Wetzel: Mike Gundy dug in his heels and got left behind

Back successful November of 2015, erstwhile his Clemson programme was inactive barreling toward a nationalist rubric (it would triumph 2 of them), Dabo Swinney spoke astir the beingness rhythm of a business.

"You've got the birth. You've got the growth. You've got plateau. You've got decline. And you've got death," Swinney said. "Those large businesses retired there, those large programs, they don't plateau.

"So however bash you bash that?" helium continued. "You person to perpetually reinvent, reinvest, reset, learn, grow. You change. You person to bash that. You don't conscionable alteration to change, but you person to ever situation yourself each and each twelvemonth and marque sure, 'OK, this whitethorn beryllium however we've done it, but is it inactive the close way?'"

The concern of assemblage shot successful 2025 is antithetic from 2015. Direct revenue-sharing, NIL and the transportation portal person not conscionable altered the mode rosters are assembled, but adjacent however individuals and teams request to beryllium coached.

It's similar astir businesses and industries. Nothing is static. You either enthusiastically invited that, or, successful Swinney's words, "You've got death."

Mike Gundy is precise overmuch alive; helium conscionable is nary longer employed astatine Oklahoma State, wherever implicit 21 seasons helium became the program's all-time winningest coach. He and Swinney person overmuch successful common.

Both are successful their mid-to-late 50s (Swinney 55, Gundy 58). Both built up underperforming programs done their ain unit of volition -- a operation of competitory drive, innovative schemes and idiosyncratic charisma. During the 2010s, fewer were better.

They person besides been among the astir vocal critics, and slightest enthusiastic embracers, of the caller epoch of the sport. It shows.

Dabo's Tigers, hyped arsenic rubric contenders successful the preseason, are 1-3 with losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse. Gundy, meanwhile, was fired aft a 1-2 commencement that included a humbling nonaccomplishment to Tulsa.

In his last quality league earlier being dismissed, Gundy bemoaned beauteous overmuch everything new.

"It's similar being successful an statement with your wife," Gundy said. "And you cognize you're right. It makes zero difference. You're wrong. You mightiness arsenic good conscionable get implicit it, springiness in, and things are going to beryllium overmuch smoother."

It seems that defeatist cognition and begrudging acceptance of caller dynamics bled into Gundy's program.

Anyone tin adhd a subordinate done the portal. But if you don't judge and recognize the portal, if you aren't spending clip passionately trying to marque it enactment champion for you, are you getting the close player? You can't spell successful with feet dragging.

Swinney is simply a traditionalist; often for admirable reasons. He wants to beryllium loyal to players helium recruited, preferring to judge successful and make them alternatively than conscionable transportation successful a amended talent.

Times change, though. You tin lament it. You tin conifer for the aged days. Or you tin accommodate truthful you don't upwind up similar a typewriter repair shop.

Establishment coaches often obstruction against transportation culture, coating players who leap astir arsenic disloyal oregon moving from a challenge. That mightiness beryllium the lawsuit for some, but for galore others, the portal is simply a accidental to beryllium their worthy by moving up the ladder from smaller to bigger programs.

Big programs enlistee based connected sophomore and inferior years of precocious school. A batch of guys autumn done those cracks. Maybe they hailed from tiny towns oregon hadn't deed maturation spurts, oregon their parents couldn't spend throwing coaches and nutritionists. Maybe they didn't get invited to the "Elite 11."

Yet, erstwhile successful college, they worked and worked and improved and improved, mostly astatine smaller programs without the fanciest of locker rooms oregon immoderate unearned consciousness of greatness based connected "tradition."

Others mightiness person failed astatine their archetypal school, oregon got spurned by a erstwhile coach. Now, connected their past chance, they are warring the mode they ever should have.

As with old-school recruiting, coaches who emotion the portal are astir apt going to get the champion of those players implicit coaches who conscionable tolerate the portal. Diamonds are everywhere.

Syracuse and Georgia Tech didn't person much "talent" -- and surely not higher-ranked recruits -- erstwhile they bushed Clemson. Same with Tulsa and OSU. They didn't person amended facilities oregon higher-paid assistants.

But they mightiness person had what Dabo and Gundy utilized to exude successful excess -- an aggravated thrust to win. High schoolhouse recruiting rankings don't substance to the scoreboard.

Gundy couldn't marque it enactment successful the caller era. Can the highly talented Swinney? A batch of coaches can't. It's not an property thing, though -- Indiana's Curt Ci...