Why Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy dropped 'no cussing' rule with staff changes
By: Scott Wright - The Oklahoman/Yahoo! SportsSTILLWATER — With a new staff of offensive and defensive assistants, spring has brought a lot of change around Oklahoma State football, and not just in personnel or play calls.
“Do you still have your ‘no cussing’ rule for your coaching staff?” a media member asked coach Mike Gundy prior to Tuesday’s workout.
The tiny smile Gundy seemed to be trying to contain answered the question before his words did.
“No, not now,” he said.
For more than a decade, Gundy has at least tried to limit the number of swear words from the mouths of his assistants, but it seems that rule went out with the former coaches.
But why?
“One, I can’t hear very good anymore, and I’m up top, so I have selective hearing just like I do when I’m at home at night,” Gundy cracked. “We minimize it. We do have signals that if I think it gets out of control, somebody can go over there and we can calm it down some.
“The one thing I do have is we don’t direct it as a person. The broad (swearing), OK, but we don’t direct it at a player.”
Truthfully, most 20-year-old football players are neither surprised nor offended to hear a few F-bombs flying around the practice field.
The bigger picture that the colorful language represents is an increased intensity in practices. And players appreciate it.
“Yeah, I love that,” cornerback Cam Smith said. "To have that here, that’s really gonna take our defense to the next level because you know if you don’t bring that same energy, every play, every second, you gonna hear about it from somebody. So I just love it.”
While the offensive staff certainly has more characters than previously, the defensive staff is where the change is most notable. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has old-school roots, though he has adapted to the current culture of the game.
But on the practice field, he coaches on fire. And he hired coaches who he had worked with in the past, so many of them are similar — like defensive line coach Ryan Osborn.
"Shoot, he's all over the place,” defensive tackle Iman Oates said with a big mile. “He’s relatable, but he can also teach like no coach that I've had before. The knowledge of the game, the way he gives the information is, it makes it hard not to be able to learn it.
“Having that juice come from your coach, he has the energy and he brings it, we bring it, he brings it out of us, and it has been great.”
The Cowboys have only been on the field for a handful of practices so far, but none of them were surprised to see the energy their coaches came with when spring ball opened in late March.
“Really, how Coach Grantham is, in the meetings he’s the same way. Like, fired up,” Smith said. “I just love that. When you come out here, you almost know what to expect. You expect to get coached hard. He don’t change for nobody.”
And with it comes accountability. Players know that every coach is watching, so if Osborn sees a defensive back miss an assignment, that player is just as likely to hear from Osborn as his own position coach.
“All the coaching staff holds everybody accountable,” Smith said. “So I just love that everybody’s held to the same standard.”
And yes, a few swear words might be included.
Gundy’s no-cussing rule came in the days after former offensive coordinator Todd Monken had departed. Monken, of course, was famous for not only the volume and abundance of his swear words but also the unimaginable creativity with which he could string together such words.
“There are some Todd Monken-ish guys on this staff,” Gundy said. “My job is to try to get the right guys and then let them coach and be who they are. We all have to be who we are. We can do the best we can, but direct some of that in the right way. At times you get in the heat of the moment.
“I’d rather have to pull a dog out than kick him into a fight.”
