Oklahoma State hasn’t searched for a head football coach since 2005.
It may even be safe to say that it wasn’t an extensive search during that time. Mike Gundy always seemed to be the heir apparent as coach.
Gundy’s firing on Tuesday starts an immediate search for the program’s 24th head coach.
Here are a few candidates:
Zac Robinson (Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator)
The former OSU quarterback appears to be a fan favorite to return to Stillwater.
Robinson, 38, currently is the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator. He played for the Cowboys between 2006-09, becoming the starting quarterback early in his sophomore season.
Robinson spent five seasons in the Los Angeles Rams’ coaching organization (2019-23), serving as the franchise’s quarterbacks coach in 2022-23.
He’s been the Falcons’ offensive coordinator for the past two seasons.
Ben Arbuckle (Oklahoma offensive coordinator)
Arbuckle has made a splash in the state by taking over Oklahoma’s offense and helping guide the program to a return to the top 10.
The 30-year-old, a Canadian (Texas) High School graduate, has had a quick rise in the coaching ranks, breaking into the profession as a quality control assistant at Houston Baptist in 2018. He has served as an offensive coordinator at Western Kentucky (2022), Washington State (2023-24) and OU.
Alex Golesh (USF head coach)
A former Iowa State assistant coach, Golesh has spent the past three seasons leading USF.
Golesh, 41, has guided the American Conference program to bowl games in back-to-back seasons and the Bulls are off to a 3-1 start this season with wins over No. 25 Boise State and No. 13 Florida.
Golesh was an OSU graduate assistant in 2008 and spent time as an offensive coordinator at UCF (2020) and Tennessee (2021-22).
Jon Sumrall (Tulane head coach)
The 43-year-old has four years of head coaching experience after leading Troy (2022-23) and Tulane (2024-present).
The Green Wave is 3-1 this season with a Saturday visit to Tulsa coming up.
Sumrall, the 2022 Sun Belt coach of the year, is expected to be heavily pursued by Power 4 schools.
Todd Monken (Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator)
If the decision makers decide to aim for a candidate with OSU ties, Monken may get a strong look.
Monken, 59, was the Cowboys’ passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach in 2002-04 and the offensive coordinator in 2011-12.
He was Southern Miss’ head coach from 2013-15 and Georgia’s offensive coordinator from 2020-22.
G.J. Kinne (Texas State head coach)
The former Tulsa quarterback has four years of head coach experience (Incarnate Word in 2022, Texas State 2023-present) and has been an offensive coordinator at Hawaii (2020) and UCF (2021).
The 36-year-old currently has a 31-13 record as a head coach. He would also have good recruiting ties to the state of Texas.
Collin Klein (Texas A&M offensive coordinator)
A former elite quarterback at Kansas State, Klein, 36, has spent the past two seasons calling plays for Texas A&M.
Klein is an offensive-minded candidate after spending seven seasons (2017-2023) on the K-State staff, including three years as a coordinator.
Klein’s familiarity with the Big 12 and the recruiting footprint would be a positive.
Eric.Bailey@tulsaworld.com
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Eric Bailey
Tulsa World OSU Sports Reporter
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