Oklahoma State football: Cowboys coach Mike Gundy a hot topic on coaching carousel

Tuesday afternoon, the hubbub centered around Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy and whether he had or had not been hired at Arkansas, a job opening he has been linked to for weeks and reportedly interviewed for on Monday.

Within 20 minutes of each other, one Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter tweeted that “unless this falls through, Arkansas has found its man in Mike Gundy,” while a columnist from the same newspaper tweeted that the “Hogs have their coach. Not Gundy. Should be announced today.”

Shortly after, a source told The Oklahoman that Gundy had not been hired at Arkansas. USA Today reported the same thing, citing a source familiar with the search.

Turns out, the job would go to Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema. Yahoo! Sports’ Pat Forde first reported the hiring later Tuesday afternoon, and Arkansas made an official announcement a few hours later.

Gundy, who is in his eighth season at his alma mater, has also been attached to the vacancy at Tennessee. Reports indicate he met with school officials on Sunday in Stillwater, but a source told The Oklahoman on Tuesday that job is not as appealing to Gundy.

Sources at OSU continue to indicate that Gundy is flirting with other job opportunities as a way to leverage more power and control over his Cowboy program — most notably when it comes to nonconference scheduling — and because of a relationship with athletic director Mike Holder that has become strained.