Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Derek Mason is stepping down

Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Derek Mason is stepping down

https://t.co/ONNqZdd8LR

— Doug Samuels 🏈 (@CoachSamz) January 12, 2023

The wild thing about this is that he wasn't even their most under fire coordinator.

If only there were staff from a published news source that could ask these hard questions to a coach...

I see what you did there

The mass exodus from the players, now this… ouch.

&ct=g

Doesn't appear to be a forced out...on Twitter he says he's 'taking a sabbatical from college football '.

While this adds to the look that OSU is sinking it might just be a guy looking to spend a year or two on the SEC network, while deciding what to do long term. NIL and the portal have thrown a lot of coaches game plans off. Might want a little more time with his family. His past few jobs haven't been easy. Vanderbilt HC, DC under Harsin at Auburn, DC for a team that fell way below expectations and had a portal exodus.

If Mason takes a P5 DC job before the fall I'll be more convinced the Gundy ship is sinking.

Gundy's act seems to be getting a little stale up there.

He's done a great job for a long time. But he's gotten really stubborn and very surly in recent years. It's hard to connect with modern athletes that way.

The fact that he mentioned college football specifically made me think NFL.

He has an extensive NFL background...David Shaw the ex Stanford coach just interviewed with the Broncos...he and Shaw have a history together.

After seeing the full statement it did sound like NFL. Not like he's hurting for money with the jobs he's had recently.

bear2be2 said:

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Gundy's act seems to be getting a little stale up there.

He's done a great job for a long time. But he's gotten really stubborn and very surly in recent years. It's hard to connect with modern athletes that way.

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Plus that OAN tshirt

That's when he went wheels off

With T-Boone not around I do wonder if the pressure is actually heating up this time. They always seemed to butt heads briefly(or the media made it seem so) after a rough year or near the end of a contract but quickly realized neither of them could do better.

I suspect it's harder to pour lessons into a kid who can "up and leave" because his feelings are hurt.

boykin_spaniel said:

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With T-Boone not around I do wonder if the pressure is actually heating up this time. They always seemed to butt heads briefly(or the media made it seem so) after a rough year or near the end of a contract but quickly realized neither of them could do better.

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Not just T Boone, but their old AD butted heads as well.

OSU had a ton of injuries this year and way underperformed, as did Baylor. There were issues with DC. OSU, like Baylor, had a lot of good seniors returning.

I believe Gundy is cleaning house while others are leaving on their own. It is much easier to build a team quickly than it used to be.

Gundy is a good coach.

Lots of rumors floating around about what’s been going on in Stillwater. Bunch of guys leaving Oklahoma State for the transfer portal.

Might not mean anything, but Spencer Sanders liked this tweet regarding Mike Gundy and Kasey Dunn.

Interesting to say the least. #OKState pic.twitter.com/k8sdJBpOU7

— TJ Eckert (@TJEckertKTUL) January 5, 2023

I had forgotten..Kasey Dunn was our special teams and WR coach in 2007.

boykin_spaniel said:

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While this adds to the look that OSU is sinking it might just be a guy looking to spend a year or two on the SEC network, while deciding what to do long term. NIL and the portal have thrown a lot of coaches game plans off. Might want a little more time with his family. His past few jobs haven't been easy. Vanderbilt HC, DC under Harsin at Auburn, DC for a team that fell way below expectations and had a portal exodus.

If Mason takes a P5 DC job before the fall I'll be more convinced the Gundy ship is sinking.

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NIL and portal definitely changing coaching. I know that some Coaches that were in demand specializing in developing players concerned their role will end up being worked out of P5, if schools could just poach already developed or supremely talented players.

May see more of these guys in G5 Conferences where they will always have to value development since limited NIL. Will schools be able to have half their roster in the developmental stage or give kids the extra time they used to get in this environment going forward?

Or, will there be pressure to bring in the "handler" type coaches that can bring in transfers? Recruiting connections and transfer portal connections different skill sets and people. Do many HS coaches take part in the portal situations?

Talked to an OSU alum. Sanders sat down with Gundy, and Sanders agreed to play in the bowl game. But when Sanders didn't show up for the first five or six practices and suddenly showed up at practice #7, he was sent home.

Also, Sanders had a nice NIL deal with Eskimo Joes and may now be without NIL and a school.

I'm sure someone will pick him up but it won't likely be his first choice.

vanillabryce said:

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Talked to an OSU alum. Sanders sat down with Gundy, and Sanders agreed to play in the bowl game. But when Sanders didn't show up for the first five or six practices and suddenly showed up at practice #7, he was sent home.

Also, Sanders had a nice NIL deal with Eskimo Joes and may now be without NIL and a school.

I'm sure someone will pick him up but it won't likely be his first choice.

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Good for Gundy…kid sounds like a ****head.

It's a different ball game and some really good coaches have struggled keeping up and some of that might be their university lagging behind as well. Coach Ken at Navy, David Shaw at Stanford, Pat Fitzgerald Northwestern, Gary Patterson, etc. The younger generation largely expects to be treated like adults. Many don't respond well to old school methods.

Coaches now have to recruit their current teams and not just high school players. They need recruiting staff also recruiting other university players from all levels. Throw in NIL demands and shifting player expectations with the portal and it's a different profession than when many entered.

boykin_spaniel said:

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It's a different ball game and some really good coaches have struggled keeping up and some of that might be their university lagging behind as well. Coach Ken at Navy, David Shaw at Stanford, Pat Fitzgerald Northwestern, Gary Patterson, etc. The younger generation largely expects to be treated like adults. Many don't respond well to old school methods.

Coaches now have to recruit their current teams and not just high school players. They need recruiting staff also recruiting other university players from all levels. Throw in NIL demands and shifting player expectations with the portal and it's a different profession than when many entered.

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Yeah, Junction Boys isn't going to fly. It reminds me of youth football. I remember when my son was playing, there were guys (adults) that took groups of invited kids to camps around the south. They were connected with Auburn, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Miami, etc. HS football in FL was about getting talent to transfer to your HS. Unlike midwest was more of system football. I can see these guys being involved in the transfers.

I grew up in an area where all the private schools recruited a lot of the public school's best players. The best teams in the state had 400-600 students in grades 9-12(certain public schools could hang but varied by year and coaching). I think in the 70s the public schools rightfully complained about losing state titles to guys supposed to be on their team, so a separate division was created for private schools that offered financial aid.

boykin_spaniel said:

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I grew up in an area where all the private schools recruited a lot of the public school's best players. The best teams in the state had 400-600 students in grades 9-12(certain public schools could hang but varied by year and coaching). I think in the 70s the public schools rightfully complained about losing state titles to guys supposed to be on their team, so a separate division was created for private schools that offered financial aid.

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Not in FL, it is based on size of school. The Private schools and some of the public schools recruit. Not supposed to do it, but happens every year. It all goes back to the Youth league.