In a surprising revelation Monday night, Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated revealed that in 2017, Mike Gundy made it known through intermediaries that he was interested in the Florida head coaching job that opened shortly after the school moved on from Jim McElwain midseason.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen ultimately took the job, accepting a six-year deal on Nov. 26, 2017, but that was after Gundy reportedly talked twice with Florida AD Scott Stricklin about the job, meaning he had contact with him during what turned out to be a 10-3 season. OSU opened the year 7-1 before a 2-2 finish to conference play in November of that year.