The Daily Hatch

Gundy, Reid make peace over ‘man’ rant

STILLWATER – During Mike Gundy’s press conference at Oklahoma State’s football media day, he was asked if his famous “I’m a man! I’m 40” rant was a turning point for the program.

The five-year anniversary of the tirade-that-went-viral will arrive Sept. 22, 2012.

Before the postgame rant (and including a victory over Texas Tech that preceded it) Gundy’s head coaching record at OSU was 13-15. The Cowboys are 46-15 since.

Gundy proceeded to answer the question about whether the rant was a turning point (and he’s not sure it was, although he said it did have a positive effect on recruiting).

What the coach didn’t mention during his Saturday press conference was a different type of turning point related to the rant.

He and Bobby Reid – the quarterback Gundy intentionally defended and unintentionally offended during the rant – reached a turning point in their relationship. They met to make peace.

“Bobby has come to my office just in the last few months,” Gundy said in an interview prior to a recent Cowboy Caravan speaking engagement in Tulsa.

“He flew in from Houston just to see me and sit down and talk. And he instigated it … He wanted to come and sit down with me and clear the air.”

Gundy embraced the meeting because “I don’t want to have enemies. I don’t want anybody to dislike me and I don’t want to dislike anybody. We may not agree, but I don’t look forward to passing a person in my office or passing a person on media day or passing a person at a coaches convention where we have an issue.”

The rant backstory: Reid was a superstar recruit who started 18 games for OSU during his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons.

After two starts at the beginning of Reid’s junior season, he was replaced by Zac Robinson.

On the day of Robinson’s first home start, a column in the Oklahoman suggested attitude and lack of toughness were factors in Reid losing his job.

Instead of talking about a wild game against Texas Tech, Gundy held up a copy of the newspaper at his postgame press conference and – voice raised – unleashed a just-over-three-minutes rant.

The most repeated excerpt: “Come after me! I’m a man! I’m 40!” Gundy said.

Continued the coach, “I’m not a kid. Write something about me, or our coaches. Don’t write about a kid that does everything right, (whose) heart’s broken and then say that the coaches said he was scared. That ain’t true!”

Robinson went on to become OSU’s career leader in total yards and passing yards (since eclipsed by Brandon Weeden).

Reid earned his diploma, transferred to Texas Southern and, for a magazine story, told an ESPN writer that the rant didn’t seem genuine and “basically ended my life.”

Said Reid, explaining his OSU exit to ESPN, “When that rant happened, I was like, ‘Blugggh, I don’t think this is for me anymore.’ ”

Reid’s mother also was critical of Gundy in the ESPN story.

Reid did not respond to a message from the Tulsa World in regard to burying the hatchet with Gundy.

When Gundy was asked how it felt to make peace, he said, “Good, just because, like I said, I don’t like to have enemies. And I wanted him to know (my reasons for the rant). I thought he knew, but I wanted to make sure he knew that was for him and nobody else because I was kind of putting myself out there. I didn’t really plan it, but I knew I was putting myself out there and I didn’t care because I thought it was the right thing to do.”

Gundy believes outside influences were a factor in Reid forming post-rant opinions.

“I would never change what I did for Bobby Reid, but I would change how I did it,” Gundy said, adding that it helped him tremendously in learning to deal with people and the media. He doesn’t want the writer of the column that spawned the rant to be an enemy. Life’s too short.

“I’m a man” has come full circle because Gundy said Reid was “a big enough man to call me and make an appointment and fly to Oklahoma and come meet me. That’s not easy. It’s not like he just got in a car and drove over.”

Gundy said he and Reid talked for an hour and a half. Gundy described Reid as a smart guy with a great smile. The coach said Reid has a good job in Houston, but Reid also expressed an interest in coaching. If Reid ever finds himself working for Gundy – hey, crazier things have happened – it will be because they, nearly five years later, met to repair a bridge.

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