Gundy and Miles, reunited
STILLWATER — Former Cowboys coach Les Miles is out of the coaching business, for now.
But his voice in the game remains, as a college football analyst and now in a weekly podcast that made its debut last week.
For his first show, which began in Week 6 because, as Miles said, “Les is more,” Mike Gundy phoned in to join his former boss for a segment that was reflective and fun.
They talked about the 2001 Bedlam win in Norman, with Miles offering that the score remains burned in his memory, to the point that when he was given room 1613 during a recruiting trip at LSU, he knew he’d land the prospect he was scheduled to visit.
OSU won that Bedlam game, 16-13.
Miles voiced a desire to visit Boone Pickens Stadium and a Cowboys practice, as well as a time when he could bring his sons to join the Gundy clan on a rattlesnake hunt.
“We had a nice visit,” Gundy said Monday. “He wants to coach again and is going to coach again. Really wants to coach again, bad.”
In discussing OSU’s red zone issues at Texas Tech, Gundy also brought up Miles, relaying his habits of taking over the headsets when the Cowboys neared the goal line.
“I called all the plays and then once we got to the 5-yard line he would say, ‘‘I’ll take it from here.’ He loved to take over on the goal line because of his history at Michigan with fullbacks, two tight ends and three tight ends.”
Gundy said even today, when it comes to scoring from close range, there’s plenty of input from everybody on staff: “You don’t get a lot of input when it’s third-and-12 on the 30.”
Quotable
Gundy on working around injuries while remaining productive:
“You have to try to manage your injuries and come up with a plan based on what gives the team the best chance for success. Maybe not what we could draw up on a board, but more of what we can actually execute on a Saturday.”
Opponent watch: Baylor fully stocked at RB
Baylor coach Matt Rhule faces a dilemma at running back Saturday; a positive dilemma.
The Bears will be full strength at the position for the first time this season, having Terence Williams, JaMycal Hasty, John Lovett and Dru Dixon all healthy and available.
Hasty hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury in the season opener. Williams has only played the past two games, after returning from offseason shoulder surgery.
Lovett and Dixon have filled in the gaps as freshmen.
“I’m excited about it,” Rhule said. “The toughest thing will be deciding who will carry the football. We’ll go with the hot hand once we get into the game. We’ve had some of our young backs who have gotten a lot of carries and have proven they can perform in games.”
The Bears are looking for a boost to their ground game, ranking 106th nationally in rushing at just 118.4 yards per game.
Lovett leads the team with 321 rushing yards. Injured quarterback Anu Solomon, who has played just two games, is second with 106 yards.