Jan. 24—Mike Gundy didn’t wait long to fill the Oklahoma State football program’s void at defensive coordinator.

Less than two weeks after Derek Mason announced in a statement that he was taking a “sabbatical” and wouldn’t be returning to the program in 2023, Gundy announced Tuesday afternoon that Bryan Nardo will be leading the defense this upcoming fall.

“I cannot thank Coach Gundy and the rest of the staff enough for their openness throughout this entire process and for trusting me with this responsibility,” Nardo said in a release. “I am extremely excited to join the rich tradition of Oklahoma State football. I can’t wait to get to work and continue to build upon all of the great things that have been done here throughout history.”

In corresponding moves, Gundy elevated Joe Bob Clements to co-defensive coordinator and Tim Duffie to the defensive passing game coordinator.

Nardo will join the Cowboys after spending one season at Gannon University (Division II), becoming the program’s third defensive coordinator in as many years. He helped Gannon’s defense improve from allowing 393.3 yards per game in 2021 to 287.4 this past fall, making it the fewest yards per game Gannon has surrendered in 20 seasons.

This past fall, under Mason, the Cowboys allowed 28.92 points (fifth in the Big 12) and 435.7 yards per game (eighth in the Big 12). It was a unit at its best throughout the latter half of the season, limiting opponents to 22.5 points in each of OSU’s last four games.

Before his one-year stop at Gannon, Nardo was the linebackers coach at Youngstown State (Division II) for two seasons.

“I’m excited about the addition of the Bryan Nardo as our defensive coordinator,” Gundy said in a release. “He’s a young, energetic, bright football coach who brings 10 years of coordinating experience with him. He’s been successful and his innovative system has helped win games everywhere he’s been.”

Nardo’s longest tenured position came in an eight-year stint at Emporia State (Division II). In one of the toughest conference’s in Division II football, Nardo helped the Hornets compile a 63-32 record with five postseason appearances.

The 63 wins were the most in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) during those eight seasons, and the Hornets hired him after he was named the Great Lakes Football Conference Assistant Coach of the Year in 2011 while he was at Missouri S&T.

But perhaps his most impressive campaign was his last year at Emporia in 2019.

That year, the Hornets led the MIAA in nearly every defensive category. They were second in total defense, including first in pass defense and third in rush defense.

It was a defensive turnaround fueled by a schematic change, one that Nardo made following the conclusion of the 2017 season. He switched from a four-man front to a three-man front, meaning Gundy hiring Nardo suggests a similar change is in store for the Cowboys.

That’s the same scheme that fellow Big 12 member TCU used to run the league’s gauntlet and nab a win over Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinals before being dismantled during a 63-7 loss to Georgia in the national championship. And it’s the same scheme that Iowa State has stymied the Big 12 with over the past handful of years under the direction of defensive coordinator Jon Heacock.

Nardo will now have almost a full offseason with the Cowboys to find a way to take advantage of the program’s star-studded youth on that side of the ball, which includes Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year safety Kendal Daniels.

Should his success from the Division II ranks carry over into his first Division I job, the Cowboys are primed to have a defense ready to wreak havoc in the Big 12.