Oklahoma State football: Mike Yurcich hiring shows continued commitment to Air Raid offense

It's a virtually unknown name from a virtually unknown school — Division II's Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.

Need a road map for direction on how Gundy closed in on Yurcich?

Start with the head coach's philosophy that keeping the Cowboys' Air Raid spread system is paramount.

That in itself eliminates several coordinators who have built their own success and reputation by running an offense their own way.

“You don't find a guy who's established that's going to come in and say, ‘I want to run your system. I'm not going to call my plays,'” Gundy said. “That's the hardest part (of the search).”

It certainly makes sense why Gundy continues to be so adamant about keeping this system in place, after the way the Cowboys have morphed into an offensive juggernaut the past three seasons.

First came the two magical years of Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmon and Co., including a 2011 campaign that included a Big 12 Championship and a near-miss at playing for a national title. Then came the 2012 season, where OSU still ranked in the top 10 in the nation in scoring, passing and total offense despite a three-man quarterback carousel mostly caused by injuries.

The Cowboys have continued to roll so well on that side of the ball that Texas coach Mack Brown recently told the Austin American-Statesman that he, essentially, wants to start mimicking elements of OSU's fast-paced, no-huddle attack.