College Football

Mike Gundy nearly left Oklahoma State for Tennessee, per CBS Sports

Stillwater nearly needed a new football coach this offseason.

By Avinash Kunnath@avinashkunnath Mar 28, 2013, 6:28pm EDT

Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy wasn't too happy with the team's early schedule the next few seasons. Oklahoma State has slated two premier matchups with big-time teams in 2013 and 2014, with Mississippi State lined up this season in a neutral site game in Houston and another game with Florida State in 2014 in Arlington.

Jeremy Folwer of CBS Sports reports that Gundy was approached by the University of Tennessee in December after the Vols had fired head coach Derek Dooley. Tennessee was looking at multiple coaches like Butch Jones (who they eventually hired) and Charlie Strong, but they nearly landed Gundy after he indicated early interest in the job. Gundy decided to return to Oklahoma State after some deliberation, but the prospect of playing difficult opponents and diminishing national title chances year after year did make him consider a move to Knoxville.

Scheduling tough teams is a difficult task for any major college football team, and it might have unintended consequences, as Oklahoma State fans came so perilously close to finding out a few months ago.

Head to Rocky Top Talk to talk with Tennesee fans and Cowboys Ride for Free to discuss with Oklahoma State fans to talk about the Gundy news.