OSU football: Who will come after Gundy?

Mike Gundy is certainly in line for national coach of the year. His Cowboys are in the driver’s seat for the Big 12 South title, a flag won by only OU and Texas since 1999, and by any stretch of the imagination, OSU is bordering on an historic and special season.

You know what that means. Some schools will come after Gundy.

during the college football game between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) and the Baylor University Bears at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

But here’s the good news for OSU. I don’t see Gundy leaving.

This OSU job is not the same kind of job that prompted Jimmy Johnson to leave for Miami (no-brainer) or Les Miles to leave for LSU (some-brainer). This OSU job is better than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago.

This OSU job includes pristine facilities, competitive salaries and an established landscape of winning. Not championships, mind you, but winning.

So while there are jobs better than OSU in college football, there aren’t a bunch. And those that are somewhat better — let’s say the Auburn, Oregon, Iowa family of jobs – aren’t good enough to make Gundy leave what he described as his “New York Yankee” job when he was hired.

That leaves only the most elite of jobs — Texas, USC, Florida, Penn State, that crowd — as jobs that could entice Gundy.  And those don’t come open very often or get offered when they do.