NORMAN, Okla. — Wedge Gundy spent more than half of his life as a player or coach in Oklahoma.
For the past 24 seasons, Gundy has been a constant in the Sooners football program.
This sequence will not extend to 25.
Sunday night, the OU receivers coach announced to everyone’s surprise his resignation with a statement on Twitter.
In the lengthy statement, Gundy offered an explanation of the circumstances that led to the decision.
Gundy said last week during a movie session that he noticed a distracted player.
“(I) took his iPad and read aloud the words that were written on the screen,” Gundy said in the statement. “The words displayed had nothing to do with football. A particular word that I should never have – under any circumstances – uttered was displayed on this screen. At the time, I didn’t even realize what I was reading and, as soon as I did, I was horrified.
“I want to be very clear: The words I read aloud on that screen were not my words. What I said was not malicious; it wasn’t even intentional. Yet, I am mature enough to know that the word I said was shameful and hurtful, regardless of my intentions. The sad reality is that someone in my position can cause harm without ever meaning to. In these circumstances, a man of character accept responsibility. I take responsibility for my mistake. I apologize.”
Gundy came to OU in 1990 from Midwest City, deciding to chart his own course after his brother, Mike, played quarterback at Oklahoma State.
Cale Gundy was the Sooners’ quarterback from 1990-93, throwing for over 6,000 yards and 35 touchdowns.
His 1,914 passing yards in 1992 set an OU record in a single season at the time. Gundy improved it with 2,311 yards the following season.
Gundy’s 6,686 career passing yards was also an OU career high until Josh Heupel broke the mark in 1999-2000. Gundy is still sixth on OU’s career achievement list.
After serving as a graduate assistant in 1994, Gundy left OU to coach quarterbacks and then running backs at Alabama-Birmingham.
When Bob Stoops was hired to take over as head coach of the Sooners after the 1998 season, Stoops hired Gundy to coach running backs.
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Gundy developed a reputation as one of the most powerful recruiters in the country and played a big role in the burgeoning position under Stoops and then Lincoln Riley.
In 2015, Gundy switched to inside receivers coaching.
Under Brent Venables, Gundy was in charge of all wide receivers.
“It is with sadness that I accept Coach Gundy’s resignation,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said in a statement. “He has dedicated more than half his life to Oklahoma football and has served our program and our university well. We are grateful for that commitment. We also recognize that by stepping down, he has placed the program and the the well-being of our student-athletes first.In coaching and in life, we are all responsible for our actions and the resulting results.
“The culture we build in our program is based on mutual respect. Our staff is there to develop successful student-athletes, but also young men of character. As the leader of this program, it is essential that we hold ourselves to the highest standards as we model for our players the kind of men we want them to become.
Venables said L’Damian Washington, an offensive analyst for the Sooners, will serve as the interim wide receivers coach.
Washington is a former football player from Missouri who spent time in the NFL. He started his coaching career as a college coach in 2019-20.
In what turned out to be Gundy’s last game with the Sooners, December’s Alamo Bowl win over Oregon, Gundy called plays for the first time during his OU tenure as Stoops returned to the interim key.
