OU football: Longtime Sooner assistant coach Cale Gundy announces resignation

Aug. 8—Oklahoma assistant coach Cale Gundy announced his resignation late Sunday night.

Gundy, a longtime assistant who currently serves as wide receivers coach, posted a statement via Twitter.

"For almost three decades, this university has been my home, these players have been my family," Gundy said in his statement. "Today, with great anguish, I announce my resignation. I apologize to this who are disappointed by this news.

"I owe it to Sooner Nation to be transparent about what led to this decision: Last week, during a film session, I instructed my players to take notes. I noticed a player was distracted and picked up his iPad and read aloud the words that were written on his screen. The words displayed had nothing to do with football. One particular word that I should never — under any circumstances — have uttered was displayed on that screen, In the moment, I did not 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 from that screen were not my words. What I said was not malicious; it wasn't even intentional. Still, I am mature enough to know that the word I said was shameful and hurtful, no matter my intentions."

L'Damian Washington, who has been serving as an offensive analyst for our program, will serve as receivers coach on an interim basis, OU coach Brent Venables announced Sunday night.

Gundy has a long history at Oklahoma. He was the team's quarterback from 1990-1993 before joining the staff as a graduate assistant. He briefly left to coach at UAB before returning to Oklahoma's coaching staff in 1999. He's served in a variety of roles since his return and is the longest tenured coach in the Big 12.

"It's with sadness that I accept Coach Gundy's resignation," Venables said in a statement. "He's dedicated more than half his life to Oklahoma Football and has served our program and university well. We're thankful for that commitment. We also acknowledge that in stepping aside he's placed the program and the welfare of our student-athletes first. In coaching and in life, we're all accountable for our actions and the resulting outcomes.

"The culture we're building in our program is based on mutual respect. Our staff is here to develop successful student-athletes, but also young men of character. As the leaders of this program, it's essential that we hold ourselves to the highest standards as we model for our players the type of men we want them to become."

The Sooners opened fall camp last Friday with their season opener against UTEP on Sept. 3 just a few weeks away.

"While considering this decision, I have been overwhelmed by the love and support of those who know me, my character, and my love for this program. I truly appreciate the support players and coaches have shown," Gundy said.

Jesse Crittenden is the sports editor of The Transcript and covers OU athletics. Reach him at jesse@normantranscript.com or at 405-366-3580