ORLANDO, FL — As he plots his moves over the next several days in pursuit of Oklahoma State’s next coach, athletic director Chad Weiberg is eyeing the Lane Kiffin saga as closely as anyone in college football.
Kiffin, currently the head coach at Ole Miss, is being heavily pursued by LSU and Florida, with his current team also hoping to keep him.
His decision — even if he stays at Ole Miss — is the biggest domino in the hiring cycle, capable of setting off a massive chain reaction of coaching moves, Oklahoma State likely among them.
“It’s hard to know, because nobody knows what he’s going to do,” Weiberg said from the press box of UCF’s Acrisure Bounce House on Saturday. “I guess one way or another, it’s a domino. But it’s hard to really get a read on what that could do and what kind of impact it would have on us or could have on us.”
From the point he fired Mike Gundy on Sept. 23, Weiberg has said he hoped to have a coach hired as soon as possible when the season ends, which comes Saturday as the Pokes take on Iowa State at 11 a.m. at Boone Pickens Stadium.
But the potential shuffling that will come once moves begin has left Weiberg preparing a Plan A, B, C and beyond.
“I think that anytime you’re doing anything like this, you need to have contingencies because you don’t know how everything is going to transpire,” he said. “I feel good about the process that we run and the way our search has gone, and the way the job is viewed and positioned out in the market.”
Ideally, Weiberg would like to have a coach secured by Sunday, and if not, then the Sunday after conference championship games would be the next target.
“I still feel good about our ability to do that at this point,” Weiberg said regarding his approaching target date. “The process is moving.
“We knew that this would be how it would shape up. There would be openings that occurred and that there would be a lot of dominoes that would start falling at some point. It will be interesting to see how, overall, it all plays out. But I feel good about where we are.”
The most important thing Weiberg has learned is how the Cowboy program is viewed on a national scale.
“I felt like our job was well-positioned and viewed well in the market, if you will, and that has proven out,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of really good interest in our job and it has stayed that way all throughout the search, so I feel really good about that.”
As part of that, Weiberg tipped his cap to the fanbase for their support during a second straight difficult season on the field.
“That’s a testament to our people, our fanbase, of what the history over the last 20 years of what we’ve done there, Coach Gundy has done here,” Weiberg said. “I’ll continue to repeat those kinds of things because it’s true. I’ve been prepared with everyone to point out the kind of support that we’ve had throughout this season and the energy in the stadium with the shirtless people and the bananas and the student section and everything.
“I’ve not had the opportunity to bring that up once because before I can, they do. They’re aware. They’re watching. Again, that’s a testament to our fan base and how our program is viewed.”
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on X at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
OSU vs. Iowa State
KICKOFF: 11 a.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater (ESPNU)
