The coaching rumor mill is alive and well in Stillwater, and BetOnline just gave us a fresh look at who might be the next guy to lead the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
According to the latest odds, former OSU quarterback Zac Robinson leads the pack at 2/1, followed by G.J. Kinne at 3/1 and Ben Arbuckle sitting at 5/1. From there, it gets interesting with names like Jim Knowles, Collin Klein, Jeff Traylor, and even Brian Kelly and Jon Gruden all showing up with various levels of heat.
If you’re keeping score, that’s everything from rising offensive minds to old-school defensive coordinators to former NFL coaches who haven’t touched the college game in decades. It’s clear Oklahoma State has options, but it’s also clear they’re trying to figure out what kind of identity they want in a post-Mike Gundy era.
Zac Robinson being the favorite isn’t a huge shock. He’s a former Cowboy and has built a solid reputation in the NFL circles as an offensive mind. If Oklahoma State wants to keep things in the family but still go young and modern, that’s probably the pick. He’d bring energy, a clear connection to the program, and the kind of forward-thinking approach that Big 12 programs are leaning into right now.
G.J. Kinne and Ben Arbuckle are cut from a similar cloth. Both are rising stars who know how to light up a scoreboard and have already shown they can handle the pressure of calling plays and leading locker rooms. Either of them would be a roll-the-dice-on-upside type move, which isn’t a bad thing in today’s Big 12, where the margins are getting tighter and innovation matters more than ever.
Then you’ve got the wildcard names. Jim Knowles has done good work as a defensive coordinator and already knows the OSU blueprint. Brian Kelly is floating around at 12/1, which makes for fun conversation but feels like a stretch. And then there’s Jon Gruden, who would be the most chaotic option possible and probably isn’t happening, but the internet will do what the internet does.
No matter which direction Oklahoma State goes, this hire is going to say a lot about what they want the next decade to look like. And the rest of the Big 12 will be watching every step.
