I found it interesting.

Here’s what he said.

“As I said a week ago, the one thing I’m pleased with is the effort has not been an issue,” said Gundy. “We just need to coach them better. We need to do a better job of minimizing our game plans and getting them quality reps so they can play better.

“Unfortunately players tell you as a coach how well you’re coaching them on Saturday. Whatever they’re doing is a direct response for how we’re coaching them. Sometimes it’s not always good news. You have to take that and deal with it. That’s just what I’ve seen over 28 years.”

Gundy went on to say that some of OSU’s failures as it relates to player response to coaching is is over-scheming, some of it is lack of experience and some of it is immaturity.

“Our job is to bring it all together,” he added. “After we play this game Saturday night, when we see what happened, the players are telling us how good a job we’re doing coaching them. Then we deal with them at that point and get ready for the next game.”

This is interesting on so many different levels. The first is that I think Gundy has shifted from thinking that talent is the lifeblood of a program to thinking that coaching and culture are. That’s a bigger post for another time, and I don’t disagree that you need great coaching and great culture, but there’s a reason Notre Dame doesn’t roll out 11 Rudys on Saturdays.

The other thing is that this could be Gundy’s way of sending a message to his staff. He’s hinted at times throughout the season that he hasn’t been all that fired up about some of OSU’s defensive schemes and work, and he again mentioned here that there might be too much going on — minimizing game plans, too much scheme-wise — this is not the verbiage of somebody who’s been bowled over by his coordinators in 2018.

Have I gone into Zapruder-film mode when Gundy talks because OSU is 4-3 and trending the wrong way? Yes, I have. But if you’ve been paying attention all year, you’ve probably noticed it, too. Gundy himself said it after one of OSU’s earlier home losses. Everything gets blown up when you start losing, and both of those things are happening right now in Stillwater.

Hopefully for his sake, his coordinators and coaches ironed out some of the wrinkles (OR MAYBE ADDED A FEW IN) during the bye week and a topsy-turvy season gets righted on Saturday against the topsiest-turviest program in the country over the last few years.